Inishowen Peninsula, Malin Head

And so it came to pass that we drove Ireland's northernmost peninsula and its northern-most point, Malin Head...

Still on the Wild Atlantic Way, but now adding the "100" spirally thing, which
we construed to be the Inishowen Peninsula loop road

Some of it inland, some of it by the water

A lot of it up and down

Stopping for lunch at Pollan Bay

Not going in the water

And finally arriving at Malin Head, Ireland's northern-most point

Announcing to American, RAF, and German planes, this is
Ireland, neutral, please do not bomb

View from the top

Old Lloyds' semaphore tower

Now working our way down the east side of the peninsula...a stone circle not
visited...the Bocan Stone Circle...although advertised in the tourist literature,
there was no clear path to it, no signage, and it was surrounded by long-horned
bovines that did not look like cows to me

Amazing Grace; Or, I Can't Believe I'm Posting This, Um, Stuff

Our proximate goal was the top of Ireland, the Inishowen peninsula, recommended to us by Rick and Kathy Howe, and before setting forth onto it, we stopped for the night at the TI (tourist information office) in Buncrana. The whole point of this post is to note that this TI, apparently one of very, very few in the Republic, offers free overnight parking for touring motor homes. While this sort of thing--aires du camping-cars, stellplatz, sostas, and similar arrangements--is commonplace in Europe, in the Isles here, either the British or Irish, it is virtually unheard of. And worth noting and recommending. So if your travels take you to Buncrana, stop at the TI, thank them, go into town and spend some money. Plus, if you stop at the TI at Buncrana, you'll be parked right next to the brand new "Amazing Grace" park and garden, and will be able to read the story of the bloke who wrote the hymn. Another wicked and iniquitous person turned righteous and god-fearing thanks to falling off his horse/being struck by lightning/a really bad hangover/being storm-tossed in the Atlantic for days and days/etc. Details follow.

En route to town

Parked at the TI in Buncrana

Plus they also have free wifi

Grianan Ailligh

Continuing our northerly route, we drove up to Grianan Ailligh, a ring fort perched atop a hill with commanding views of Donegal, Derry, and Tyrone counties. Built in the midst of the Iron Age, 1st century AD, it is marvelously well preserved, dry stone construction, a lintelled entrance, with walls 5 meters high and nearly as thick. Archaeologists conjecture it rests on a neolithic cairn and was at the crossroads of neolithic paths.

Perched high indeed

With commanding views

Pano

Photos by Vicki, who climbed up to the battlements

Donegal Castle

Well, it's just a tower house actually, built by Red Hugh O'Donnell in the 15th century, burned and abandoned when the Brits arrived and the O'Donnells fled, given to a Capt. Basil Brooke in the early 17th, who rebuilt it and added the Jacobean annex. It affords a good look at what a tower house was like, was free with our Irish Heritage card, and was on the way....

Jacobean annex

The garderobe--and we thought the "long drops" in Nepal were
long...

Tudor fireplace

Helpful model #10,397; back in the time of Red Hugh

In the Jacobean annex

Strandhill

During my recovery we spent a couple days/nights at a campground at Strandhill, Sligo's beach, as it were.

Still on the great road

Our pitch

The view

Strandhill is a bit of a surfing place, and several schools operate
from here 

Among Yeats' poems...Knocknarea and Maeve

Surfing school

Sand dunes

Looking the other way, more surfing students