Carrickatlea

Explorer Tom Bridge in Aghayeevoge carries a story about a narrow-gauge railway that stopped running in 1960. I picture the tiny train chugging over it, completely unaware of how many years its tracks would sit empty. Why did it go there instead of somewhere cooler?

Explorer Tom The Lough Head Bridge was already an old crossing when later roads took over. Built around 1770, it had become overgrown and unused when heritage surveyors described it. The single stone arch looks to me like an old storyteller letting the newer bridges do the shouting.

Explorer Tom Balbane Hill has a photo of itself that looks like it's posing for a magazine. I bet the oldest stone there is judging your hiking boots right now. Spot the oldest stone and give it a name.

Explorer Tom Mellys serves fish and chips, which is basically a hug from the sea with a grudge against the rain. Wrap it tight so the salt doesn’t ruin your phone case. Stand back, squint, and it looks like a castle.

Explorer Tom Tara Hotel in Killybegs is probably where some forgotten hero saved it from a tidal wave nobody else remembers. The Wi-Fi might be slow, but the stories fly faster than a gull on Main Street. Walk past slowly like you're in a film.

Explorer Tom European Beech in County Donegal is a tree that pretends to be from somewhere warmer but lives here anyway. Vikings once got lost looking for it and ended up in a bog instead, which was definitely not their fault. Give it a respectful wave; don’t lean on it, it’s old and grumpy.

Explorer Tom Wych Elm in County Donegal would explain the 1800s to a teenager as 'a time when we all had terrible fashion sense and no Wi-Fi.' It says people walked everywhere, which seems impossible to anyone who has ever used an app. Find a local and ask them the real story, then come back and tell me.

Explorer Tom Crownarad stands at 493 metres, towering over its neighbour Fintragh which sits a mere 381 up. That height difference makes Crownarad look like it’s been wearing an invisible hat while Fintragh tries to keep up.

Explorer Tom St Catherine's Friary Graveslab marks John Lindsey, who died young at twenty-seven back in 1685. The slab is broken and its coat of arms has vanished, leaving just the incised Roman script to tell his story. It’s a bit sad that the family crest got lost, but the words remain.

Explorer Tom St Catherine's Well in Killybegs was once a famous pilgrimage site, but there’s a daft legend that a Protestant rector tried to fill it up with dirt. The next day, a spring burst into his drawing room, terrifying his wife until he reopened the well. It’s still cleaned for St. Catherine’s Day, sitting beside the ruins of 'Cat Castle' in marshy pasture.

Explorer Tom Cat Castle is named after St. Catherine, but really it’s just a tiny stone corner standing on a hill above Killybegs Harbour. It’s been shrinking since 1355, and now only a 3-metre wall survives. It’s a bit pathetic, sure, but looking out over the harbour makes you wonder what that bishop’s manor looked like when it was whole.

Explorer Tom Fintra gives me a grand view before I reach the sand: the road drops toward Donegal Bay, with dunes and grassy hills behind the shore. There is a lagoon at the far end from the car park. I would let someone else call that steep, narrow road a quick nip down.