Weekend Break: Mastering the art of relaxation and creativity in Cill Rialaig

Hilary Fennell finds the beauty of solitude and a quiet place to work at the Cill Rialaig artists’ retreat in south-west Kerry.

Rounding the corner of a steep mountain road in remote south-west Kerry, Cill Rialaig artists’ retreat takes my breath away, clinging to the side of a cliff on Bolus Head at the end of the Iveragh Peninsula.

The retreat, a restored pre-famine village, with the most spectacular views of ocean, sky, stone-walls and windswept hills, consists of eight stone cottages and I’m to spend a week alone in one of them without WiFi, television or possibly, even other people, writing.