County Cavan, a lowland county, projects North West into more hilly territory, a strip that runs along the border with Northern Ireland. Much of the border along this stretch runs through a pair of loughs, Upper and Lower Lough MacNean. Almost all of the lower lough is in the North, but the Upper Lough is evenly divided, and it contains some islands on its eight mile stretch. The isthmus between the two lakes contains a few drumlins, and these glacial features characterize the landscape in the region.
The road that runs south of the Upper Lough heads for Sligo twenty six miles away, and the theological college where I studied for a while [now closed and used for a succession of different purposes] stood by a broad headland projecting into the Upper Lough.Though in Cavan, we were but a hundred metres from County Leitrim, and my walking took me often into that county.
Having come from a theological college in London, under the flight path for Heathrow Airport and near the Great West Road I had been starved of silence by the incessant rumblings of planes and traffic throughout the day and night. In North West Ireland I got silence in abundance. I would stroll down to the lough, sit by its gently wavy waters and think, with my eyes scanning over the islands to the low, green and soft hills of County Fermanagh.
The view south of the college was delightful. The bulk of Cuilcagh, through whose misty, peat-covered summit the border with Northern Ireland ran along an ill-defined route, stood powerfully. There were few dwellings on that mountain, and at night only occasional specks of light freckled its darkened slopes. There was also the Glenfarne Plateau, named from the village at its foot, lower than Cuilcagh and not technically a mountain, being but fourteen hundred feet, it was wild land on which few trod for any but necessity: a truly lonely place with few paths to its peaty summit.
But besides panorama, the small sights matter. As Autumn fell on the land the hedges were spangled with spiders' webs. Webs of the veil web spider, they are constructed around plant stems and form a pyramid that sometimes appears diamond shaped. The hedges were full of them, and the dew glistened in myriad crystal droplets along their skeins. Thinking of Scripture, one reflects "Not even Solomon in his glory was arrayed as one of these." In September the hedges held blackthorn berries: they look nice, but they dry your mouth to the point that you feel you have been chewing sandpaper.
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Thanks. There are some experiences that are jewels in the crown of memory.
Cavan is a strangely shaped county, most of which is in the midlands, but has a thin strip projecting into the hillier lands. This strip is geographically more part of Leitrim than Cavan. It is the part of Leitrim that the O'Reilly clan took from the O'Rourke clan after the Normans killed the O'Rourke chief.
I love Leitrim, it is a place of enchanting mists, loughs and low hills. We were in Cavan, but only a hundred yards from Leitrim.
I have never been to Cavan or Leitrim but would love to go. Just stepping foot in Ireland is enough to start unwinding and relaxing.
I would have provided more pictures, but many of my photographs have been lost over the years, and when I sought pictures on the net, there are so few of this part of Ireland. Photographers take note.
In addition to the scenery it is the peace from the solitude that is the great treasure here, and there is no need for pictures to convey this.
Thanks. I love the West of Ireland, there is something special about it.
@frankbeswick - I would definitely love to visit the parts of the Ireland that you have quoted. The beautiful scenery and the Natural surroundings are well preserved in Europe. Though I haven't visited many European countries, I have loved traveling to Switzerland. I was lucky to have visited it twice and it was as beautiful as ever. I believe, Ireland is also beautiful and the country is full of lakes and mountains.
I hope your trip to Ireland is very enjoyable as you are looking forward to a family reunion.
I am visiting Belfast in the North next June to see the restored HMS Caroline, a WW1 ship which is being converted in to a floating war ship museum in time for the centenary of the Battle of Jutland. I can' wait. It's only 30 mins on the plane.
If you ever visit Ireland, make sure that you visit the West of the country. Many of my ancestors came from the West, and it is a place that I love.
The natural scenery that you celebrate contains many beauftiful loughs [lakes] as Ireland, because of its geological structure, has far more lakes per square kilometre than England does. The mountains are mainly confined to the rim of the country, but while they are not high [none in the British Isles are high] they can be impressive. Donegal, which I visited on my last trip to Ireland, has some beautiful mountain and sea lough scenery. [Lough is pronounced lock.]
I am visiting County Mayo, in the West, in August to take my ninety five year old mother-in-law for a trip to her homeland to see relatives. It is only a short visit, just three days, but I am looking forward to it.
I first saw picturesque Ireland on some TV serial, since then I got hooked to the country. I believe it is a country of old castles, full of natural surroundings and greenery.Traveling to Ireland is in my wishlist.