29/07/2024

‘Why Donegal?’ is a question we have been asked many times. Let’s use today’s casual ramble as an answer. It’s a typical summer’s day - blue sky to the right, big threatening black ogre-cloud to the right. Hard to know which way it will go - sun cream or umbrella. We find a sign for Killaghtee Cross, it’s pointing us towards rusty gates with a loop of blue fish rope flopping redundantly, so it looks like we’ve hit opening time. We follow a gloriously overgrown track,with dappled sun beaming through the branches, cabbage white butterflies are darting from leaf to leaf in a crazy dance-off with other buzzy things, there’s a silence made of humming and ruffling of leaves, occasionally interrupted with a gull squawk. We come to an old church ruin, it’s really a wall and a window, harboring grave slabs from bygone eras. But it’s the tombstones we are here to see- poking up through the long grass like witch’s teeth. This rambler had an inelegant tumble on the way, the irregular ground is camouflaged by vindictive nettles, delighted to reward your gentle intrusion with a sharp chemical burn. But it’s worth it, for there in the corner is the Killaghtee Cross, it’s about 1500 years old, and under bright sun, the carved Maltese pattern is very clear, as is the triquetra knot beneath it. It is beautiful. This is why Donegal. Every ramble will yield nature at her wildest, combined with myth, folklore, history and tradition. You just need to know where to look.
#donegal #killaghtee #ireland #rambles