Tourist hotspots: X marks spot of splendid isolation in Kenmare

Unlike most towns in Kerry, Kenmare is bustling even when it’s wet, and is a perfect base to explore the county

Around 1790, Lady Louisa Lansdowne of the town’s leading family remarked how the people of Kenmare were “in general well dressed” and had “more animation and apparent enjoyment of life” than any set of people she had ever seen.

On a rainy summer’s day, not a lot has changed in one of western Europe’s few planned towns.