The History of the Prince of Wales Route and Old Roads
The roads of the Skellig Coast are more than lines connecting villages. They follow older patterns of movement shaped by farming, fishing, worship, trade, military planning and the changing needs of visitors. Between Kells, Cahersiveen, Portmagee, Ballinskelligs, Waterville and Castlecove, modern routes often share ground with tracks that have served the Iveragh Peninsula for centuries.
The Prince of Wales Route belongs to the nineteenth-century story of improved travel in Kerry. Its name recalls the royal tours that brought attention to the landscape and encouraged better roads, bridges and visitor facilities. It also reflects a period when the region was being presented to a wider public through guidebooks, hotels, illustrated publications and organised excursions.
Understanding the route requires looking beyond a single modern road. It is best understood as part of a wider network: old roads across mountain passes, coastal lanes between townlands, approach roads to piers and ferries, and the principal roads that eventually became associated with the Ring of Kerry.
Roads Before The Tourist Age
Long before the arrival of organised tourism, movement across Iveragh depended on narrow local tracks. These routes linked settlements with fields, wells, churches, burial grounds, markets and landing places. Some followed the easiest contours around hills, while others crossed difficult ground because they connected communities with an important destination.
The coastline also created a practical network. Boats carried people and goods between harbours and inlets when overland travel was slow. Valentia Island, Portmagee, Ballinskelligs and Waterville each developed connections to fishing, farming and coastal trade. Roads leading inland from these places were often modest tracks, widened or improved gradually rather than built as a single planned project.
Religious journeys added another layer to the road system. Pilgrims and visitors travelling towards ancient monastic sites, holy wells and churches used paths that could later serve commercial or tourist purposes. The landscape around the Skelligs was already culturally significant before Skellig Michael became an internationally recognised heritage attraction.
Building Better Connections Across Kerry
Road improvement accelerated during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as government authorities sought to make remote districts more accessible. Better roads supported administration, policing, postal services, agriculture and the movement of goods. They could also be used for military purposes, particularly where difficult terrain had previously limited access.
The construction of a reliable road across the Iveragh Peninsula was a demanding undertaking. Engineers had to deal with steep gradients, boggy ground, exposed passes, heavy rainfall and rivers that could rise quickly. Bridges and culverts were as important as the road surface itself. A route that looked straightforward on a map could require major work on the ground.
Turnpike roads and later public works helped establish more dependable links between Killarney, Killorglin, Kenmare and the settlements along the coast. These roads did not erase the older network. Instead, they created a hierarchy in which a principal coach road carried longer-distance traffic while smaller lanes continued to serve farms, villages and shoreline communities.
The Royal Name And The Prince Of Wales Route
The name Prince of Wales Route is associated with the nineteenth-century visits of Albert Edward, the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. Royal travel attracted considerable public interest, and a journey through Kerry helped promote the region as a destination for travellers who wanted scenery, fresh air and a taste of Ireland’s western landscape.
Local and tourism references use the name in slightly different ways. It is commonly connected with the route from the Killarney area through the Iveragh Peninsula and along the southern and western coast, broadly corresponding with sections of the modern Ring of Kerry. It should not be treated as the name of one perfectly fixed road preserved unchanged from the royal journey.
Routes in the nineteenth century changed according to weather, road repairs, ferry crossings, accommodation and the type of vehicle available. A royal party might travel along a principal road, take a branch to a viewpoint or harbour, and use water transport for part of the journey. The modern route, marked roads and popular scenic circuits therefore overlap with, but are not identical to, the historical journey.
Its importance lies in what the name represents. Royal association gave an established road a memorable identity and helped turn local scenery into a public attraction. Mountains, lakes, islands and coastal viewpoints became part of a carefully imagined touring landscape, one that still influences how visitors experience Kerry today.
| Route or road tradition | Main historical purpose | Connection with the Prince of Wales Route | Features still visible today |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local townland lanes | Farming, worship, household and community travel | Fed into larger roads and village centres | Narrow bends, stone walls and older field patterns |
| Mountain and pass roads | Crossing difficult upland terrain | Provided links between inland and coastal districts | Steep gradients, exposed views and historic bridgework |
| Coastal approach roads | Reaching piers, ferries, fishing places and villages | Helped connect the wider scenic circuit | Harbour roads, shoreline views and settlement clusters |
| Nineteenth-century coach roads | Postal, commercial, administrative and tourist travel | Formed much of the route later linked with royal touring | Wider alignments, bridges and established stopping places |
| Modern Ring of Kerry roads | Motor traffic, commuting and tourism | Carries the route’s continuing public identity | Road signage, viewpoints and access to heritage sites |
From Coach Journey To Ring Of Kerry
Travel in the early tourist era was slow and carefully organised. Visitors depended on mail coaches, private carriages, local guides and innkeepers. A journey that now takes a short time by car could occupy most of a day, particularly when roads were steep or damaged. Weather was a practical concern rather than a minor inconvenience, and a crossing could be delayed by flooding, wind or poor visibility.
The growth of tourism created demand for services along the route. Inns, hotels, stables, boat trips and guided excursions became part of the regional economy. Killarney served as a major gateway, while towns such as Kenmare, Cahersiveen and Waterville provided links to the wider peninsula. Smaller places gained importance when they offered a viewpoint, a ferry, a dramatic section of coastline or access to an island.
The emergence of the motor car changed the character of the journey again. Roads were widened, surfaces improved and bends became more significant for drivers. The scenic circuit gradually developed the identity now associated with the Ring of Kerry. The Prince of Wales name remained part of the historical and promotional vocabulary, even as transport technology and visitor habits changed.
The Old Roads Of The Skellig Coast
On the western side of Iveragh, old roads reveal how communities adapted to a rugged coastline. The road from Cahersiveen towards Portmagee passes through a landscape of mountains, estuaries and scattered settlements. Branches lead towards Valentia, the coast and points connected with maritime history. These roads supported ordinary local life long before visitors came to see the Skellig Islands.
Around Ballinskelligs and Waterville, routes connected beaches, farms, religious sites, piers and village centres. The road was rarely an isolated feature. It formed part of a network that included field gates, footpaths, quays and crossings. A short lane could be vital to a household even if it appeared insignificant beside the principal highway.
The section from Waterville towards Castlecove follows a coast celebrated for its views, but its history is equally connected with work and settlement. Roads served farmers bringing produce to market, fishermen reaching the shore, children travelling to school and residents accessing churches and services. Their heritage is therefore social as well as architectural.
Stone walls, old milestones, bridge parapets and unusual road alignments can preserve clues to earlier phases of travel. A road that seems to take an indirect course may be following a former boundary, avoiding wet ground or preserving the line of an older track. Careful observation can reveal how engineering decisions were shaped by the land.
A Route Shaped By Heritage
The Prince of Wales Route also forms part of the story of how Kerry’s heritage was interpreted. Nineteenth-century visitors often viewed the landscape through romantic ideas about ruins, remote islands and dramatic coastlines. Skellig Michael became a powerful symbol of spiritual isolation, while the wider coast was presented as a place where ancient history and spectacular nature existed together.
That interpretation brought benefits, including greater recognition of sites and increased economic activity. It could also simplify the lives of the people who lived in the landscape. The old roads were not created solely for scenic touring; they were working infrastructure. Their meaning includes labour, local knowledge, seasonal movement and the practical effort required to maintain connections.
Modern heritage work can bring these strands together. A route can be appreciated as a scenic drive while also being understood as a historical corridor. Information about bridges, townlands, ferries, churches, archaeological sites and traditional industries gives depth to the journey and helps prevent the landscape from becoming a sequence of photographs without context.
The UNESCO status of Skellig Michael adds an international dimension, but the island should be considered within the larger cultural landscape of the Skellig Coast. Villages, roads, harbours and community traditions all contribute to the story of how people reached, interpreted and cared for this edge of Europe.
Reading The Landscape Responsibly
Old roads are vulnerable to erosion, traffic pressure and the gradual loss of local knowledge. Some are still active public roads, while others are private lanes, walking routes or remnants visible only in maps and field boundaries. Travellers should remain aware that a historic-looking track may cross working farmland or lead to fragile archaeological ground.
The best way to explore the route is at a measured pace. Stopping in villages, visiting local heritage centres and learning the names of townlands can reveal more than travelling quickly between major viewpoints. Oral history, old photographs, estate maps and school projects may preserve details that are absent from official road signs.
Community knowledge is especially important on the Skellig Coast. Residents can explain how roads changed, where ferries once operated, which bridges were rebuilt and how weather affected travel. Local archives and cultural initiatives often provide a more detailed account than broad tourism summaries.
Ways To Explore The Route’s History
- Follow the modern coastal road while comparing it with historical maps and local place names.
- Pause in Cahersiveen, Portmagee, Ballinskelligs, Waterville and Castlecove to understand each settlement as a working community.
- Look for bridges, stone walls, milestones, piers and older road alignments without entering private land.
- Visit heritage centres, museums and community archives for stories about coaches, ferries, farming and coastal trade.
- Treat the Prince of Wales name as part of a changing travel tradition rather than a precise modern boundary.
The old roads remain valuable because they connect physical geography with human memory. They show how a remote peninsula became more accessible, how royal travel influenced tourism, and how everyday community routes gradually entered the story of the Ring of Kerry. Explore the Skellig Coast with time to notice those layers, and support the local heritage, cultural and community projects that keep them visible.