Killybegs and Sliabh Liag

It's good to be in County Donegal, we have never been here before and it's great to drive through this beautiful part of the country.  Rolling hills and mountains at every turn is what is greeting us.

We began the day a little latter than we had hoped with Bruckless House serving breakfast at 9am.  We shared the table with an Irish couple who were on for a chat.  Hence our delayed beginning to the day.

Killybegs, our first stop, is Ireland's busiest fishing port.  The fishing season is September to February, the winter months, when the boats can go out for 6 weeks at a time, if the fish are to be found.

Looking at these huge trawlers, I was surprised at the size of the open hulls in the rear and the reals they pull the nets in with are massive.   I'm not sure I'd like to spend 6 weeks in winter on one of these boats.                        

There were so many of these boats sitting in the harbour - this is the opportunity to have repairs done and make sure they are ready for a busy and dangerous season.  Fishermen have a new found respect from me.

While we were wandering around the church bells began to peel.  They were beautiful as they literally played a tune, not just different sounds.  The church sits high above the harbour like she is watching over the comings and goings of these ships and their crews.

 

Fishing in the harbour is seen to be a great experience, weather permitting.  Whether boat fishing or quietly throwing in a line over rocks or sand, the fishing in this area is a much sought after pass time.

While in Killybegs we stumbled upon  Donegal Carpets, (not literally) manufacturers of the world renowned, hand loomed carpets that grace such places as the White House, Buckingham Palace and Dublin Castle.  Might explain why I hadn't heard of them!    An audio-visual display brings the industry to life.

We saw the longest. loom in the world and

tried our hand at Turkish knotting    

 

                                                   the preferred knot of the Killybegs mill.

The carpets are lush in thickness and the making of them reminded me of cross stitching - a pattern is worked from a graph.  Each woman was given a section to work and it had to be exact.

Only if and when she was skilled enough was she allowed to work on a real carpet.  This method of carpet making was very labour intensive and priced the carpets out of the normal market.  Occasionally, a customer will come to them today and ask for a particular design to be made.  This puts into motion a whole process of design, colour choice and the making of the carpet, each step very much  unique for that customer.

Mary Robinson decided, when she became the President, to change the carpet in Parliment House.  It was slightly damaged and so was returned to the factory,  where they will repair it and hopefully then get to keep it and  put it on their floor for visitors to experience.

Mary wanted green instead of blue so had it replaced.

The priest from the local church brought them a wall hanging that Donegal Carpets had made and requested that they repair it.  He had let the people light candles right where the carpet was hanging, so it got singed. He hasn't come back to collect it, 10 years on!

It is a beautiful example of the workmanship that goes into a carpet.  

We will never be able to own one of these works of art but we did enjoy seeing them and the skills required to make them.

Slieve League is among the highest sea cliffs in Europe (standing at approx. 1,972ft/601mt) and is just a short drive on from Killybegs.  We parked the car and walked the twisting road to the top car park, a real heart thumper from the beginning - it was a steep climb.

And an  extremely beautiful walk with great views along the way.

Don't you just love the cloud formations?  And yes, that is blue sky.... For now

 The mist over the cliffs

A signal tower lookout sits atop Carrigan Head.

From the car park there is a vista of the precipitous sea cliffs with great views out over Donegal Bay.

And a waterfall tumbling down the cliffs 

From here is the start of a path of stone steps to the top of the cliffs.  We climbed what I would say was a 33% gradient at times,  to reach the top of the cliffs.

Incredible views down from the cliffs above.

A lovely lake and the Atlantic Sea

 Unfortunately the clouds were hanging low over the top of the mountain and we weren't prepared to continue ascending.

High on a hill stood a lonely goat herder 

Breath-taking drops to the sea below

 The wind was blowing strongly and the clouds were on the move, sometimes clearing and sometimes coming in lower.

This is far as we go with that cloud hanging about!

We could see people near the top but felt it too dangerous to proceed.

Our longing to conquer the summit was great but we felt satisfied with our efforts - about 3/4 the way to the top.

The views were equally stunning on the way down

 The descent was a challenge on our knees and toes as we hadn't done any solid walking since arriving in Ireland.  And we didn't  have our walking poles with us.  It was good to have the walking boots on and get our feet working hard again. .

On our return journey we pulled into  Carrack and Kilcar where the river was thundering along, over rocks and under the bridge.  Further along we watched a father teaching his sons how to fish..

They were a picture of patience.

And the extra long, 'trendy' green bath  tub was a very welcome end to the day.