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CREESLOUGH |
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The sleepy village of CREESLOUGH stands on a slope commanding
gorgeous views across the head of Sheephaven Bay. Partway down its main
street is a church designed by Liam McCormack, its whitewashed whorl and
back-sloping table roof reflecting the thickly set Muckish Mountain
nearby. You can see the mountain from within the church - it's usually
swathed in mist, or what's known locally as the Donegal smir . There are
pubs and grocery stores in the village, but little to detain you for
long.
The coastal road northwards onto the Rosguill Peninsula offers a couple
of worthwhile diversions. To the left, just before Lackagh Bridge, Doe
Castle (currently undergoing works) has been superbly reconstructed. The
tall central keep, standing within a bawn and rock-cut fosse, was the
original fortress of McSwyney Doe , whose grave slab is now fixed to its
wall, and was the base for the O'Dohertys' raids on Derry in 1608. The
carving on the stone is faint, but its intricacy makes it historically
important; the seven-speared fleur-de-lis at the top represents the
close family connections with Scotland, while other carvings show a fox,
cow, dolphin and eagle, as well as Celtic tracery. A walk around the
battlements affords a view of the southernmost corner of Sheephaven Bay
; when the tide is out the whole peaceful expanse looks like a desert,
with only a slim channel of water gliding through the sandbanks. If the
castle gate is padlocked, a key is kept in the cottage fifty yards back
down the approach road where you can also buy a guide pamphlet
(£1.60/¬2.03).
Lackagh Bridge is an even better viewpoint, the curving silty shoreline
lying downstream and a ginger-brown picture of rushes and heather
reaching deep into the hills. Immediately after the bridge there's a
turnoff which runs for two miles to GLEN on a circuitous route to
Carrigart that's worth taking for the scenery and the opportunity to
drop in at the Olde Glen Bar . This is a low-ceilinged place, smoky and
atmospheric, with music at weekends and other nights too. If solitude is
what you want, this is a good area to explore: apart from Lough Glen,
there are several other lakelets in the district, all enclosed in a
silent, rocky landscape.
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