As Tom Cruise began his epic journey in the 1992 film Far and Away, he looked back from the top of the mountain ridge at the Ireland he would leave behind. A land of green running down to the rocky shore, a rugged coastline with views to lonely islands in the distance.

This is mainland Ireland's westernmost point, the Dingle Peninsula, a place remote from the life of the cities and bigger towns in every sense of the word. With a beauty that makes it worth leaving the beaten track.

The drive along the southern side of the peninsula is a pretty enough one with views of the bay across to the Iveragh Peninsula, famed for the Ring of Kerry. The road passes through the township of Inch with its long white sandbar that featured in the much earlier David Lean film Ryan's Daughter.

The township of Dingle was the principal harbor in Kerry in medieval times and it still has a substantial commercial fishing fleet. A picturesque little town, it has several pubs and restaurants catering for the hungry tourist.

You can also take boat trips from the harbor to see Fungi, the lone wandering bottlenose dolphin, who years ago made this his home.

But it is the land beyond Dingle that affords the most spectacular scenery and takes you back into Ireland's past.

One of the first things the driving visitor notices travelling westward is that the road signs are mostly in Irish or gaeilge, though some are now also in English. This is the colourful everyday language of the people in the western part of the peninsula, which further adds to the sense of this being "another place". When you want to get back to the township look for the signs to An Daingean.

This land is also from another time, with ancient sites at almost every turn.

Near Milltown's modern cemetery are two 4000 year old inscribed stones known as the Gates of Glory. A little further, beyond Ventry Harbor, lies the small settlement of Fahan, where there are beehive huts from the early Christian period.

These are stone dwellings built by a method known as corbelling, where relatively flat stones were laid in circles, with successive strata of stones placed slightly closer to the center than the one beneath till only a small opening was left at the top which was covered by a single capstone. The stones have a downward and outward tilt so the rainwater runs off.

The buildings at Fahan would have been inhabited through till about 1200AD by free farmers and their families.

Traveling on, you'll soon reach Slea Head with its spectacular coastal scenery reminiscent of some of the views Tom Cruise looked down upon from his donkey. From here there are views of the lonely Blasket Islands.

In Dunquin there is a cultural and historical center celebrating the heritage of the former inhabitants of Great Blasket Island. This was the only one of the seven islands to be occupied, but even it was abandoned in 1953.

A few kilometers beyond Cloger Head is a side road to Castle Sybil, built by the Anglo-Normans on the site of an Iron Age promontory fort.

Near Ballyferriter is the monastic site at Reask, where excavations have uncovered the remains of a monastery with beehive huts, corn-drying kiln, cemetery and a ruined oratory.

But at least one famous site is not in ruins at all. The Gallarus Oratory was built in the 7th or 8th century in the shape of an upturned boat, using the corbelling technique described earlier, and has withstood the harsh Atlantic weather for all that time. Yes, it is still waterproof today.

It was used as a church by the early Christians, whose simple way of life was destroyed by invading Vikings and Normans. To one side of the structure stands an inscribed stone, which probably marks the gravesite of the founder of the oratory.

Taking the road back to the coast you'll reach Brandon Creek from which Saint Brendan launched his voyage to the islands of Paradise in the western ocean in the 9th century. In modern times adventurer Tim Severin replicated the journey in a leather-skinned boat, as described by St Brendan, to show that the saint could have discovered America long before Columbus did.

After returning to Dingle, Connor Pass will take you over the mountains to the north. Take it easy here as the road is steep and narrow. The rugged terrain through which you climb looks like some sort of moonscape.

It's all worthwhile however for the views from the lookout at the top. Look back towards Dingle, way down there, or across to the north over Tralee Bay past Mount Brandon, Ireland's second highest mountain at 950m, with its peak shrouded in mist. A walking track gives access to the top of the mountain but guidance is needed there.

The mountain was named after the mythical Bran, who legend has it returned from the magical western isles with his companions only to see the first one step ashore and turn to dust. Realizing he had been away too long, Bran of course departed once more for the magic isles never to be seen again.

Heading down the other side of Connor Pass, I looked across at the rocky outcrop, which surveyed the land below and realized who was really "king of the castle" as the old nursery rhyme puts it ... a solitary sheep!

Down to the northern side and you'll find sandy beaches like Castlegregory and an easy drive to Tralee.

So this then is the Dingle Peninsula, a place steeped in a time long past, a land far, far away.

Fact File:

The Way to Drive:

I've described this journey as a clockwise trip around the ring because that is the way that you should drive it. I actually traveled parts of it in the opposite direction and came face to face with several tour buses. Nowhere to go but in reverse!

Weather:

The Dingle Peninsula is affected by extremely varied weather. I was lucky but it can really pour down. Go as soon as the weather is fair, don't put it off.

Walking:

The two principal walks are the Dingle Way, which wends its way in and around the peninsula and the Pilgrim's Way, which runs around Eagle Mountain and includes a hike up the side of Mount Brandon. Detailed guide-maps and books on walking trails are available from the tourist office in Killarney.

Information:

Tourism Ireland: www.tourismireland.com