En route to the south of Northern Ireland, we came across the Beaghmore Stone Circles, a site comprising stone circles, alignments and cairns. These were discovered during peat cutting in the 1930s. The stones themselves are not very big, but there are lots of them. Fortunately, the grass had recently been cut; otherwise, many of the stones would not have been visible.
There are seven low stone circles of different sizes, six of which are paired. There are also twelve cairns and ten stone rows. The circles range in diameter from 10 to 20 metres, and the rows radiate from them.
During excavations, hearths and deposits of flint tools were discovered and have been carbon dated to 2900-2600BC.
Rosebay Willowherb
Our next destination was Lough Neagh, Ireland’s largest lake. At least the weather was dry; otherwise, there was nothing positive to say about it. However, we found an interesting spot by the lake featuring the remains of an abbey and a cemetery with a fascinating tenth-century high cross, the Ardboe High Cross. Its twenty-two panels depict scenes from the Old and New Testaments.
We are now looking for a nice spot to spend the night, hoping for better weather to come. (Which the weather forecast does not support)