Climbed up to the ancient Neolithic & Bronze Age tombs on top of Slieve Gullion. Beautiful morning at sea level but bitterly cold and very windy up there. However, a nice way to spend the day off work!
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR3HFUsgF1Y
Struell Wells was built around a stream flowing through a secluded valley. It was a popular place of pilgrimage from the 1600s until the 1840s. The waters were believed to have curative powers and the site has a ruined church, two bath-houses (one for men, one for women) and two roofed wells, all fed by the stream.
The wells date from before the time of Saint Patrick, and even today are used for people seeking cures. On Mid-Summer Eve (St John's Eve) and the Friday before Lammas, hundreds of pilgrims used to visit Struell. The earliest written reference to the wells is in 1306, but none of the surviving buildings is earlier than about 1600.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=catS0xYVYiU
An historic site in Kilroot probably best known for its Jonathan Swift (author of Gulliver's Travels) connection. There are 'Do Not Enter' signs up as the building is in danger of collapsing...a large crack runs down one of the walls. Getting into the property involves a 10 foot drop over the cemetery wall...easy to get down but more difficult climbing back up, so I made do with views from the exterior
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMlDabGZh1M
One of the 3 main tombs of the Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site and the least busy in terms of visitors. I was the only person there on that morning. Like the other tombs, Newgrange and Knowth, Dowth also has kerbstones that are decorated with rock art though it is harder to see due to the ravages of time...and unfortunately access to the 2 chambers is not possible as the gates are locked.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAgGVXtgaJk
This tomb dates to between 3,000 and 2,500 BC. Although the capstone has slipped, and is now resting on the backstone, and only one of the portal stones is still in position, the chamber is still in good condition. It is possible that some of the cairn material still remains, hidden under the hedgerow.The tomb is orientated in a NE direction. Just 10 metres east of the portal tomb is the remains of another chambered grave (this may be a wedge tomb, there are what appears to be a capstone and some othostats lying around the remains of a large mound).
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Mbprrnc4Ik
I think this is a walk that has become a bucket-lister for many in N.Ireland so I'm glad to have done it. It gets tough as you near the mountain and the climb up the stair section is a killer but the views are spectacular from the top. I was surprised to see so many people on the walk especially as it was midweek.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsIvxAPs8x0