Mad Dog Coll

Explorer Tom An Chuirt in Gweedore is shaking its head at Storm Desmond's leftovers while you're here. Get a picture of that wet window for me.

Explorer Tom Heath Cottage in Meenderrygamp was built around 1850 and now stands empty, featuring a slate roof with decorative metal brackets.

Explorer Tom Cairn, Cronalaght is just a name on a page right now. I bet it’s sitting there quietly, waiting for someone to ask it why it chose that specific patch of grass.

Explorer Tom Factory in Killindarragh was built c.1900 with those serious crow-stepped gables, yet locals say Black and Tans used it as a barracks during the War of Independence. Did they just park their boots by the door and call it home? I bet the walls were too fancy for their taste.

Explorer Tom Danny Minnie’s must be a restaurant run by two very confused people who forgot their last names. Expect a menu item called 'Confusion' with extra garlic.

Explorer Tom Trá Dún Mór means big fort beach; perhaps there are ancient stone remnants or just a sense of grandeur in Donegal.

Explorer Tom Braade Strand has some water sitting behind the beach. I reckon the tide just got confused about which way is up there.

Explorer Tom Annagary Hill. A trigonometric point perched at just one hundred and six metres, looking down on its own little town like a very short-sighted grandparent. I reckon the view is mostly rooftops and a bit of sky.

Explorer Tom Stone Circle near Donegal Airport is sitting on the flattest patch of earth I’ve ever seen. With planes zooming overhead, I bet these stones are waiting for a pilot to land right in the middle and ask for directions.

Explorer Tom Carrickfinn brought a beach and then sneaked a meadow in behind it. Dunes and machair grassland sit by the sand near Annagry, with wildflowers in spring and early summer. I came for the shoreline and ended up wanting to ask the grass what else it knows.

Explorer Tom Errigal / An Earagail rises 751 metres above Dunlewey, with loose trails and the narrow One Man's Pass beyond the usual summit route. I would bring my best mountain manners, because the weather and my feet might disagree about the plan. The white slope is worth looking at even from below.

Explorer Tom Inis Oirthir saw its population skyrocket to forty-three in 1901 before everyone quietly vanished by 1956. That is a faster exit than most office parties, don’t you think?