Historic and Prehistoric

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Tuesday 28^thApril. This morning I was going to join a guided walking tour of Derry, before heading south back towards Dublin. However, as I headed across the river into town, the rain started again, and by the time I had found my destination it was raining pretty steadily, plus it was freezing cold, so I abandoned that plan and headed south, inland. The weather improved once away from the coast.

I went to the Ulster American Folk Park, which is about what life was like in Ireland in the early/mid nineteenth century, how it led to the large-scale emigration, what it was like for emigrants going to America, and what it was like when they arrived there. They have a lot of relocated buildings, both Irish and American, the original house of the emigrant family whose rich American descendants set up the park, and characters in period costume to tell you the story as you go through. They even have an Irish street, an American street, and part of a ship. Very well done, and interesting as you go through and ‘make’ the journey to the New World.

I then headed further south to visit Newgrange, a prehistoric burial site or temple, which is over 5,000 years old – older than the pyramids in Egypt! My first impression was how new it looked – the exterior was rebuilt and only finished in the 1970s! The interior is original, other than minor repairs and some braces put in. There are several of these structures in the area. This one is oriented so that the rising sun shines into the chamber on the winter solstice. What they know about it is really all educated speculation, and the guide told us several theories. Even the rebuilt exterior may be quite different to how it originally would have been. Very interesting nonetheless, and the age of it is just mind-boggling.

My B&B is at Bective, right next to an old mill on the River Boyne, and just a couple of hundred metres from an historic ruined abbey. A really quiet and beautiful location for my last night in Ireland. I am the only guest, and the host lives in a separate dwelling, so it is almost eerily quiet!

My next posting should be from France again – à bientôt!

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Photos

Bective Abbey
This is about 200m from my B&B

Newgrange
Older than the pyramids (outside restored)

The Forge
Ulster American Folk Park

River Boyne
Outside my B&B