Caves of Keash

Today we drove across Ireland, from Strandhill to Dublin, returned the rental car, and checked into our apartment for a few nights in the city before we fly home.  We like to break up driving days with stops to stretch our legs, of course, and so we can take in some sights in additional locales aside from where we stay.  For example, on the drive between the Causeway Hotel and Lough Eske, we made two planned stops: the Dark Hedges and Londonderry, where we walked the city walls.  The stops generally don't involve much hiking, because our typical hikes are too long to fit into driving days.  However, sometimes we make exceptions for short hikes.  Today we stopped en route to hike the Caves of Keash.  This was different from anywhere else we'd been in Ireland, and was a ton of fun.

Benbulben Forest Walk

Benbulben Mountain is an iconic part of the landscape in County Sligo, a great dramatic table top visible from miles in every direction.  It is part of the Dartry Mountain Range, the most distinct of a series of limestone peaks sculpted by glaciers during the last ice age.  Erwin had read that we couldn't climb Benbulben, but we were still drawn to the unique formation.  [This turned out to be incorrect, as it can apparently be climbed fairly readily from the south side, although parking/access can be a problem.]  Anyway, we decided to hike the Benbulben Forest Walk, an easy 5.5-kilometer loop that runs along the base of the mountain.  Because it is such a short hike, we spent the morning exploring charming Sligo town before heading out.  The boys caught a bunch of Squirtles with sunglasses (it was a Pokémon Go community day) while I got a nice spot of tea, we left a bookstore with far more weight than is reasonable to fly back over the Atlantic, and had a delicious lunch at Hooked.

Knocknarea-Killaspugbrone Traverse

When Erwin and I first visited Ireland in 2009, we spent most of our time along the west coast, but didn't make it any further north than Connemara.  County Sligo remained mysterious and alluring, and I have always wanted to come back to explore it.  Not knowing the area well, we mentally allocated time to Sligo on this trip, but not specifically for Sligo town (although we did go there) -- just for the entire region.  When it came time to secure lodging, we ended up booking at Strandhill, a little beach community nestled in the shadow of Knocknarea.  Along with Benbulben, Knocknarea is one of the most dominant and distinctive landforms in the area.  It is capped by an enormous mound of rocks, a Neolithic passage tomb thought to contain the remains of Meabh, the legendary Queen Maeve.  We already had Knocknarea on our radar as a possible hiking destination, and staying so close clinched those desires: there is a particular charm in walking out the door for the days adventure on foot.

Glencolmcille Tower Loop

When researching this trip, we learned about Napoleonic-era signal towers built between 1804 and 1806 in response to the threat of a French invasion. The towers were constructed in remote locations all along the coast of Ireland: from the northern tip of Donegal, down the west coast, around the south, and up the east side to Dublin.  There were originally 80 towers, each within sight of additional towers were visible in both directions, so that flags could be used to quickly communicate over great distances.  In other words, we would have the opportunity to visit a warning beacon of Gondor!  When Erwin discovered that the Glen Head Signal Tower, near Glencolmcille in County Donegal, is part of a marked hiking loop, this became our highest priority thing to do in Donegal.