On the Road with Reid 'Round Ireland: The Post-Modern Pot o' Gold (cont'd)

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Across the road from the official Carrowmore archaeological site charging $2.35 are even better-preserved remains of ancient stone circles on farmland, where horses graze and admission is free

Crowds, What Crowds?
And that's my second tip, an oldie but a goodie: get off the beaten path. Perfect example. Yesterday I spent an delightful day exploring County Sligo. There were two promising-sounding ancient sites to visit —yes, I do love those ancient sites. First we hit Carrowmore—which, thanks to our Heritage Cards, we were able to breeze right in without forking over the €2 each. There was a fine little two-room interpretive center and a grassy field beyond where a stone circle, two rough little dolmens, and a partially excavated cairn topped the nubs of hillocks. We dutifully admired them, then left to cross the road where—at the Carrowmore staff's suggestion—we climbed over the fence belonging to an accommodating neighboring farmer and wandered the open pastures where more of the same ancient stone stuff was on offer but totally admission-free.

Frankly, the official Carrowmore site got the short end of the stick in terms of ancient ruins. The free side of the road boasted three much more intact stone circles featuring postcard-perfect miniature dolmens in the middle of each. As an added plus, friendly horses were grazing oh-so-scenically in and around the circles. I took a moment to fix the bridle on one snowy white stallion who had somehow got the nose strap into his mouth and couldn't eat properly. He nuzzled me his thanks, and I swear posed more perfectly for my camera after that.

Even better, though, was when we drove south for half an hour to a site called Carrowkeel, located off the main road and down a winding and wonderfully potholed dirt path through herds of sheep. From the end of the muddy track it was a trudge up a steep hillside through squelchy mosses, prickly heather, and hidden piles of, er, sheep surprises to the mountaintop, which was scattered with stone burial cairns. The wind ripped our breath away, the endless views over the surrounding farmland and lakes were awesome, and there wasn't another soul in sight. I was free to struggle out of my jacket, whip out my flashlight with a grin, and crawl down the passageway of an ancient burial mound to discover what lay within.

The virtually unknown stone cairns of Carrowkeel atop the windswept mountains of County Sligo still offer that thrilling sense of discovery

Copyright © 2003 by Newsweek Budget Travel, Inc.