Loher Stone Fort

Loher Stone Fort unlike the nearby Staigue Stone Fort is in fact an early Christian defended farmstead.
What you see today is the result of a recent reconstruction that when being carried out found the remains of farm buildings made of wood and later of stone.

In the interior circular house a souterrian entrance was found. This would have been used to hide when under attack and as a place for cool storage of foods.
The souterrian has been closed up since the restoration.

The walls are close to 3 meters in height and can be climbed from the interior via crossed stairways.
Unlike Staigue walking on top of the wall's is not a problem (once you have the head for height's).

Access - Loher is just a short drive from the N70 and is well signposted.
Parking is available for six or seven cars, unless someone goes sideways !
From there you are left with a short walk to the immaculately kept ground around and inside Loher.     
The views from Loher are nothing short of superb.
Mountains surround Loher on three sides with the fourth side giving you a great view of Ballinskelligs Bay where on a clear day you can see Skellig Michael in the distance.








  

 

Eightercua Stone Row

Eightercua is without doubt my favourite stone row in Ireland.
Ireland may have bigger stone rows with more standing stones in them but the buzz that I have got both times when coming around the final bend on the N70 and seeing Eightercua is like spotting four really good friends that have been waiting for you.

This was a revisit to this site as when I first saw Eightercua it was a pretty dire day weather wise.
This visit was only a partial success as the site was undergoing what looked to be a pretty extensive dig that as you can see from the images it has come right up to the stones.

The stone row is about 7.5 meters in length.
The tallest of the stones is close to 3 meters in height with the smallest of the stones just over 2 meters in height.

At the base of the stones is what looks like a wall which has led some to think that the stones were part of a large chamber.
The enclosure that comes out from the stones is very visible and is about 15 meters in diameter.

Access - Eightercua can be seen from both ways on the N70. Parking is a problem as the lane ways around the site are very narrow and most of the property's close by are lived in.
So be careful you don't block someone in.