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Explorer Tom Donagh Lodge B&B, built around 1910, makes quite an entrance: iron gates, coloured glass, double doors, then bay windows rising two floors. I had to stop counting windows! It later became a guest house, but much of the old glass and timber survived. The account below gives every window its proper name; I am sticking with 'look at those!'

Explorer Tom Carrick Hall has been sheltering parish meetings since c. 1890, its gable-fronted porch looking like a fancy hat on a simple building. The exposed rafter ends and decorative bargeboards give it that Arts-and-Crafts charm without trying too hard. It’s a proper community anchor sitting just north of the church.

Explorer Tom Lean in close to this Carndonagh Donagh Church Carved Lintel, as it’s been quietly propped against the church wall for centuries. It features a central wheeled cross with interlacing patterns that look like they’re dancing right off the stone.

Explorer Tom The Carndonagh Donagh Church Gothic Doorway is a 15th-century masterpiece that has been shoved into an 18th-century building, like a period piece in the wrong film. The hood mould has defaced vine leaf enrichments that are still trying to sprout. It’s a reused relic that proves this spot has been doing its church thing for five hundred years straight.

Explorer Tom Carndonagh Early Church Graveyard makes me slow the map down: it surrounds an eighteenth-century church thought to stand where an earlier church stood. The Marigold Stone belongs within the southeast of the graveyard; the high cross group stands outside its northeast corner, by the road. Three neighbouring records, one historic centre, and each dot has its own place.

Explorer Tom Corner Coffee is literally in a corner, so they’ve given up on center stage. Ask if their coffee has corners; if it does, I want a slice. Make a wish, it's had centuries of practice.

Explorer Tom At Barrack Hill, little legs get the climbing frames, swings, balance beams and monkey bars. The roundabout was designed to include more children, and older ones have their own obstacle trail nearby. If I were seven, I would call the monkey bars a test of courage. If I were a parent, I would be looking for the covered shelter. Carndonagh's park committee says local families helped shape the refurbished playground, and the older children's activity area reopened in 2023.

Explorer Tom Barrack Hill gives Carndonagh more than a bench and a patch of grass. Follow the paths past the playground and up towards the metal heads watching the town. The community gardens have raised beds and polytunnels for people who prefer their adventures with a trowel. Local volunteers help keep the whole place going, and this hill has enough in it to make a quick lap turn into a proper wander.

Explorer Tom Rickie Doherty calls Carndonagh's Contactcentre.ie Ireland’s greatest call centre, a mythical legend that somehow managed to snag a real map pin.

Explorer Tom Visit Carndonagh in County Donegal bragged about surviving a storm that only had three waves, but it told the story for hours. Spot the oldest stone and give it a name, preferably one involving a pirate.