Rothar Routes

Cycle routes & pilgrim journeys in Ireland and Europe …..

Posts tagged ‘Sligo’

Sligo

So much to see in Sligo, so little time to do it! I had but a fleeting visit and I took in a couple of beautiful enchanting sights – I have to get back and do a cycling tour of this underrated county. So much beauty, history and folklore.

Carrowkeel Passage Tombs above Lough Arrow

The first destination was the Passage Tombs at Carrowkeel in the Bricklieve Hills. Its’ a grand easy 3kms walk in along a well defined path with breathtaking views. The approach is along a narrow gap with towering cliff edges on both sides. This is along the popular Miners Trail Walking route. The hill tops around here are adorned with cairns and mounds, all impressive sights and they mark megalithic burial chambers. No wonder WB Yeats was so influenced by mythology, legend and fairies – it was everywhere around him here in Sligo.

There are 14 passage tombs dotted around Carrowkeel and nearby are the Caves of Kesh which I visited on my Coast to Coast cycle during the summer. The passage tombs are linked to the legendary Moytura, battleground of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the ancient Gods and the Fomorians and their leader Balor of the Evil Eye! I still have Lady Gregory’s ‘Gods and Fighting Men’ on my book shelf so it was great to do this little hike and feel the ancient lore of this inspiring landscape..

A short hike takes you up to the passage tombs at Carrowkeel with stunning views across Sligo and Leitrim..
The walk in towards Carrowkeel
Bricklieve Hills, the passage tombs are on top
Entrance to Passage Tomb
Carrowkeel view
Taken using a selfie stick – I didn’t access the tombs

The next destination on this all too brief visit was Glencar. As you leave Sligo with Benbulben in front of you, take the Manorhamilton Road down through glacial Valley that cuts into Dartry Mountain Range with Benbulben on one end and Glencar at the other end. What a beautiful valley – it’s outstanding! Glencar Lake comes into view and it isn’t long until you reach Glencar Waterfall.

Glencar

Glencar Waterfall is part of the inspiration for the Yeats poem ‘The Stolen Child’.

I think we all yearn for a return to innocence, especially in today’s world! T

he landscape here is still much as it was in Yeat’s time and its easy drift back to when he wrote these words..

Where the wandering water gushes

From the hills above Glen-Car,

In pools among the rushes

That scare could bathe a star,

We seek for slumbering trout

And whispering in their ears

Give them unquiet dreams;

Leaning softly out

From ferns that drop their tears

Over the young streams.

Come away, o human child!

To the waters and the wild

With a faery, hand in hand,

For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand.

WB Yeats
Glencar Waterfall
The Devil’s Chimney – Ireland’s highest waterfall.
Glencar Lake looking back towards Ben Bulben
Yeats was enchanted by the fairy woods…

Coast to Coast Day 4

I finally got to leave Mayo – a huge county. I could spend a fortnight cycling around it to truly take it all in! Heading into the legendary Ox Mountains, a place I’ve been intrigued with since primary school. The name conjured up some kind of magic and I recall reading fables set in the Mountains. So I was looking forward to cycling across the range today.

Love the traffic free local roads and lanes!
End of the road?

The hills were shrouded in cloud cover as I made my way out of Ballina along the winding back roads of Mayo and now Sligo. Soon the roads turned to lanes that brought me right up into the cloud and the mist where giant wind turbines suddenly appeared

Up with the wind turbines. Where did the sun go?

It was a case of putting on and taking off layers for the early part of today’s route. Rain jacket on, sweating, rain jacket off… Eventually I got off the mountain and had a brilliant road descent down by Lough Talt. With rain falling I decided to divert off my planned route and went directly into Tubbercurry along boring straight regional roads. Not my style at all.

One of the places I want to visit was one that I have passed by on a few occasions going to club matches in Sligo. The Caves of Kesh. I was delighted I took this circuitous route to take them in. They are a dramatic site, a row of 13 cave openings perched on the western edge of Kesh Mountain, part of the Bricklieve Mountains. They have long been part of the rich folklore and myth of the area and are associated with Fionn MacCumhaill, leader of the Fianna. and the Tuatha De Danann. They can be accessed by a steep winding path and care is needed along the cliff edge. The effort is worth it as there is a certain mysticism in walking through the caves and the views are amazing from the cave openings. If ever in the area, be sure to make the Caves a stopping point!

Caves of Keash
Caves of Keash
Panting heavily after the climb up to the Caves of Keash!

The plan was to then go up into the Curlew Mountains to ancient Carrowkeel but it was raining and cloudy and the effort it would take wouldn’t justify today! Instead I crossed over the edge of the Curlews and flow down into Boyle, County Roscommon where the local arts festival was in full swing. Accommodation was scare but I eventually got a B&B out the road. Had some great craic in the Crescent Bar owned by Dennis Dodd. What a character! It was so enjoyable listening to the banter between Dennis and his loyal customers. Great entertainment altogether.

81 kms today.