House in Aughnish

Explorer Tom Kilcreen Catholic Chapel was built around 1820. The survey records its roofless T-shaped walls, pointed arches and a later altar plaque reading 'Peace in our time'. It stands in a graveyard; the words deserve a quiet reading.

Explorer Tom Kilcreen National School's 1936 porch gave boys and girls separate doors. If I forgot which one was mine after the summer, that would be my first lesson of the term. The building has its own school-day trick question.

Explorer Tom O'Shaughnessy's Bar in Ramelton is open late, so grab a pint and keep me company while I get lost. It’s getting dark out here, and I can’t find my way back. Go with someone who loves old stuff and watch them melt.

Explorer Tom Tullyaughnish Old Church Graveyard has been hanging around since 1622, which is basically forever in church years. Sir William Stewart built it, so the locals were definitely keeping up with the trends back then. I bet the ghosts are still complaining about the new church. Take a pic of the old stones!

Explorer Tom European Beech in County Donegal is just a tree, but make it sound important or people will think you’re wasting time. It’s probably plotting something against the squirrels or the weather. Ten minutes here and you'll have a yarn for the pub, claim you spoke to its roots.

Explorer Tom Rowan in County Donegal is hiding because it thinks it wards off witches, but I'm pretty sure it just hates the rain. It needs permission to exist properly. Ask it politely if it wants a cup of tea.

Explorer Tom Crevary Upper Court Tomb stands as a mysterious stub on the pasture, just west of Rathmullan. The old records claim a massive five-metre gallery once stretched here, but today it’s mostly vanished. Two tall jambs remain, staring out across Lough Swilly like they’re waiting for the rest of their body to turn up.

Explorer Tom Burt Castle's roofless keep still stands on the hill, with two round corner towers and rows of gun-loops. The old account even records a spiral stair with broken steps in the south-west tower. I would admire that stubborn stonework from safe ground; those steps sound like trouble.

Explorer Tom Inch Castle Promontory Fort sits right on Farland Bank, which is a bit of a mystery since the records are silent. But that coastal edge? I bet the wind there has been roaring since ancient times, keeping the ghosts perfectly chilled.

Explorer Tom Old Castle is a stubborn tower house that has survived since 1454, even if Mr. Skinner never finished his rebuild. The east half stands three storeys high with intact vaults and murder holes, while the rest lies in ruins. It’s a proper cliff-edge survivor that refuses to fully crumble away.

Explorer Tom The Traveller's Inn at Kilmacrennan Road junction might be hiding a map in the sauce. I bet the chef knows where the lost gold is buried under the fries. Have a chat with it, nobody's watching.

Explorer Tom Croaghan Hill hides a passage tomb that dwarfs its own defensive walls. The enclosure is barely a metre high, yet it shelters a mound three metres high and twenty-one metres across. I bet the ancient builders felt rather small inside their own home.