Oughtdarnid

Explorer Tom Ballykillowen Bridge puts a gentle hump over two arches and a V-shaped cutwater between them. The heritage survey found its sides hidden by vegetation: a bridge playing peekaboo. The road runs over its back.

Explorer Tom Cuilly Orange Hall looks exactly like a tiny chapel that got lost! Built in 1907, I wonder if the windows were pointed to let the prayers fly out faster? It feels like a very serious room pretending to be something holy.

Explorer Tom The Ring, Leghawny Stone Enclosure is soaked through and hides a seat-like stone structure called 'the Chair'. It’s not exactly comfortable, but it’s the perfect spot to watch the rain come down on Clogher Hill in absolute solitude.

Explorer Tom A striking Horse-chestnut stands proud in Donegal, and you might need permission to view it properly.

Explorer Tom The Coach House in Donegal is probably full of cobwebs and old horse droppings that they call 'rural charm'. The coaches haven’t come by since the last century. Ask if the horses are still around.

Explorer Tom Tower Bar in Donegal claims to be high up, but I bet it’s just a tall building with bad Wi-Fi. The tower might not even exist; could just be a sign on the roof. Check for pigeons nesting inside.

Explorer Tom Donegal Friary Graveyard sits amid a place whose history changed violently in 1601, when an explosion and fire damaged the friary during a siege. The survey says later burial use raised the ground by as much as 1.75 metres. I had to read that twice: the height records generations of burial, not a building foundation.

Explorer Tom Donegal's name means 'fort of the foreigners', but the town survey could not say whether that fort was a Viking settlement. Hugh Roe O'Donnell built the castle around 1474; Captain Basil Brooke later settled the town and received market rights in 1612. Two better-dated chapters sit beside an older unanswered name.

Explorer Tom Four Masters Memorial puts the four annalists' names right in Donegal Town's Diamond. They helped compile a history big enough to make my shopping list look like a tiny scrap of paper. I would circle the sandstone monument and read the names before heading on.

Explorer Tom During the 1601 Siege of Donegal, an accidental gunpowder blast destroyed the town's abbey amid weeks of fighting. The abbey was no castle wall, but war managed to reach it all the same.

Explorer Tom Donegal Castle looks grand across the River Eske, as seen from this visitor information point in County Donegal.

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.