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The first sizeable settlement west of Donegal town is MOUNTCHARLES , straggling up a steep hillside. Near the top of the hill stands a bright green pump commemorating the birth nearby of the poet and seanachie (storyteller) Seamus MacManus. The village is a sea-angling centre and boats can be rented from Michael O'Byrne (tel 073/35257). FROSSES ( na Frosa - "the showers"), a mile or so inland off the road between Mountcharles and Inver, is a pleasant, crossroads hamlet that has occasional celidhs on Sunday nights in the village hall (dancing begins at 10pm), while Breslin's bar hosts traditional sessions on Saturdays. The cemetery here contains the graves of the poet Seamus MacManus and his wife, the very underrated poet, Ethna Carberry. At the end of the nineteenth century, Carberry and Alice Milligan edited the important nationalist literary paper Shan Van Vocht ( sean bean bocht - "the poor old woman", an oft-used euphemism for Ireland). Continuing west, the secluded seaside village of INVER with its small strand, just a few hundred yards off the road, is a tranquil spot and affords good views over Inver Bay. The Rising Tide pub is good for a drink (or to hear traditional music on Sat & Sun) and has a ceiling in the shape of the hull of a boat and stone shelves for the spirit bottles. It was also the birthplace of Thomas Nesbitt, inventor of the harpoon gun. At DUNKINEELY there's the Blue Moon hostel (tel 073/37284, bluemoonhostel@eircom.net ), with space for camping, and Wednesday night traditional sessions in McIntyre's . Another deviation left from the main road takes you first past Castlemurray House Hotel (tel 073/37022; GBP55-70/?69.84-88.88), noted for its comfortable accommodation and French gourmet meals (dinner around GBP20/?25.32, though you'll need to book ahead), then down a long, narrow promontory to St John's Point , where a crumbling castle stands at the tip. As you head south, there are great views over Donegal Bay, especially back towards the narrow entry of Killybegs bay, with Rotten Island at its mouth. The waters off the Point are reckoned to offer the best diving in Ireland. If you decide to stay, take advantage of the strategically positioned Harbour Lights B&B (March-Oct; tel 073/37291; GBP33-40/?41.90-50.79). A little west of Dunkineely, approaching BRUCKLESS , you'll spot a magical little lagoon staked out with poles for rearing mussels. On the other side of the lagoon you can see an eighteenth-century Georgian house, Bruckless House (tel 073/37071, bruc@iol.ie ; GBP55-70/?69.84-88.88), which now offers stylish B&B . There's also an excellent hostel in Bruckless, Gallagher's Farm Hostel , Darney (tel 073/37057; homepage.eircom.net/~farmhostel ), with camping. Also here is Deane's Open Farm (April-Sept; tel 073/37160; GBP2/?2.53) offering riding lessons, trekking and a pitch-and-putt course. The village's only pub, Mary Murrin's , has recently been splendidly refurbished and provides good-value bar meals, including a children's menu.
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