Lough Key Forest Park and The Carrowkeel Megalithic Tombs: Day 22 – Ireland 2014
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30 April 2014
We woke to a rainy, cloudy day. After a rather comfortable night of camping, with rain lulling us to sleep, we broke camp early and got on the road. Our first stop of the day would be Lough Key Forest Park, and no amount of rain was going to stop us. But first, a detour.
Remember how I said in the last post that I was really bummed about missing out on the Kylemore Abbey gift shop? Well, I was REALLY bummed, so we decided to make the quick drive over and hit it when it opened! I was not disappointed. And the best part? A fog-shrouded Kylemore Abbey to greet us.
After a quick shop, we were back on the road and we passed this neat little turn-off. Seriously, it inspires all kinds of stories in me. I wonder what we would have found at the end of it.
Lough Key Forest Park
Lough Key Forest Park drew us in for two reasons. First, there is a tree canopy walk, and second, there is a history with a large estate house that once stood on the property. Lord knows we love us some history!
It was still raining when we arrived, as it would be for most of the day, but we had our rain gear on, so the gentle rain didn’t bother us as we checked in at the campsite and set up our tent. We didn’t know if the rain would worsen, so we figured it would be best to set up camp when it was still calm.
From the campsite, it’s an easy walk to the visitor center through a beautiful nature trail. When we were almost to the visitor center, we passed by the lake and could see a swan close to the water’s edge. We walked closer for a better look and were granted an amazing site. I saw something thrashing in the water, and upon closer inspection, immediately took a step back. There was something tangled up with a snake. My next thought was, are there snakes in Ireland? So I stepped closer for a better look. It was an otter wrestling with an eel!
WHAT?!
We couldn’t believe it! Our pictures aren’t the best because they were moving away from us at a pretty fast pace, but here they are for you anyway. You can click on them to make them larger.
Once inside, we asked the gentleman working if he’d ever seen an eel or otter in the lake and then explained what we’d seen. His reply? We were incredibly lucky to see the otter, let alone it wrestling with an eel. He hadn’t seen an otter there in years. Lucky us! Lough Key Forest Park was already proving worth the visit!
Rockingham House
History calls to us, so our first agenda was to see Rockingham House, or at least see what was left of it. On our walk over, we were first greeted by this fellow:
There was an audio tour, but I don’t remember all of what it said. If my memory serves, this is the servant and delivery tunnel. It was put in place so that the comings and goings behind the scenes of the main house went unnoticed. The site that greeted so many for years upon exiting this tunnel is not the same as what you’ll see today. Instead of the glory of Rockingham House, you’ll see this:
Unfortunately, in 1957, the house caught fire and burned nearly to the ground. In 1971, the remaining walls of the house were finally knocked down, and the tower that stands now was built in 1973. (For more history on the land and surrounding grounds of the house, click here.)
While the Moylurg Tower may not be pretty to look at, you can get some incredible views from the top. Looking down, you can see the footprint of the old house, and looking out, you get gorgeous views of the estate, including Lough Key (the lake).
Once again, we were lucky enough to experience this site alone. Perhaps due to the rainy weather, no one was in sight for our entire visit to the park. Because of this, we really took our time at the top of the tower. The views are stunning and I’m so glad we didn’t feel rushed. When we had taken in our fill, we left the footprint of the great house the way that we’d come, through the servant’s tunnel.
Tree Canopy Experience
The second attraction at the park that really drew our attention was the Tree Canopy Experience. Almost 30 feet up, there is a wood and steel walkway through the treetops. It may be a short walk, only about 1000 feet, but it is gorgeous. I love being up in the trees, so very close to nature. You’re on the same level as the birds and you’re literally walking through the treetops. We walked VERY slowly, making our journey last as long as possible. There are some beautiful lookout spots as well. Naturally, I was enjoying myself far too much and I forgot to take pictures. Shame on me!
We finished our exploration of the park with plenty of time left in the day, so after lunch at the park’s cafe, we decided to jump ahead of schedule and see one of the things on our list for the next day. Might as well, right? Plus, the campground where we’d set up our tent had a security guard, so we weren’t worried about leaving it behind. With that comfort, we hopped in the car and headed out!
Carrowkeel Megalithic Tombs
Just a half-hour down the road from Lough Key Forest Park, high on the hilltops, rests the Carrowkeel Megalithic Tombs. Thank goodness my brother had let us borrow his TomTom because I don’t think we’d have found our way without it, and honestly, that would have been a tragedy.
The roads went from small paved roads to dirt roads to single-track dirt roads with grass growing up the middle. Finally, we came to a gate. Just your regular gate, but with a sign on it. Something to the effects of, ‘Megalithic tombs ahead. Keep gate as found. Don’t let sheep out’.
AWESOME.
Not far through the gate was another sign warning us to park there unless we were in a vehicle with four-wheel drive. We weren’t, so we parked and headed out on foot. We enjoyed the rainy, kilometer walk among the sheep and up to the top of the mountain. After reaching the summit, we spotted them. Three mounds of rock rising out of the ground, beckoning us to explore.
As much as I wanted to have a look, I wasn’t going to be the first one in. I’ve seen way too many horror flicks to know not to go into the deep, dark hole first. So, ever the brave, Billy crawled in. We explored two of the tombs, as one was a very tight squeeze to get through, and I wasn’t sure that even I could fit. As I mentioned before, it was raining. It had been raining all day. These tombs were dry inside, not one drop of water. That’s a lot to be said of just stacked stone, no mortar. Still watertight, centuries later.
Some of the following pictures might be confusing to look at without some back story. There a lot that are only pictures of stone. If you’re trying to figure out the angle, imagine looking up. There are a few pictures of neat stones inside the tombs, but many are taken looking up at the capstone. It was so hard to try and capture the size inside, but they were surprisingly big!
History Of Carrowkeel
These hilltop cairns, meant as burial places or cemeteries, date from the Neolithic period. There are more tombs in this complex than just the three we visited. We didn’t know it at the time, but there are 14 tombs in total that make up the complex. We saw three and were correct in thinking that we could see another one on the next hilltop. You can see it in the photo just above the panorama in the gallery above. It’s that little bump on the hilltop to the left of the valley.
The first excavation to take place at the tombs was conducted in 1911. To say it was a botched job would be an understatement. It was very rushed, investigating eight tombs in a matter of only 15 days, and much of the archaeological knowledge that they could have gained was lost instead. Still, there was much recovered, including beads, pottery fragments, human ashes, and human bones.
Remember Respect
Being able to step into these incredible places ourselves felt like another world. Trying to picture the people that built these tombs, who they laid to rest there, what their beliefs might have been, there’s no way you can avoid thinking about it while visiting. Out of our entire month in Ireland, this is probably in our Top 5 of places visited. If you get the chance to see the cairns in person, do it. But please, be respectful when you’re there. The cairns are fragile, don’t climb on them. And remember when you’re inside that hundreds upon hundreds of years before you stepped foot there, mourning people laid their loved ones to rest in those spaces. I know that we’re smiling in our photos because, honestly, it was pretty incredible, but we also took time to be quiet and reflect on the purposes of the tombs we stood inside.
For more history and an awesome drone video of the cairns we visited and those we saw nearby, check out this page.
For more visitor photos, click here.
Back To Camp
The rest of our evening was uneventful. I’m sure we grabbed dinner somewhere, but I didn’t note it. I remember walking the nature trail again and enjoying the scenery once back at Lough Key Forest Park. Eventually, we just took to our tent and went to bed. The only significant thing that stands out in my memory of that evening was when the security guard scared the daylights out of us later that night.
At some point, we woke up to footsteps slowly approaching our tent. It wasn’t until he was nearly upon us that we remembered him telling us he did rounds through the campsite a few times during the night. I peaked out, and sure enough, that awesome guy had walked all the way out to check on us. After that, it was peaceful sleeping till morning.
Cheers,
Lydia and Billy
