Co. Kerry adventurer Nathan Kingerlee is hiking  across Ireland with a goat and dog this March. Kingerlee’s journey, in search of the famous Irish welcome, began last January when, together with his companions, he hiked the 168km Blackwater Way from Kerry to Tipperary.

Now Kingerlee, along with Lucy the Goat and Cara the Dog, is facing into a 304km trek across country from Tipperary to Dublin.  Their journey will follow way-marked trails, including the Mid Leinster Way and Wicklow Way and is expected to take just over two weeks.

Kingerlee, who runs an outdoor adventure company in Killarney, Co. Kerry, explains that he was originally inspired to start walking after reading books like “Around Ireland With a Fridge” and “McCarthy’s Bar.” The final push came after reading an online report – which stated that the Irish welcome, renown throughout the world, was disappearing.

“We hope to do 20-25km per day carrying all we need with us,” states Kingerlee. “At night we’ll find B&Bs to stay in. I’m not going to organize too much in advance of the trip as I’d like to put myself in the shoes of a visitor and rediscover the Ireland that we sell to tourists.

“The days will be long and quite slow as Lucy the goat isn’t a particularly fast walker, and I’ll also be carrying a two-week supply of rolled barley and dog biscuits!”

Kingerlee will be blogging daily about the people he meets and incidents that he encounters on www.outdoorsireland.com.