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To the immediate north of Ardara, the Dawros Head Peninsula is much tamer than Glencolmcille, with many tiny lakes dotting a quilt of low hills. The terrain of purple heather, fields, streams and short glens makes a varied package for the enthusiastic walker. The first turning to Rosbeg takes you past the Sheskinmore Nature Reserve , home to Barnacle and Greenland White-footed geese. The flat sandy coastal plain and patches of short grass are popular too with choughs in late summer and hunted by hen harriers and merlins in winter. ROSBEG is an isolated village, straggling beside a series of rock-strewn coves, and you can camp among the dunes at Tramore Beach (tel 075/51491, campbell@eircom.net ). It's even lonelier out at Dawros Head itself, but at least there's the welcoming bar at the Dawros Bay House to provide succour. In contrast, the caravan and camping sites of Portnoo and Narin, on the peninsula's northern coast, are densely populated with Northern Irish tourists. Approaching Narin from Ardara, just before the pastel-shaded Kilclooney church on the right is the Kilclooney Dolmen , probably the best-preserved portal stones in the country. The capstone is over thirteen feet long and is reckoned to date from around 3500 BC. Continuing onwards, the most worthwhile sight on the peninsula is Doon Fort , which occupies an entire oval-shaped islet in the middle of Lough Doon . To get there turn left at the Rosbeg/Tramore Beach signpost a mile before Narin, then head right up the lane just after the school. A few hundred yards later you'll see a sign for boat rental leading down to a farmhouse where you can rent a rowing boat inexpensively to take you across. The idyllic setting, rarely disturbed by visitors, makes the hassle worth it: although its walls are crumbling, the fort has been untouched for over two thousand years. The walls stand 15ft high and 12ft thick; their inner passages were used in the 1950s for storing poteen. Two other lakes nearby, Lough Birrog and Lough Kiltoorish , also have ruined castles, both built by later Irish chieftains, the O'Boyles. Their stones, however, have mostly been carted away for house building. NARIN and PORTNOO offer the majority of facilities on the peninsula. The spearheaded two-and-a-half-mile-long Narin Strand is a wonderful beach, safe for bathing. At low tide you can walk out to Iniskeel Island where St Conal founded a monastery in the sixth century. This has long since disappeared, but there are the ruins of two twelfth-century churches with some cross-inscribed slabs. The villages host a seafood festival towards the end of June where you can participate in oyster-opening contests and all the bars offer seafood specials. Carnaween House in Narin (tel 075/45122; GBP26-33/?33.01-41.90) and Thalassa in Portnoo (tel 075/45151; GBP33-40/?41.90-50.79) offer good B&B ; or you could rent a caravan at Dunmore Caravan and Camping Park , by the beach in Narin (tel 075/45121; GBP60-150/?75.95-189.87 a week). The Lake House hotel in Portnoo (tel 075/45123; www.lakehousehotel.net ; GBP55-70/?69.84-88.88) offers a great deal more comfort.
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