Tory Island Round Tower & The Tau Cross

The wonderful Tory Island is home to this round tower which along with the cross is all that remains of the once nearby St Colmcille's monastery.
The monastery and tower are both thought to date back to between the 6th and 7th Century.
The tower is just under 13 meters in height and is made of granite.
The top of the tower suffered extensive damage from a lightning bolt which struck the tower in the late 18th century.

The Tau Cross is made from one piece of mica slate, 1.9m high and 1.1m wide.
The cross stands beside the pier and dates from the 6th century (or some think maybe even earlier).
The cross is one of only four that is known to be in Ireland, the others can be found at Killegar church Co Wicklow, St Begnet's Church Co Dublin and St Catherines Church heritage centre Co Clare.
This cross at Tory is still of great importance to the people of the Island, many fishermen pray at it before setting off to sea.

Access - The ferry sails to the island a couple of times each day, the crossing takes about 35 minutes.
For all the sites I was lucky enough to visit in 2013 Tory Island was the total highlight of these, so what are you waiting for !!!  

   






    

Kilclooney More Portal Tombs

Ask anyone with an interest in portal tombs to name their top five favorite sites and I would be very surprised if the magnificent Kilclooney More Portal Tomb was not in that top five list - maybe even No 1.

The weather on the day of my visit was not great, but the walk to the tomb knowing I was going to get to see a site at the top of my wish list soon made me forget all about the showers and very soft going under foot.

This tomb like so many others changes so much as you walk around it and yet Kilclooney still has that little bit more.
The capstone is over 4 meters in length and is close to 4 in width the tomb rises to height of just under 2 meters, this all comes together with its shape and angle to make this site so special.

Just a handful of meters away (as you can see in some of the images and small image at the bottom) is a much smaller tomb.
It is claimed the small tombs capstone only became dislodged as recent as the early part of the 1900s. 

The two tombs are thought to have once been part of the same cairn, to be very honest I am glad there is little left of the cairn as this makes the tombs really standout on the landscape.

Access if you park at the Dolmen Centre (make sure you call in and try their home made scones, that will be the second highlight of your day) located just off the R261, from there you are left with a 15 to 20 minute walk to the tomb which is visible from the road.   









  

Bocan Stone Circle

When first spotted from the road my expectations for this circle left me in a rush to get up closer for a better look. 
Sad to report this circle now has only 7 stones left standing and is pretty much a mess (see bottom image) !!.

Originally the 20 meter wide circle was thought to have 30 stones, in 1816 there were 12 stones still standing so recent times have really not been kind to this site.

Of what remains the tallest of the stones is around the 2 meter mark in height (from the 4 on the east side of the circle) the remaining 3 stones (on the west side) are smaller and are close to 1.5 meters in height.

Bocan stone circle will leave you disappointed due to the state of the site, but I would still recommend a visit for superb views.  It would not take much imagination to visualize what a stunning site this once was.

Access:-   You can see the main stones of the circle from the R238, parking will be anywhere you can find just off the main road.
From there you can reach the circle by climbing up  to the top of a field, when you get to the top you can see the circle very well.
To get closer to the circle you will need to scale a new barbed wire fence.     
  

Big thanks to Patrick McCann with putting this weeks images together (they were a bit like the circle). 

Grianán of Aileach

Grianan of Aileach has got to be in the top five for locations of historic sites in Ireland.
The views from all round are nothing short of stunning, Lough Foyle, Lough Swilly and miles upon miles of superb landscapes of the Inishowen Peninsula.

The cashel is over 23 meters in diameter, with the walls near 4 meters in width and reaching up to 5 meters in height.
The walls have 3 interior walkways and can be reached by several stairways.

The history of the site of Grianán of Aileach is thought to date back to 1700 BC.
It is linked to the legend of Tuatha de Danann, who invaded Ireland before the Celts.
The original cashel is thought to have been built between the 5th - 10th Century's.

The Grianán of Aileach has undergone many transformations in its history.
Dismantled by the warriors of Murtogh O Brien - who ordered his men to take away the remains stone by stone.
Later came the (much maligned) 1837 reconstruction work of Dr. Bernard.
More recently there was a controversial stabilization scheme (which was even more maligned) undertaken by the OPW in 2007.

Grianán of Aileach may have many critics as it is very different to the well known Cahergal Stone Fort . 
But for all the restoration work carried out this is still a quite stunning site that I would strongly recommend.

Access: The site is very well signposted from the N13 (and can be seen well in advance) parking is not a problem.                  

Burt Castle

Burt Castle stands proud on a hill called castlehill overlooking Lough Swilly.
The castle is thought to have been built  in the the 16th Century, during the reign of Henry VIII.  
Coinage which dates from Henry VIII's era & with the armorial bearings of The O'Doherty's has been found close by. 

The three storied castle is built from rough rubble and all of the inner floors have fallen in. 
The quadrangular structure has circular towers at its alternate angles, with the walls said to be 1.5 meters thick at the base.
The towers can be climbed with some care and give you an idea as to why Burt still stands strong.

Access:-
The ruin is on private land.
I came off the N13 - the main Derry Letterkenny  road, (castle can be seen from this road).
I managed to come at the castle from the side, so a stiff climb, a ditch, some nettles and a barbed wire fence accounted for the first field  with the second field similar but without the stiff climb.   










  

Gortnavern Portal Tomb

Gortnavern is a stunner of a tomb and although the capstone has slipped back it is being kept in place by one of the side stone's that has fallen in.
The long thin capstone is over 3 and a half meters long and the two portal stones are 2 meters in height.
This tomb gives you many different shapes when viewed from all sides, and all of them are very striking.

Gortnavern's real problem (apart from access) is the gorse growing all around the tomb, to give you an idea how bad this is - if you look at the small image I was stood in the open patch just below the tomb " but I could not see any part of the tomb ".

Access"
This is where your going to have some fun !

This tomb can be tackled in a couple of ways, and both of them are far from easy !!
The way I found this tomb I could only recommend if you are willing to battle it out.

I saw no sign's for this tomb so I got lucky when the tomb was spotted from the car driving up the road.
I came at the site from the East which involved crossing a strong stream and then battling my way through some gorse to finally arrive at the tomb.
Leaving the site I could not find the part of the stream that I crossed at, so I walked alongside the stream back down towards a farmhouse where I met the farmer who very kindly drove me back up to my car.        

 



   

Beltany Stone Circle

Beltany Stone Circle is a site that looks big (even on small images), but it is only when you walk up to the circle you realise how massive this site is !!

The circle consists of 64 stones and may have had as many as 80 stones originally.

The diameter of the circle is close to 45 meters with the centre having a raised platform.

The site was much disturbed at the beginning of the last century which resulted in many of the stones getting pushed outwards.

Some of the stones in the circle have an average height of 2 meters along with the outer stone which is 20 meters S/E of the circle.

The site is very well signposted from Raphoe with a few minutes walk from the parking area to the circle.