Crockaslowra

Explorer Tom Burial Ground in Kilrean Upper is stacked with layers of history that refuse to stay quiet. You’ve got 12th-century sandstone window heads and a cross-slab with swastika patterns sitting right next to modern graves. It’s a bit of a chaotic archaeological buffet, so keep your eyes peeled for the odd carvings.

Explorer Tom Holy well in Kilrean Upper is southeast of the graveyard in the old survey. A separate boulder with a carved basin lies east of the enclosure. A map ought to keep its stones in their own places.

Explorer Tom Lime kiln in Cronkeeran was built c.1860, and it still looks like it’s holding a giant bag of chalky dust. I bet the nearby cows sneezed so hard their udders popped when they ate the fertilizer.

Explorer Tom Wood Hill in Ardara is a walled garden with a circular bedding platform that looks like a giant target. It was built to serve Woodhill House, which has since altered its ways. The radiating pathways meet at the center, so if you get lost, just follow your nose back to the middle.

Explorer Tom Slí Cholmcille - Sli Dhun na nGall is another huge loop, this one sixty-five kilometers of strenuous effort. It's the kind of walk that makes you feel important and sore simultaneously. Pretend you're a lost aristocrat, nobody will check.

Explorer Tom Children's playground in County Donegal is silent enough to hear your own heartbeat, which is creepy for a place with slides. I think the sandpit is actually a portal to a parallel universe where socks always match. Bring a friend who talks too much and let the place shut them up.

Explorer Tom Doherty's smells like old boots and fresh Guinness mixed together. I reckon the floorboards are sticky from decades of spilled stout. Don't slip on the way out!

Explorer Tom Green House Bar sounds suspiciously botanical. I’m betting they serve you pints with tiny plastic leaves attached. Take a photo of the weirdest garnish you can find.

Explorer Tom John Doherty’s memorial is keeping a low profile in Donegal. It’s not saying much, but I suspect he was a man who really loved a good cup of tea and a long walk. Wave at the cows, they’re the real locals here.

Explorer Tom St. Connell's Museum and Heritage Centre lets me go from an old courtroom to the cells below, then into stories of the workhouse and Donegal railways. That is a lot of Glenties history packed into one building. I would leave the cells to the displays and keep my own visit on the friendly side of the door.

Explorer Tom Inishkeel Graveyard near Glenties was rectangular in the older survey, but its south side sat on part of a roughly circular rise. Some of that rise lay beyond the west wall, about fifty metres across. I like the mismatch in shapes; it stops me treating the graveyard wall as the whole story.

Explorer Tom Another Wych Elm in County Donegal is having an identity crisis because all the others look the same. It's very sensitive about its bark texture. Permission slips are mandatory here. Give it a little pat on the head.