Pit-Stop Series:N59 Loch Doire an Chlair Traditional Geocache
Pit-Stop Series:N59 Loch Doire an Chlair
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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The cache is located just off the main road; the actual “lay-by” was actually part of the original N59. Hopefully the day is as nice as when I hide this one. A beautiful spot with great views of the island and the surrounding mountain range.The lake lets out further on under a bridge and into the large Ballynahinch lake. You can see the small fishing stands to the left of the island.Great fly fishing here.
To many it’s just an island in the middle of a lake, and maybe it is just that. But it could be much more. Take into consideration it’s size and proximity to the shore it and its location, (in a lake) and you have a ready made Crannog. These lake dwellings as they are called would have been not so much a permanent dwelling area but rather a store or a place for a local tribe to retreat to during trouble times, cut off from the shore it would have made an attacker think twice, as they are now at a disadvantage and exposed while trying to get across the water.
Said to be used by people from the Neolithic up to the Iron age, yet without excavation it would be hard to say to which period they really belong. A variety of materials can be used in their construction, Size being limited to the man power you are able to call upon.
Brushwood, peat or stone are used in the build, the less well known are Island cashels.
These would have been constructed more from stone. Cashel being the name given to a fort made from stone. Further down the country you have ring forts mostly made from earth, yet in the west most have stone in their construction, reflecting the topography of the area and perhaps the scarcity of timber. The fact that very few of these lake dwellings are marked on the ordnance survey 6inch map owes to the fact that most are generally in inaccessible locations.
The use for these lake dwellings are subject to debate, as little archaeological evidence is available in Connemara.
So as you sit back an munch on your “hang samwich” and “one hot sup of scold in your paw” take in the views and let the sun (if it’s out) wash over you, and take a moment to
appreciate what may be an ancient monument across the water from you.
The cache is in a small water tight tab box. PLEASE!! Place the stone back over the small entrance.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)