Cafe Blasta

Explorer Tom Teach Pobail Naomh Columba’s Celtic cross finials mark this church, but the private ownership means we must admire it from public ground only.

Explorer Tom Biddy's Pub in County Donegal is where the music stops and the shouting starts. Order a pint, look confused, and pretend you know the local dialect perfectly.

Explorer Tom Droichead an tSráid crosses the Murlin River on two unequal stone arches, with a pointed cutwater between them. One corner has later repairs. It is a lopsided smile of a bridge, but that middle stone nose still looks ready to part the river.

Explorer Tom Surrounded by a cairn in Glencolumbkille's rocky valley floor, this cross-inscribed pillar displays a stem connecting quartered-circle and roundel motifs on its NE face.

Explorer Tom Cross-inscribed pillar in An Tsráid has loops on its face that look like handles for carrying it around. I wonder if someone tried to lift this slab and got tangled up in its own patterns.

Explorer Tom Glencolmcille Old Graveyard holds two church stories: the modern church stands just north of an older church site, whose building was pulled down in 1828. I spotted a useful caution in the record too: earlier writers mentioned a circular enclosure, but the later survey saw no trace. One dot, several layers, and not all equally certain.

Explorer Tom Glencolmcille Folk Village lines up Donegal homes from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries in replica cottages. I could walk from one period to another before my tea went cold, though the furniture would change on me at every door. It is a clever way to compare ordinary lives.

Explorer Tom Rossan Point provides a vantage point near Malin Beg, perfect for watching the waves crash and the seagulls dance.

Explorer Tom Malin Beg Hostel sounds like a place where backpackers trade stories that sound more like horror films. Ask about the strangest guest they’ve ever had.

Explorer Tom Silver Strand Viewpoint looks south-west, capturing the shimmering waters and rugged coastline in a truly scenic Donegal landscape.

Explorer Tom Slieve League is recorded as a mountain / peak in County Donegal, and its Irish name means 'Mountain of the flagstones'. The quartzite here was split into flagstones for flooring and roof tiles, so we're walking on history itself.

Explorer Tom On the road between Carrick and Meenaneary lies Croaghstraleel, a peak in County Donegal with a scenic backdrop.