Just what I needed. I can tell as soon as I step foot on the floor this morning. Although I am sore and tight from the night's sleep, everything is articulating today. I begin my routine, and about 30 minutes later I am heading out the door. The sun is bright this morning. I feel a calling to Streedagh Strand. It is 20 minutes in the wrong direction and I am not bothered by it this morning. I spend the next hour walking along the beach. I am feeling good, walking slowly on the beach, despite the soreness. Below is a view of Streedagh Strand looking northeast inland. From the strand, in the distance, not pictured below, you can see Killybegs and the Grey Mountain, Slieve League, to the Northwest.
I'm enjoying the simple things this morning. The contrast of the green algae on the rocks. The incredible diversity of shapes, colors, and sizes of the beached shells on the strand. On my walk back I gather a handful, organize them and snap this picture. This is just a small representation of what I see this morning. The largest shell is about the size of a 1/2 dollar coin. The rest are considerably smaller.
Today, I am after some different ancient sites in County Tyrone, Ogham (äɡəm or Oh uhm, depending on where you are in Ireland). A quick aside, I've noticed in recent days that pronunciation is a subjective thing in Ireland. Pronunciations change based on where you are standing at the moment. lol!
County Tyrone has the best representation of stone circles in Northern Ireland, and a lesser-visited site, Dun Ruadh (Doonroe). I head northeast away from the beach back to the UK. This time, I'm enjoying the countryside and view. I think the disappointment of my injury last time I was here kept me from enjoying the landscape. Though I've noticed many people in the UK think County Donegal is a pretty special place.
It rains most of the way there. When I arrive at Dun Ruadh, the sun is shining bright. I park by a gate and head up through a couple pastures. Below is my wee car, a Vauxhall Corsa. It is actually much bigger than I need, but still small for North American standards.
I begin the climb up to the site through a tall field of rushes, buttercups, and other assorted wetland plants. The good news is I am well outside of the carpet bog of County Donegal, so the footing is sure. It is really wet today, having just rained, so I grab my rain paints and rain jacket. I spend the next 20-30 minutes walking uphill to the site and catch my first glimpse around 330 pm. As I approach, it appears that many of the stones at the lower end of the circle cairn, appear to be missing. I wonder how many of them are now in the surrounding stone walls?
Dun Ruahd is a ring cairn with a stone circle inside with a 206 ft (63 m) henge that surrounds the site. Notice the vertical stones just on the edge of the grass.
A view looking around the north side of the henge (a stone circle consisting of vertical uprights).
In a close-up of a few of the notable stones, the henge wraps around through the shrub in the background.
As I arrive back at the car, a lady is approaching walking three dogs, two of which are Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and the third is a Border Collie that is off-leash. I greet her and she stops her walk. Now anyone who has ever walked two dogs can appreciate the tangled mess of leashes she finds herself in within a matter of seconds. Unaware of why the walk has stopped, the dogs start crisscrossing each other all around the lady.
My name is Martin, and I am here on a holiday. I've been here since June 9th. "That's Brilliant. Martin is a proper Irish name", she says smiling. "Where are you staying? I run a bed and breakfast nearby, Patty Larry's. I wish I had a wee card with me," she says feeling her pockets. "Ah, you're staying in Gortin and here till July 12th? That's Brilliant! Have you visited Dun Raudh? The Ogham (äɡəm) stone? The Baeghmore Stone Circles?", she inquires. Yes, I'm headed there next. She proceeds to run through several other sites of interest and things to do in the area. It would take me another week alone just to visit everything she lists. I keep waiting for her name. "I think I've covered everything, can't think of anything else. Enjoy your holidays", she says. Finally free from the tangled mess, she turns back down the road where she came. I snapped this picture of her walking away after a good 15 minutes of chatting.
I toss my stuff in the boot of the car and work around to the driver's seat. A car passes and I watch the lady down the road merge to right with the dogs, to let the car through. I enter the next site into my phone GPS and head towards the lady, expecting to encounter her again. She's vanished. I find no evidence of her, any houses she could have gone into, any roads she may have walked down, or the dogs. There is no sign of our interaction, just a few minutes ago. I think to myself, I just had an encounter with a REAL Irish Fairy! I smile and continue to my next destination.
The Ogham stone is just a short drive from Dun Ruadh. Ogham is an ancient British and Irish alphabet consisting of 20 characters. It reads from bottom to top, along a continuous line. In the case of this Ogham stone, it is a corner of the rock. Below is the Ogham alphabet.
This particular Ogham stone is the only representation in Northern Ireland. You may recognize some of the letters in the photo below. It reads, DOTETTO MAQI MAGLANI. It is believed to be a burial marker or comparative inscription that was later carved into the standing stone that was placed there about at around 4000 B.C.
In the same field, is a much larger Standing Stone. The portion of the stone that is visible above ground stands 9+ ft (2.75 m) tall, 4 ft (1.2 m) wide, and 2 ft (0.6 m) thick. An impressive stone. Standing stones date back to around 4000 BC.
Happy with how the day is unfolding, I head to Baeghmore Stone Circles. The site is one of the few stone circles sites that is mostly excavated. The site consists of 3 pairs of circles and a lone 7th circle which has over 800 stones placed on the inside. The site was discovered in 1930 while cutting peat or turf. It has been excavated twice and now consists of over 8,000 stones dating back to 2600-2900 BC. The circles have several linear radial lines of stones as well as several larger cairns (taller stones).
The exact purpose of the circles and linear features remains unclear to this date. However, under four of the larger cairns, cist tombs were found with human remains. Cists are enclosed pits lined with rocks. Despite the finding evidence of a burial ground, the site more recent is hypothesized to align with comets. Below is one of the lateral lines leading away from the circles.
A spectacular site. It doesn't take a lot of imagination to realize that the site isn't fully excavated yet. Property boundaries appear to have halted the excavation. The surrounding properties are some 4 ft (1.2 m) higher than the circle. As I follow a linear feature, I watch it disappear into the side of a bank where I can see an additional partially covered stone. The remaining two circles are pictured below.
Happy with the day, I head northwest through the tiny town of Gortin. I still haven't booked accommodations tonight. A quick check of the weather reveals it is going to be dry until the morning. I recall a campground, that I was planning to stay at on my thru-hike, that is west of Gortin. I wonder if I can make it there before it gets too late and pitch a tent?
The pitch fee is 15 pounds. The site looks nice, it will be perfect for tonight. I start chatting with the campground host and discussing travel. "You know who you need to meet, Claudia and Dylan. They would like to explore County Donegal and Slieve League", she says. She waves down Claudia, who comes to the table followed by Dylan a few minutes later. We connect right away.
"You hiked over Slieve League. That's class", he says. It is Klaudia and Dylan's second year in a row camping here at the Meadows Campground. "Last year, we had great weather. Blue skies every day and hardly any rain. Not like this year", they say. Dylan and Claudia love the outdoors, it is what has sparked their annual trip. We spend the next three hours chatting about survival kits, Dandelion, and Burdock soda (which Klaudia does not like), and really get deep into a conversation about the importance of the outdoors, and the benefits to people, and how we are diverging away from that as modern man. Both are from the Belfast area where Klaudia sells jewelry, and Dylan is involved with producing films. We discuss County Donegal and I share my blog with them. He tells me all about how there are subtle images, and symbols, in every film that is made that is intended to connect with sub-conscience. I am growing really fond of the pair and our conversation continues until nearly 11 pm when I finally call it a night. I'm feeling exhausted from the walk today and the cool damp air is making me ache.
Below is my wee tent as well as Klaudia and Dylan's BIG tent in the background.
In the morning, I start stretching. Around 10 am, Dylan (below) and Klaudia (at the tent) get ready to leave for Slieve League. We say our goodbyes and hope each other's holiday continues well. I get in the car and make my way toward the Ulster American Folk Park.
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