Half time on Whiddy

An incredible day!!  After the excitement of son#1's visit I had stuff to catch up with in the morning but at 2pm we rendezvoused in Wolfe Tone Square in Bantry with our pals Robert and Finola and headed off into the hills for an afternoon of exploration and intrigue.  First stop the Coomhola valley and a field full of boulder burials and a small stone circle. Very interesting. Back in the car and off to Kealkil and a mooch around the holy well dedicated to the BVM, jam-packed with statues, immaculately (!) kept and everything a dazzling blue. Onwards to Carriganass castle, now a shell but situated on a magnificent site overlooking gushing cascades, currently full of little boys splashing. Next stop Maughanasilly stone row (boggy knoll of the withies or something similar) - see extra. Another amazing site and some impressive cloudage going on.  Current thinking is that this was aligned with lunar goings-on. Down teeny winding lanes, past lakes and then up high into the mountains to admire Kealkil megalithic complex - a small stone circle, two massive standing stones and a radial cairn (see extra). You have to squelch through cowpatty bog to get here but you end up on top of the world with some incredible views in all directions - a very special place. Back through the bog, avoiding the cattle - one with an interesting spiky green ring through his nose which Himself reckoned was a weaning device. Another stone circle beckoned across the valley but time was running out - we had a ferry to catch!
Back in Bantry and we joined the actors and audience going out to Whiddy Island to watch Fit-Up Theatre production version of Martin McDonagh’s The Lonesome West. By this time starving, we wolfed back chips and watched more ferries arriving before going to watch the play. The evening was so beautiful it was decided to hold the play outside- see last extra. The play was typical McDonagh - very black, wicked humour, murders and suicides and a lot of general unPCness. I have to confess to being totally distracted by the location- amazing skies, loud seagulls and the odd rumble of distant silage making! My blip is from half time when the light was just amazing. The rather odd boat on the left is the car ferry  that takes men and materials to Whiddy where there is also a large oil terminal. Our ferry was the little blue job in the extras.
We rolled home at 11pm, chilled to the bone but what a unique day!