After a few days of jigsaw pieces falling in to place on the Forsyth/McNutt/Cowan/Roulston/Patterson/Rankin/Smyth branches of the family tree, and surviving the most basic of accommodations in Letterkenny, we steered the car further north around The Dry Arch roundabout and discovered Buncrana and surrounds.

Farewell Letterkenny and our newfound rellies Andrew and Jayne at Magheracorran.  Wonderful hosts.  Also grateful thanks to Letterkenny Library and Gavin for his patience and resources.  Some great finds and plenty to work on once back home.

Buncrana – What a gem!

Peaceful coastline, interesting sights and the wild, windswept  Greenhill View b&b at Linsfort close by.  Truly blessed!  LSM even caught the cricket on TV as we are very close to Northern Ireland (pronounced NornIln).

The Magic Road up over The Gap conjured up stories of fairies and the abandoned houses and churches scattered around lent credibility to the fanciful folklore legends of mischief, curses and catastrophies.

The winding road gave us amazing vistas at every turn and the sheep being herded definitely fulfilled the Magic part of the road.

Great stone formations and tribute to the writing of Amazing Grace (worth a Google) and a waterfall, all made the trip to our dinner venue a real treat.

Even if the food at The Rusty Nail hadn’t been spot on, the drive there and back was worth every euro. Thanks to Ann at the b&b for advising we book, as many were disappointedly turned away at the door, and thanks to the cider for the most restful sleep so far.

It was an early morning walk for me while LSM, patient chauffeur,  indulged in a sleepin before our full Irish breakfast. Sole walker, soulful but contented cows, a lost soccer ball, and a deserted church and graveyard just begging for exploring….. tomorrow will be a walk to Dumree fort.  Dodged a few scudding showers with only minor mist. Hopefully it walked off the calories of the ‘can’t resist crispy mint icecream’ from yesterday.

Today we are driving through Buncrana and on  to the most northern point in our WAW trip – Fanad Head and Lighthouse.  Stay tuned.  Yes, it’s raining!

Well best be off to tackle that bacon and eggs!