|
The sleepy village of CREESLOUGH stands on a slope commanding gorgeous views across the head of Sheephaven Bay. Partway down its main street is a church designed by Liam McCormack, its whitewashed whorl and back-sloping table roof reflecting the thickly set Muckish Mountain nearby. You can see the mountain from within the church - it's usually swathed in mist, or what's known locally as the Donegal smir . There are pubs and grocery stores in the village, but little to detain you for long. The coastal road northwards onto the Rosguill Peninsula offers a couple of worthwhile diversions. To the left, just before Lackagh Bridge, Doe Castle (currently undergoing works) has been superbly reconstructed. The tall central keep, standing within a bawn and rock-cut fosse, was the original fortress of McSwyney Doe , whose grave slab is now fixed to its wall, and was the base for the O'Dohertys' raids on Derry in 1608. The carving on the stone is faint, but its intricacy makes it historically important; the seven-speared fleur-de-lis at the top represents the close family connections with Scotland, while other carvings show a fox, cow, dolphin and eagle, as well as Celtic tracery. A walk around the battlements affords a view of the southernmost corner of Sheephaven Bay ; when the tide is out the whole peaceful expanse looks like a desert, with only a slim channel of water gliding through the sandbanks. If the castle gate is padlocked, a key is kept in the cottage fifty yards back down the approach road where you can also buy a guide pamphlet (GBP1.60/?2.03). Lackagh Bridge is an even better viewpoint, the curving silty shoreline lying downstream and a ginger-brown picture of rushes and heather reaching deep into the hills. Immediately after the bridge there's a turnoff which runs for two miles to GLEN on a circuitous route to Carrigart that's worth taking for the scenery and the opportunity to drop in at the Olde Glen Bar . This is a low-ceilinged place, smoky and atmospheric, with music at weekends and other nights too. If solitude is what you want, this is a good area to explore: apart from Lough Glen, there are several other lakelets in the district, all enclosed in a silent, rocky landscape.
Your Tip for Creeslough
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Creeslough - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Creeslough - visit the main Creeslough forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Creeslough webguide section below! Thanks.
|
