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Around the big placesGo to Stonehenge. Then see what's right beside it.People queue for hours at Stonehenge and never see what's on the road beside it: barrows, banks and old ground with nobody there. Do 10 or 15 of them in two hours.
What nobody tells youIf they can't make money out of it, they don't advertise itThe places on the posters are the ones with a ticket office. The castles, wells, forts and wrecks with nothing to sell never get advertised. That's exactly why they're worth finding.
How to read a placeOne place tells you nothing. Put them together and the story appears.Look at one old cross or church on its own and you get the shallowest understanding imaginable. See the places beside it together and the whole story appears. Carndonagh shows how.
On holidaysWhat was right beside my hotelI stayed beside the Imperial War Museum in London. The thing I still remember wasn't in the museum. It was a small plaque on an ordinary house around the corner.
Days out with kidsDo the kids want you to spend €150 on the amusements?Kids love discovering things. A castle, a cave, a wreck on the beach becomes an adventure they never forget, and there are enough around every house for a lifetime of weekends.
Train your eyeOnce you've seen a few, you see them everywhereAfter visiting a handful of old forts, wells and burial mounds you start spotting them everywhere, even the ones nobody ever marked. There's one beside my house.
Around the big placesEveryone goes to Grianán of Aileach. Nobody sees the wells.Thousands climb to the stone fort at Grianán of Aileach. Right beside it are holy wells people once came from far away just to wash their faces in. Almost nobody knows they're there.
What nobody tells youHoly wells: the oldest free day out in IrelandThere are thousands of holy wells in Ireland. People walked to them for a thousand years before anyone sold a ticket to anything. Most are a short drive from your door.
What nobody tells youFairy forts: why nobody cuts the treeThere are tens of thousands of fairy forts in fields across Ireland. Every farmer knows where theirs is, and nobody touches the tree. Here's why they're worth a look.
Around the big placesThe Cliffs of Moher, and the castles nobody stops atEveryone goes to the Cliffs of Moher. A few minutes away are Doonagore and Ballinalacken castles, old walks and wells, with nobody there. Do both in one trip.
Date ideasNobody fancies someone who's never been anywhereCheap date ideas that aren't dinner and a film. A ruin at sunset costs nothing and beats any restaurant. There's one near you.