Castle in Toraigh

Explorer Tom This Tory Island Way marker highlights the narrowest point of the island, where the peat soil has largely disappeared over time.

Explorer Tom Cliffs of Toraig presents a geological split personality. The eastern cliffs are tough quartzite, shrugging off the north Atlantic, while the rest of the island is mostly softer granite. I bet that difference gives it a very one-sided argument with the waves.

Explorer Tom Dún Balair Fort clings to the highest tip of Tory Island, looking like it’s daring the sea to take a bite. A grass-covered stone wall and a vanished 'Little Castle' hint at layers of history hiding in plain sight. It’s exposed, dramatic, and absolutely refuses to be subtle about its location.

Explorer Tom Tory Island has seen its share of sieges, and those cliffs from Dún Bhaloir still whisper tales of old battles.

Explorer Tom Tory Island / Toraigh has a round tower, a Tau Cross and stories told by people who live there. I could fill a walk before I even got to the music. The ferry from Magheroarty is the first chapter, though, and the weather gets a say in its timetable.

Explorer Tom Teach Pobail Cholmcille Naofa is a graceful little Gothic church that cost just £392 back in 1857. I picture its eccentric window tracery looking like it was drawn by a very wobbly crayon on a windy Tory Island afternoon. It’s the kind of building that fits perfectly into a pocket-sized town.

Explorer Tom Tory Island Early Church Graveyard lies beside West Town harbour, where the survey describes a stone-built altar halfway along its west wall. A damaged cross-slab is fixed there, and another cross base was found in the graveyard in 2012. The old Civil Survey spoke of five nearly ruined churches on the island; I won't squeeze all five into this one graveyard dot.

Explorer Tom Tory Island Lighthouse has a pair of former keepers' houses built around 1885 to 1888. Their flat roofs and three chimneys make a neat row beside the light. After its 1990 automation, the buildings found other uses; the chimneys kept their places.

Explorer Tom Oileán Dúiche has a church ruin so small it is only fifteen feet long. The sole doorway stands five feet high but tapers as it rises, which is quite a fancy shape for such a tiny entrance. I reckon the builders really wanted to make sure you knew when you were getting in.

Explorer Tom Templebreaga Arch is a natural stone gateway, possibly similar to Horn Head, where you can imagine sailing through history.

Explorer Tom Magheraroarty has pulled a fine trick on the map: Atlantic on one side of a sandy spit, Ballyness Bay on the other, Inishbofin up north. That is enough directions for one beach to manage. The western shore takes a strong Atlantic wash, so I would keep my admiration on dry sand.

Explorer Tom Horn Head Portal Tomb sits right on the edge of the valley, looking out toward Tory Island. The roof is missing, so you’re essentially staring at the sky through a 33-metre-long stone corridor. It’s been leaning and settling since the Bronze Age, but that view? Absolutely worth the squint.