STONE CIRCLES AND LEARNING TO DRIVE

​Let me fix that. You learn to drive so you can go see the stone circles. You drive on the left in Ireland, with the gear shift of your manual transmission in your left hand. Take Frank’s advice – “just keep your steering wheel on the centre line”.  It works.  We also learned that there are 4 important letters involved in driving Irish roads.  No…..not those ones….wait for it.  M =Motorway, N = National, R = Regional, and L = Local.  In that order, those letters define the width of the road you are travelling as well.  “M” means “motor on, dude – multi-lane, wide enough to breathe”.  N means “no worries, still usually multi-lane, we got this”.  “R means “Really?! You want me travelling 80 kph on this narrow road with a stone wall on one side and oncoming traffic coming at me with wild abandon?”  L means “Loco. Crazy to be on it. No way in hell I’m going to travel the 80kph speed limit on this narrow, windy road. Get off this road. Now! Please don’t let there be a tractor coming at me.”   

And yet…there are marvels to be seen and this one practically right on our doorstep. So, off we go on roads with all of those letters, while using a whole different set of 4-letter words while navigating them.

​Peter noticed just a couple of days before we left Sechelt that there is a stone circle close to where we are staying. The Grange Stone Circle at Lough Gur is a Neolithic structure and the biggest stone circle in Ireland and one of the biggest in Europe. What an experience! It has 113 stones and is 150 feet in diameter.  A post stone that demonstrates it was measured out with a stake and rope. It is backed by an earthen bank, suggesting it was a ritual site of some kind and spectators could stand on the bank and watch the ritual going on in the circle.  Excavation revealed neolithic beaker pottery. The largest stone in the structure is called Rannach Chruim Duibh and weighs 40 tons and is 13 feet high.  I can’t even comprehend the effort it took to get them there.  Further off in a field on private land, is a smaller stone circle with a large standing stone further on, but we couldn’t see them from our vantage point.

Lough Gur is a sizeable lake, surrounded by much evidence of human occupation dating back 6,000+ years.  On the opposite side from the stone circle was a megalithic wedge tomb – a long, oblong structure with massive stones, a chamber inside and covered over with huge flag stones.  Over time, the top stones have fallen on the top, but the chamber can still be seen.  It was discovered and excavated in 1938. Cremated bones of humans were found, along with pottery remnants and flint shards dating from 2,000 – 2,500 BC.  The orientation of the tomb gathers sunset light.

Located  within walking distance of the wedge tomb is New Church. Which, for the record, is not new. It is a ruin, originally  built in the 15th century by the Desmond family and is utterly charming. There are a combination of old tombstones that are so weathered you can’t read them and very recent ones from the last 50 years or so. One modest stone cross struck me with a great sense of sadness. Flowers cascade down the side of the stone church and a sense of ageless peace under the trees descends on the soul. 

Further on along the lake is a visitor centre with a great presentation of stories and replicas of archaeological finds in the area. A steep path leads up to “The Spectacles” – the stone foundations of several buildings from a very early medieval Christian settlement.  Beyond is a very steep path of stone steps leading to a breathtaking view of Lough Gur and the surrounding area.  The last site of the area is a path leading to the remains of a 17th-century huge round pigeon house – a tall stone structure approximately 10 feet high and 15 feet across. Pigeon houses were introduced by the Normans to keep pigeons for eggs and meat. Small bird houses were built inside and they were an important part of Norman life.

Heading back to Croom, we went for a stroll along the short riverfront walk. They have these little workout stations scattered around the park and we had fun trying them all out, pledging to stop there every morning for a quick workout. Spoiler alert – we didn’t.  Stopping at the local grocery store to grab a cottage pie for supper, we headed home.  Peter’s words, upon coming to a stop in the driveway and heaving a relieved sigh:  “It’s your turn tomorrow”.