Highlights

Donegal: The Forgotten Land Part III

Today we dedicate it to exploring the Banagh Peninsula, the weather does not promise very well.
The Storm Barra is coming but we know that the Irish panic from the storm for a short time and staying in the room for a day certainly risks killing me!
Just the idea makes my feet itch.

Muckross Head

Okay, the sky is beautiful, but there is a considerable wind, I have to shore up myself to be able to take a picture that does not seem to be taken by a drunk.

Muckross Head, Donegal
Matteo seems to like Muckross Head

For the record it is a wind that is about 50km/h, so if you were to find a higher wind evaluate the hypothesis that it can literally move you.
This peninsula is much loved by climbers.
It is a fairly unusual cliff composed of a horizontal layering of sandstone interspersed with mudstones (I have not found a translation but literally it would be muddy rocks) that have been eroded faster and that have produced the characteristic overhangs so loved by friends with manganous hands.

Killybegs

Along the delightful streets we arrive in Killybegs (Na Cealla Beaga) , the largest fishing town in all of Ireland! Said so it seems huge but in reality it is all port.
The Irish name means “small cells” and refers to the ancient settlements of monks.
I would love to go back in the summer when the street festival is held to celebrate fishing during which boats are blessed.

Monks' cells in Killybegs
Monks’ cells
Donegal carpet
Donegal carpet

I would also have liked to see the largest frame in Ireland (first at the Donegal Carpet Factory but since 2006 moved to the Maritime & Heritage Centre) but unfortunately that museum was also closed.
Killybegs is not only famous for the port but also for its tapestries and carpets.
Think that these carpets, known as Donegals, are knotted by hand according to the Turkish style and have been exported almost everywhere: Buckingham Palace, the White House and even the Vatican!
In the end I consoled myself with a great Fish & Chips at the port, it was worth the thought to stop!
Before leaving the city we make a small stop in search of a geocache that takes us from these three nice beehive houses, those used by the first Irish monks.

Glengesh Pass

Glengesh Pass (Donegal)
Glengesh Pass

This winding stretch of road connects Glencolmcille to Ardara.
The name Glengesh is as old as the legends of Irish heroes.
The “geis” (or gesh) is a form of taboo for the protection of the warrior and prohibits certain actions: breaking the taboo brings dishonor or even death; we can think of it as an oath.
What could happen was that the warrior was placed under two different oaths that could conflict with each other.
This happened to Cuchillain, one of Ireland’s greatest heroes.
He had vowed never to eat dog meat and to always accept hospitality.
Once, guess what?
An old woman (in my opinion she was a witch and knew about Cuchillain’s vows) offered our hero a meal that contained dog meat and he had to eat it.
As you can imagine, it didn’t go well for him…

The scenery you find yourself in front of you is the result of the work of nature and is twenty thousand years old.
At that time a huge ice sheet covered most of Ireland.
A glacier decided to move downstream bringing with it rocks and debris.
To this day the River Glengesh tirelessly continues this ancient process of sculpting the landscape in front of you.

Glengesh Pass

Assaranca Waterfall

We are lucky because with the rain that came tonight the waterfall does not languish, it is in full flood!
They are also called the Ardara Falls as they are very close to the city of the same name, while the name Assaranca means the “waterfall of the great mouse”.
I honestly haven’t seen mice and unfortunately I’m running out of Irish people eager to tell me the story.
This waterfall is located right along the road and has a small parking lot so you can include it in any itinerary as a quick stop.
But let’s come to my favourite place of the day, and for now Donegal…

Assaranca Waterfall
Assaranca Waterfall

Maghera Beach!

I had seen from the photos on the internet that it promised well.
Seeing it as people, it definitely exceeds my expectations.
Especially because once you park the car (in a private parking lot for which they ask for € 3 in summer, I suppose, since there is no one) you walk in the middle of gentle sand dunes covered with soft turf that sway in the wind.
At the end of the dunes, however, we find a mini sandstorm!
Watch the video to get an idea.


I felt catapulted into an adventure; Matteo and I, alone discovering an unknown beach.
A storm blocks our passage, but we struggle, eat sand and overcome the bottleneck to be shocked by the beauty of the landscape.

Maghera Beach (Donegal)
Maghera Beach

A fine white beach, surrounded by beautiful colored rocks.
A stormy sea and a wind so strong that the surface sand flies that creates a “silk fabric” effect to take your breath away.
We are alone!
The beach is ours for today!

I leave to explore the caves but my adventure is short, one is full of water, another ends after a while and the others are blocked by high tide.
There are as many as 20 caves, 8 arches and 5 tunnels so we will definitely be back for new explorations!
Once back home I discovered a disturbing side of this beach that may have changed my experience (thank goodness I discovered it after seeing it).

The massacre at the beach

It tells of a massacre that took place on this beach; a massacre of people from the area who were probably hiding from Cromwell’s troops.
However, history tells us that his troops have never ventured so far north.
It is therefore unlikely that it was Cromwell, if all this really happened they may at most have been Vikings.
In any case, the story is still handed down orally, so much so that many locals do not like to come to this beach for the sense of restlessness that it transmits to them.
It tells of a single survivor who, accompanied by his dog, fled inside a cave continuing to crawl in the dark and damp, in search of freedom.
The man never managed to get to the end of the tunnel but the dog, after losing all his fur, re-emerged in Glencolumbkille (also in County Donegal), 20km away from the beach!
To complete the day, still having a bit of light, we went to Malin Beg where there are like a thousand thousand steps to reach the beach, but it’s worth it!

Malin Beg
Fancy a walk in the moonlight?

Good night!

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