Former Drumrone Enclosure

Explorer Tom Church of the Holy Redeemer has a bell donated in 1934 by the Revd. Daniel S. Sheerin for his parents. I bet he rang it really loud just to make sure they could hear him from wherever they were.

Explorer Tom Drumagraa Bridge has V-profile cutwaters that look like they’re trying to shave the river! Built c. 1800, I bet the masons were really proud of those sharp stone teeth. It feels like the bridge is wearing a very serious necktie.

Explorer Tom Tullytrasna Standing Stone is probably just one very tall rock that forgot to sit down. It looks like it’s straining its ears, trying to hear if anyone is calling for help from the other side of the hill.

Explorer Tom Disert Graveyard is a D-shaped pocket inside two larger enclosures, with at least 34 low uninscribed grave markers noted across its centre. The account also records a striking custom: people took soil from near the altar because it was reputed to drive rats from houses. I'd keep that as a belief people held, not a promise from the place.

Explorer Tom Dolmen at Disert is supposedly where a chieftain druid went to sleep. I bet he cast a really long nap spell and forgot the wake-up word! Now he’s just napping under the stones, probably snoring in ancient Gaelic.

Explorer Tom Cloghmeen Hill is having a quiet rivalry with Slieve League because it’s tired of being the understudy in every photo, so it’s just standing there looking grumpy about the whole situation. It’s not saying much, but you can feel the tension radiating off its rocky shoulders like heat from a stove. Bring biscuits, every good story needs biscuits.

Explorer Tom Killin Hill sits in County Donegal, recorded as a peak with access details that remain completely unknown. The caption mentions it is three kilometres from Frosses, which makes me wonder if the hill is just hiding behind its neighbour to avoid being found.

Explorer Tom Killymard Old Church Graveyard encloses a church whose story changes after a bleak 1622 report: it was ruinous then, was later repaired or rebuilt, and remained in use until a new church opened at Ballydevitt in 1829. The earliest modern grave slab noted in the account dates to 1809. Two timelines fit inside one walled place.

Explorer Tom Donegal Town Hostel is right in the middle of the madness on the N56. If you get lost, just follow the smell of cheap coffee to find your way back home. Find the wonkiest bit and send it to your group chat.

Explorer Tom Mill Park Hotel sits outside Donegal Town on the N56, hiding a secret garden or a very old mill wheel. Peek through a window if you dare; I bet there’s something funny hiding in the shadows. Have a look and decide if I was lying.

Explorer Tom This second Wych Elm in County Donegal has been holding its breath for centuries, waiting to spill the beans about the pub next door. It swears it heard the landlord lose his shirt during the '98 storm and never got it back. Go on, count the windows and get it wrong like I did.

Explorer Tom Donegal Castle has the bones of a serious fortress and a few tempting yarns. Donegal Castle sits on a bend of the River Eske with an O'Donnell tower on one side of its story and a Jacobean wing on the other. Hugh Roe O'Donnell built the keep in the 1460s or early 1470s, when his family ruled Tír Conaill. In 1566 an English visitor called it among the strongest fortresses he had seen in Irish hands, a compliment that probably came with some political nerves attached. Later centuries left much of it ruined, before a major restoration in the early 1990s gave the rooms and rooflines back their shape. I would sell you a secret tunnel tour, except the tunnel has yet to turn up. A local tale connects the castle by tunnel to a friary downriver, but no evidence for a tunnel has been found. The castle opens as a public visitor site, with hours that can vary, so check before going inside. Follow the river afterwards and leave the tunnel to the storytellers.