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Instead of taking the main road to Donegal town, you could opt for a left turn by The Thatch pub at the top of the hill in Ballyshannon, which takes you along the more pleasant Rossnowlagh road, where a second signposted left turn leads to the sparse remains of ABBEY ASSAROE , founded by the Cistercians in 1184. Past the abbey and round to the left, you'll come to a restored mill beside a bubbling stream. This makes a pretty picture of millrace and rotating cog wheels, and there's an interpretive centre , The Watermills (tel 072/51580), explaining the restoration project and the role of the Cistercians in medieval Ireland. The log gate next to the old bridge takes you onto the stream's bank and leads to two artificial caves . One is a small grotto known as Catsby's; the other - now around 90ft deep - is said to have once reached all the way under the abbey and run for two miles towards Rossnowlagh. The grotto was once a site for Masses, which had to be held in secret during the enforcement of the penal laws in the eighteenth century, and you'll find in the Rossnowlagh museum the carved stone known as the Monk's Head that once sat above the entrance. A couple of hundred yards upstream are Eas Aedha Ruadh , the falls of the chieftain Red Hugh, who reputedly drowned here. A few yards up the lane from the mill and over a stone stile next to a bungalow a little track runs down to the shore of the bay . St Patrick is said to have once stepped ashore here, and today there are several rusted metal crosses perched on small stony outcrops and a tree covered in assorted weather-beaten thanksgiving mementos. The natural well here is said to have sprung up at the spot where the saint's foot touched the shore and its waters, when present, have supposed curative powers. Legend also has it that, having arrived, Patrick was driven away by a local leader named Coirbre and responded by cursing the northern side of the river with a barrenness of fish. Back on the Rossnowlagh road, two miles on, a turning leads to the tiny seaside hamlet of CREEVY . It's a tranquil, though lonely spot and a memorial on the pier sadly records the death of three local fishermen in 1988, testament to the sometime ferocity of the waters in the bay. Should you fancy staying, there's the Creevy Pier Hotel (tel 072/51236; GBP40-55/?50.79-69.84) where you can watch the waves from the bar and sample the seafood.
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