O'Doherty's Castle

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 Carrowen has wrought-iron double gates standing on rendered pillars that end in sharp pyramids. That looks less like a roof and more like two very pointy hats waiting for a giant to arrive. I suspect they are just trying to keep the rain from sneaking under the door.

Explorer Tom Bohullion Distillery was built around 1750 with a huge square chimney tower. I might lose track of the old stone rooms, but I would have to work very hard to miss that chimney. It gives the former distillery a giant pointing finger.

Explorer Tom When Balor Came West: The Second Battle of Mag Tuired sits on flat ground below Aileach, relying entirely on Eochu Ollathair’s poem rather than archaeology. I suppose it is easier to argue with a rhyme than a shovel.

Explorer Tom Coyles bar in County Donegal is probably hiding a secret stash of old pints behind the tap. I bet they serve a stout that tastes like it’s been marinating in peat for decades. Grab me a pint if you’re passing through!

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 Our Lady of Lourdes Church has a permanent grudge against the weather for constantly ruining its hairdo. The wind keeps blowing the stained glass out of alignment, and frankly, it needs to stop being so dramatic about it. Toast it with a cup of tea and move on to the next.

Explorer Tom Inch Island Standing Stones and Megalithic Tomb sound like they got stuck on a tiny island just to avoid the crowd. I bet the stones are playing a very long game of statues while the sea nips at their toes.

Explorer Tom I offered to build this Donegal fort myself, then remembered I lack an army of stonemasons. Grianán of Aileach has a trick for anyone who thinks the round wall tells the whole story: it has passages inside the wall, and they stop short of the entrance as if the stone itself forgot where it was going. Climb your eyes up three interior terraces linked by steps, then look outside for the remains of a well and a tumulus. The place was a royal seat of Aileach, but the wall you see is largely a nineteenth century reconstruction. George Petrie surveyed a ruin in the 1830s; during the rebuilding of the 1870s, workers marked untouched masonry with tar so they could tell old work from new. That is a small, honest detail I like better than pretending every stone stayed put for a thousand years. Tradition says a Munster king mostly destroyed the fort in 1101; the exact surviving fabric needs the more careful story. This hill is exposed, and the terraces deserve steady feet. Donegal has built a crown you can walk around, so take a proper look before borrowing the view.

Explorer Tom Greenan Mountain is a peak in County Donegal with no recorded access details. The picture looks north towards Inch Island, which makes me think the mountain is just using it as a background for its own very serious portrait.

Explorer Tom Inch Island is Donegal's trick for people who think an island demands a ferry. The Inch Banks road carries you over Lough Swilly to about thirteen square kilometres of fields, shoreline and old stone. Another Irish name for the place means Island of the Oysters, which is a better lunch suggestion than I usually manage. Look for the remains of a portal tomb near Carnaghan, a fifteenth-century castle above the water and a fort from the early nineteenth century at the northern end. I would tell you I built them all, but even Donegal would spot that lie. Inch Top rises about 222 metres, enough to show how the lough folds around the island. The road is public, while individual ruins and land may have their own access limits; follow signs and do not cross private fields on my authority. Take the causeway slowly. The island begins before you have finished deciding whether you left the mainland.