Another Climb up Knocknarea

August 30:

Once more,  another climb up to the top Knocknarea to visit Queen Maeve's cairn.  I take a special flat stone with me in the shape of the mountain and bring it back down again.  It will be my reminder of  the task at hand to finish this blogsite and to translate it into a book format.

We are having a high pressure weather cell over Ireland at the moment creating stunning warm, dry weather.  There is no place like Ireland when the weather is like this.  I think this is the time when all those lovely blue skied sunny postcard pictures of Ireland are taken.

On our way up to Knocknarea, we stopped at Breeogue Pottery off from the Ransbourgh roundabout.  It is here that we have had the baby hand and footprints of Maeve and Connor cast.  Grainne has come to know us from our past visits.  This time, we have decided to come back so we can buy a lovely piece of glazed pottery she crafted about three years ago.  We have eyed it each visit there.   It is a tall 3 foot high glazed ceramic tower wired with an electric light bulb inside it.  The light comes out the side  through a scattering of small cutout star holes created in the tower.  This lit tower we will place in the hall to be a beacon for us, and to welcome all who visit us and enter our home here in Collooney.

This picture is of Maeve's cairn
on the top of Knocknarea.

In the background is Sligo bay,
Benbulbin and Donegal Bluestack Mountains

The climb up to the top of the Knocknarea took about 35 minutes and rewarded us with a view of five counties, Sligo and the view of Benbulbin and the hills of Kesh Corran,  off over to Donegal and the Bluestack mountains as well as majestic Slieve League,  to the south far off into Mayo,  across over to the mountains of Leitrim,  and into Roscommon. 


After spending time on the top of the mountain, we weaved our back back down the stony path (about 3.5 km)  with the thought that the Venue and a pint to refresh us was not far away.