Page 349 - Lonely Planet Europe’s Best Trips (Travel Guide)
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Waterfall, which cascades
                                                10m down the rock face.
                                                It’s an utterly picturesque,
                                                gentle, waymarked route
                                                that’s the perfect spot for
                                                a leg stretch.
                                               TRISH PUNCH/GETTY IMAGES ©
                                                4 p351
                                                The Drive » The Inis Eoghain
                                                snakes south up to Mamore’s
                                                Gap, a high-altitude, white-
                                                knuckle mountain pass that
                                                climbs 260m on single-lane,
                                                twisting roads, past shrines to
                                                the saints. After a supremely
                                                steep descent (and glorious
                                                views), go south through
                                                Buncrana, and on to Fahan   IRELAND 25 THE NORTH IN A NuTSHELL
                                                (37km), parking beside the
                                                village church.


                                                a Fahan
                                                St Colmcille founded
                                                a monastery in Fahan
                                                in the 6th century. Its
                                                creeper-clad ruins sit
                                                beside the church.
                                                Among them, hunt out
                                                the beautifully carved
                                                St Mura Cross. Each
                                                face of this 7th-century
                                                stone slab is decorated
                                                with a cross in intri-
                                                cate Celtic weave. The
                                                barely discernible Greek
                                                inscription is the only
                                                one known in Ireland
                                                from this early Christian
                                                period and is thought to
                                                be part of a prayer dating
                                                from 633.
                                                The Drive » Take the N13 to
                                                Letterkenny, where you’ll pick
                                                up the R245 to Rathmelton (aka
                                                Ramelton), a 10km sweep north
                                                through the River Swilly valley.
                                                Turn off for the village, heading
                                                downhill to park beside the
                                                water in front of you (50km).




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