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TripsWithKevin Flashback: 10 years ago today.

July 3, 2018

We decided last minute to spend today on Inishowen.  I had never been (nor had the rest of the family), there are some Blue Flag beaches, a restaurant I was interested in trying and the Irish Open begins tomorrow so this was our last chance to see it on this visit.

We made the 1 hour and 20 minute trek from An Bun Beag (including a stop at Kelly’s Centra in Letterkenny for picnic supplies) to our first stop of the day: An Grianán of Aileach.  Even though we had all been here before, the children didn’t remember it so it was like visiting for the first time.  A new addition since our last visit is Wild Atlantic Tae at the entrance.  It is a van with tables and a restroom for patrons selling hot drinks and light snacks.  It’s a nice addition to the site, which otherwise has no toilet or refreshments.  And is still free to visit!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The children again loved being able to climb and explore this ancient site without having many restrictions placed on them.  After we finished at this great, free sight we headed back to the car.  We thought about eating lunch in the car park here, but instead we decided to head up Inishowen and find a picnic table or view point where we could stop.

We elected to go in the opposite direction of the Inishowen 100 (the marked scenic drive around the peninsula) and the Wild Atlantic Way (the scenic drive around the west coast of Ireland which begins here and ends in Cork) so we would be near Clonmany at dinner time (and be able to eat at a specific restaurant).  We did have a moment where we missed the turn off to Muff (the sign was behind a bush) but we made it and our Inishowen adventure was in full swing.

Since I hadn’t thought that we would come here (and since Sarah is always game for something exciting) we thought it would be fun (and old skool) to use only what we had picked up in the Tourist Office for today.  Contrary to our expectations we did not come across a picnic table or view point as we headed north along Lough Foyle.  We did however find a very wide shoulder along with a nice view across the sea lough just before we reached Redcastle.

Sarah again provided us with a delicious and nutricious picnic.  Not an ideal picnic site as we either stood behind the car or sat in our car seats to eat, but it worked.  It was also a beautiful day though and it is always exciting to be in a new place.

After lunch we continued along the Wild Atlantic Way to Moville where we followed the sign posts to Cooly Cross and Skull House.  I was surprised that the cross is next to the road and also that it is such a substantial site.  I expected something much smaller.  The monastery is thought to have been founded by St. Finnian sometime in the 500s and survived until the 1100s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cross is thought to date to the 700s or 800s.  It has some interesting features including a hole in the top that was thought to contain a peg used as a sundial, a hole through the top panel of the cross and a foot-shaped base of the cross.

Within the churchyard are three buildings.  The one closest to the road is likely the ruins of a medieval church, the building to left as your enter the graveyard was built in 1622.  The intact building is known as the Skull House.  While the exact date of this building is not known it is from the medieval period.  The building is thought to have been used as a tomb-shrine.  Most experts think it likely held the bones of St. Finnian.

After Cooley we ended up skipping part of the official drive route (and missed our turn-off to Culduff) but did end up at the Carrowmore Crosses.  They are in two different pastures (split by a small road) and it did not appear that you are invited inside the fence so we stayed in the road to admire them.  This site was once the Both Chonais Monastic site founded by St. Chonas in the 500s.

In 2014 it was discovered that this was once a circular monastic complex with an inner ring and an outer ring.  This also explained why each cross was placed where it was.  The cross on the east of the road was placed at the entrance to the monastic site.  The cross on the west of the road was placed in the center of the monastic complex and the remains of the monastery can be seen in the field surrounding the cross.  The cross that marked the entrance of the complex is thought to date to the 10th century, but I am unsure of how old the cross within the complex is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just past the crosses was the road to Culduff, Clonca Church and Bocan Stone Circle, so off we went.  We saw the Clonca Cross but not a particularly good place to stop the car, so I decided to just keep going.  It was a big surprise to Sarah and perhaps it was a mistake, but I did it anyway!

I was expecting that we would see the stone circle soon, but when we reached Bocan the signs disappeared.  I also left my Aubrey Burl book at the house which would have had some directions, so no stone circle today.  NOTE: I now know that when you reach the church in Bocan you can turn right to go to the stone circle.

It was already 24° as we made our way to Culduff Blue Flag Beach.  When we got there the car park was almost full.  There was a fish and chip van, an ice cream van and two port-a-johns in the car park.  We changed the children into their bathing suits, used the restroom and started the short walk to the beach through the dunes.  It turns out that there are lots of benches and picnic tables and a nice playground for the children at this beach too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The children had a great time playing in the waves and for the first time on our trip the water was cold.  After finishing in the water and building sand castles, we dried off, changed the children back into dry clothes and packed up the car.

Now that we were so close I felt a desire to see Malin Head, Ireland’s most northerly point.  It kind of caught me by surprise that seeing the signs made me suddenly determined to make it there.  Liam had also mentioned that he would like to see where the Stars Wars movie was filmed.  We followed the Wild Atlantic Way route there and it was striking.  When we reached Malin Head I was surprised to find nice restrooms and less surprised to find a souvenir van and a tea van there.  Everyone enjoyed walking around even though it was very windy and for the first time on our trip, cool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was an RTE reporter there with a camera man, and cars and motor homes parked all over.  We watched RTE interview the Stars Wars themed vendor and checked out everything that was close to the car park.  If it hadn’t been quite as windy we would have ventured down some of the paths that led away from the main complex.  You can see the RTE report here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a while we used the nice restrooms again and drove away.  We had seen some places that looked like possible Stars Wars sites, but as we continued along the Wild Atlantic Way the van in front of us stopped.  It was beautiful here, so Liam got out of the car to take a photo.  Just then a man got out of the van and showed us that this was one of the places where they had filmed Star Wars.  There was also a very long sign on the gate which I assume confirms this.

We continued along the Wild Atlantic Way into Ballyliffin where the place was all prepared for tomorrow’s Irish Open.  We arrived at the Rusty Nail which I was targeting for dinner at 6 PM.  Perfect timing!  This restaurant has developed a reputation for excellent food and we found out why.  They use fish from the boats in Greencastle so it is always fresh.  We walked in and were asked if we had reservations (which we didn’t).  Thankfully they put us at one of the few non-reserved tables.  NOTE:  It looks like we might have been there in the first days of new management.  The menu looked the same as it had in June though, so I’m not positive about the change.

Now safely seated we had an amazing meal.  The fish was incredible, the local craft beer (Bog Hopper) was fantastic and the desserts and coffee were amazing.  This was by far our best meal so far and I can see how they are winning awards.

We left about 8 PM and continued along the Wild Atlantic Way.  As we entered the beautiful Gap of Mamore (again worth the reputation)  Fionnuala spotted a Holy Well and asked if we could stop (We probably would have missed this if were coming in the other direction).  What a fantastic place!  Located at the top of the mountain there is a small car park across from the holy well and provides an amazing view of the gap.  Others had left stones with the names of loved ones written on them, so we did as well.  It was a lovely stop (and entirely unplanned).

The well is known as Saint Colmcille’s Well and also Saint Egney’s Well (a more local saint).  A pilgrimage is still performed here on August 15 (The Feast of the Assumption).  The original pilgrimage was performed in June on St. Colmcille’s feast day.  The shift in date is believed to coincide with erection of the statue of the Virgin Mary.  Once there were seven cairns that pilgrims circled during the Turas.  Those have been consolidated into one large cairn now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As soon as we got back into the car the “Low Engine Oil” message appeared in the car.  As there was nothing we could do, we soaked in the scenery of the Gap of Mamore and, with some concern, continued until we found an open service station, McKenna’s in Buncranna.  Of course it was really difficult getting the cap off, but eventually one of the employees did.  After we added the oil, we got the kids some sweets and headed off.

I wanted to see a cross-slab in Fahan so it was deemed our last stop of the night.  I knew it was at the Anglican Church so we stopped when we saw the distinctive Church of Ireland architecture, entered the churchyard, and were very confused!  Everything within the church yard was from the 1800s or newer.  As we closed the gate feeling defeated I saw that across the street there were signposts!

We crossed the street and entered an older graveyard.   What a lovely stop!  Most people probably don’t take their kids to graveyards at 9:45 PM, but my children seemed to be having a blast.  This was once the site of a monastery founded by St. Mura in the 6th century.  The beautifully carved cross-slab is dated to sometime between 600-800.

In addition to the impressive cross-slab we discovered that Anges Jones‘ grave is also in the same graveyard.  As it was late, even I was now eager to get home.  We pulled away and arrived back at the house about 11 PM.  What a wonderful day.

 

Liam’s Highlight of the Day: Grianán of Aileach
Fionnuala’s Highlight of the Day: The Holy Well (that she discovered)

Gaeilge Experience:  None today (we weren’t in the Gaeltacht at all)

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