Tullynafinnage

Explorer Tom Tully Customs and Excise Patrol Station has a wooden sign that looks like it’s shouting at the border. Built around 1930, I wonder if the officers yelled 'Stop!' in English or Irish while checking for smuggled chocolate bars.

Explorer Tom Lough Rath Bridge crosses a stream that is too shy to say its name. I picture it wearing a tiny hat and whispering, 'I am Ballintra’s little cousin,' while the c. 1860 masons pretend not to notice.

Explorer Tom Saints Island sounds like the place to land for the Lough Derg pilgrimage, but that is Station Island next door. This island held the early monastery; Lough Derg calls it overgrown and inaccessible. Even my map needs the two islands kept straight.

Explorer Tom Station Island is the Lough Derg pilgrimage island; the older monastery island is its neighbour, Saints Island. The traditional pilgrimage lasts three days. I would want the current dates and a proper booking sorted before I packed, because a lake crossing deserves more planning than my usual wandering.

Explorer Tom St Patrick's Cross on Station Island is a 1.3m shaft wrapped in spiralling bands that look like ancient rope. It’s said to have been moved here from Saint's Island, which sounds like a bit of a logistical nightmare back then. Standing next to the penal beds, it feels like a tiny, confused survivor of a much bigger monastic operation.

Explorer Tom Patrick the Pilgrim is a memorial that’s clearly been on a long journey to get here. St. Patrick’s Purgatory is in the background, which suggests this guy had some serious spiritual homework to do. Stand where the owner stood and practise looking smug.

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 Pettigo Inn is full of people talking about Pettigo as if it were Paris right now. Nod along and order the special; you won’t know what it is until it hits your tongue with a punch. Best seen with a hangover and a sausage roll.

Explorer Tom Donegal Castle is a massive tower house that survived being burned, demolished, and converted into a Jacobean manor. You can still see the carved Brooke fireplace with its intricate strapwork and armorial coats of arms inside. It’s a proper architectural time capsule where history got very messy.

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.

Explorer Tom Hawthorn in County Donegal is having a bit of a tantrum about needing permission to be seen. I'm told it's fancy stuff, but honestly, just hugging it might scare the locals off. Give it a wink for me.

Explorer Tom Murvagh Beach has a wartime lookout hut that Joy Browne, writing for Donegal tourism, remembers playing in as a child. She says erosion has since sunk it into the sand and made entry impossible. A lookout hut retiring by burying its feet is theatrical enough for me; I would leave it to its rest.