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BANGOR |
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| About 25 miles north from Achill, BANGOR (or sometimes Bangor Ennis)
is pleasant enough, although its landlocked location makes it less
exciting than the seaside places nearby. Bangor marks the start of a
spectacular 22-mile hike, the Bangor Trail , an ancient route that runs
southeast through the Nephin Beg Mountains to Newport. As R.L. Praeger,
who walked the route in 1937 wrote: "Where else even in Ireland will you
find this hundred square miles which is homeless and roadless - nothing
but brown heather rising as far as you can see& into high bare hills
breaking down here and there in rocky scarps, with the Atlantic winds
singing along their slopes?" It is indeed lonely country, with the
legacy of the Famine visible everywhere, but the desolation of the
landscape can be exhilarating. A couple of fine guides to the route are
available from most newsagents in the area: County Mayo, The Bangor
Trail (£6/¬7.62) by Joe MacDermott, and the locally produced Bangor
Trail by Uinsíonn MacGrath and Theresa ní Ghearraigh. |
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