Inish Samer

Explorer Tom Quay or wharf in Townparks has been soaking up the Atlantic since the River Erne met the sea back in the eighteenth century. It’s rugged rubble stone that survived the port’s heyday, so don’t be shy about checking out this old workhorse of Ballyshannon.

Explorer Tom Erne Mills in Carrickboy is a proper industrial beast from around 1800, expanded later in the 1840s. It’s derelict now, but you can still tell it was a sign of real wealth back then. The sheer scale of it is just mind-boggling!

Explorer Tom Children's playground in County Donegal has no map, which is exactly why it’s so charmingly confusing. Get lost on purpose, it’s cheaper than therapy and far more fun. Bring a map, get lost anyway, that's the fun.

Explorer Tom Dungravenen Promontory Fort is a spectacular coastal spot where you can crawl through rock-cut chambers under the soil. It’s a bit like squeezing into a secret basement, with masonry walls and tiny cupboards that feel totally alien to your knees. Just remember the flagstones are doing all the heavy lifting up there.

Explorer Tom St Anne's Church Graveyard is where the real history of Ballyshannon sleeps, next to a church that moved in 1691 and got new bones in 1841. It’s serious business with a side of tradition. Great spot to propose. Or at least to propose lunch, keep it light.

Explorer Tom McGinley's Bar sounds like the place where serious arguments happen over trivial pub trivia. Listen out for any local legends and report back exactly how cheeky the regulars are being today.

Explorer Tom Cafe Beag means little café in Irish, which is perfect because it suggests cozy intimacy rather than corporate expansiveness. Check if it's actually small enough to feel like you're sitting in someone's living room.

Explorer Tom Rory Gallagher memorial? That's just a guy who played guitar, right? Well, sort of. Go back in winter, it's a different animal when the wind is howling and you're pretending you know what you're doing.

Explorer Tom Castle at Townparks guarded the River Erne ford and got torched in 1522. Red Hugh O’Donnell even stopped here after escaping prison in 1592. It’s all gone now, but you can imagine the fire raining down on the soldiers below.

Explorer Tom Standing stone in Townparks is roughly 1.3m high and set on rock outcrop, possibly just a natural feature rather than a true standing stone. Locals say it marks a fording place of the river Erne, but with 'cat's paw' markings that might be natural too, it’s hard to know if it’s a guide or just a grumpy rock.

Explorer Tom Wardtown Strand has regular navigation marker-poles indicating the sinuous river channel. I reckon those poles are doing a lot of heavy lifting while the sand just sits there, wet and unbothered. It is a very organized mess.

Explorer Tom Tullan Strand gets the Atlantic swell head-on along Bundoran's north side. Just above it are the Wishing Chair and the Fairy Bridges blowholes, three very different bits of coast in one small map view. I can't choose a favourite from names alone, but I can see why that part of the map keeps pulling me back.