• The Brown PeacockTravelerIreland 2023
    Dun Briste (the sea stack) dwarfs the WWII lookout tower.
    The blow hole -- be cool to see it in action!Richard standing in the "R" of "EIRE". Note the interesting, lumpy ground.The penguin looking guys nesting on the cliffs are gillimonts.Zoom in...the layers of rock are simply fascinating!Cliff flowers - hearty yet beautiful.Cottage views of Downpatrick HeadThe 4300 year old bog pine.Statue of Yeats covered by his own words.First sites of Ben Bulben, an icon image of Ireland.High cross and round tower at Drumcliff, location of W.B. Yeats grave.Castle Classiebawn with Ben Bulben as a backdrop.A fairy bridge. 🧚‍♀️Most local pubs are typically pup friendly!The cute stone cottage we stayed in for the night.

    Yeats and Fairy Bridges

    May 17, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 79 °F

    Today began with a stop at Downpatrick Head to see Dun Briste, a sea stack with nesting seabirds, a blowhole, an old WWII lookout post, the remains of the stone aerial marker, EIRE 64 (letting WWII pilots know they were flying over Ireland) and a the remains of a church founded by St. Patrick. It was a busy stop!

    We were able to see some of the birds nesting on the cliffs here. The gillimonts look kinda like little penguins. Notice they are mostly facing the rock in the photo in order to shield themselves from the winds. The ground here was interesting as well....very "bumpy" and spongy feeling.

    We stopped by the Ceide Fields to learn more about the 5500 year old stone walls, the oldest known walled fields on earth. The site was found when a local school teacher, Patrick Caulfield, was cutting turf (peat) in the 1930's. The bog held many secrets, including a bog pine tree that fell over 4300 years ago! The low oxygen nature of the bog preserved the underground treasures. 

    We made it to Sligo for lunch. This is W.B. Yeats territory where there is a cool statue of him. North of town, we see the first sightings of the mountain Ben Bulben. This is actually a large flat topped rock formation that was once part of a large plateau. Ben Bulben sits in the background when you see W.B. Yeats' gravesite. He is buried in Drumcliff at St. Columba's Church of Ireland, where his great grandfather had once served as rector. There was a monastery founded in about 575 that used to site on the grounds. The high cross (circa 1100) and a round tower from the 10th or 11th century are now all that remains.

    As we headed out of Drumcliff, we passed Castle Classiebawn, summer home to Lord Mountbatten (great uncle of King Charles, III). He was there spending time on his boat in 1979 when the IRA planted a bomb onboard, killing him and several members of their family. 

    I got to see a few of the smaller fairy bridges. 🧚‍♀️ We were not able to work in the Bridges of Ross earlier on our trip, so I was thrilled to find these to check out. Just amazing to see they way the water shapes the earth and rock over time. 

    We saw a little of the town of Donegal before heading to Glenties for a bite of dinner, then to our little stone cottage for the night.     Read more