|
The second left turning, two miles south of Knappogue, brings you to the Craggaunowen Project , situated on the edge of a reedy lake under a wooded hillside (April to October, daily 9.30am-6pm; GBP4.40/?6.28). This is based around another fortified tower house, the ground floor of which houses a collection of sixteenth-century European wood carvings. The project itself aims to re-create a sense of Ireland's ancient history, with reconstructions of earlier forms of homes and farmsteads: a ring fort and a crannog , or artificial island, for example. Young workers experiment with old craft techniques, using replicas of wooden lathes, kilns and other traditional devices, and double up as guides if asked. The most adventurous, and certainly the most famous, of the working replicas here is Tim Severin's Brendan , a curragh (leather-hulled boat) in which he and four crew successfully sailed across the Atlantic in 1976, to prove that the legend of St Brendan could be true. St Brendan's story - he was supposedly the first European to reach America - is recorded in a ninth-century manuscript, and the design of the Brendan is based on its descriptions, along with the features of curraghs still used off Ireland's west coast. The result is a remarkable vessel of oak-tanned oxhides stretched over an ash-wood frame. Craggaunowen also has an actual Iron Age road , excavated at Corlea Bog, County Longford and moved to this site. Made of large oak planks placed across runners of birch or alder, it must have formed part of an important route across difficult bog. For refreshment, there's also a nice tea shop here, serving delicious homemade cakes.
Your Tip for Craggaunowen Project
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Craggaunowen Project - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Craggaunowen Project - visit the main Craggaunowen Project forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Craggaunowen Project webguide section below! Thanks.
|
