Glascarns Hill

Explorer Tom Croaghbane is constantly being picked on by the wind because it has the audacity to stand still while everything else around it is running for cover from the gale, looking very smug about it. Hang around long enough and you'll hear a story from a local who swears they saw a ghost.

Explorer Tom Ardnageer is the main event here, and it knows it, standing tall while its little sibling plays second fiddle down the road. It's got that 'I've seen empires rise and fall' look that makes you feel like a tourist. Bring your worst joke, because honestly, the place has heard worse from the local shepherds.

Explorer Tom Kiln in Falgarrow is a former lime kiln from the first half of the nineteenth century, surviving in relatively good condition with local rubble stone masonry. It’s modest but well-built and tied to an individual farm holding in the area. Go see if you can find any old lime residue!

Explorer Tom Edergole Bridge has splayed wing walls that look like it is doing a weird sideways dance. Those stone shoulders flare out as though they are avoiding the mountain stream's toes. Did it practice that move until the grass verges got bored?

Explorer Tom Teach Tábhairne an Rileán in County Donegal has a mouthful of a name. Say it three times fast for me and tell me how you feel! Bring your worst joke, the place has heard worse.

Explorer Tom Ard na Mona Wood had a serious falling out with the next village over whose turn it was to take out the recycling. It’s been sulking in the shadows of Banagher Hill ever since, looking very dignified about the whole mess. Ring your granny and tell her where you are.

Explorer Tom Harvey’s Point has manicured lawns running straight down to the water, which sounds like a slippery slope for anyone in heels. A Swiss family started it all, so expect some weird European quirks. Tell the kids it's a castle. Close enough.

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 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 Giant's Grave Megalithic Tomb lies deep in boggy ground between Aghla and Scraigs. The recorded gallery was five metres long, with six stones on each side. A slab across one end might not have been part of its original roof. That uncertainty is more interesting than pretending the wet ground offers an easy look inside.

Explorer Tom Donegal Railway Heritage Centre keeps the county's railway stories in an old station house, including the 1907 Drumboe engine and an interactive cab. I would begin with the engine, then try the cab to see what a driver watched. At last, a railway stop where I am allowed to stay awhile.

Explorer Tom Donegal Castle is a massive tower house that survived being burned, demolished, and converted into a Jacobean manor. You can still see the carved Brooke fireplace with its intricate strapwork and armorial coats of arms inside. It’s a proper architectural time capsule where history got very messy.