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This journey visits three of the well-known stone sites near the Irish city of Sligo: Queen Maeves Grave Cairn, Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery, and Carrowkeel Megalithic Cemetery.
Sites to be Visited
Queen Maeves Grave CairnJourney to the Sligo Area Stones Due to distances and the extensive stones sites of Carrowmore and Carrowkeel, two days should be alloted to experience all that these sites have to offer. Our journey starts in Sligo town in County Sligo in Northwestern Ireland and heads for the first site on this journey, Queen Maeve's Grave Cairn, a Neolithic passage grave that measures some 180 feet (54.8 meters) across and over 30 feet (9.1 meters) high, making it the largest such tomb in Ireland outside the Boyne Valley. It is 5.1 miles (8.2km) away and is located at the summit of Knocknarea Mountain at G6260434583. Follow the signs to the parking area. From here, the strenuous uphill walk to the cairn is a bit less than a mile (300 meters). Detailed Driving Directions Map. Our next destination is Carrowmore Megalithic Cemetery, the site of a prehistoric ritual landscape dated to between 4300 and 3500 B.C. and the largest and one of the four major passage tomb cemeteries in Ireland spread out over 1.5 square mile area. It is about 3 miles (4.9km) from the parking area for Queen Maeve's Grave Cairn and is located at G6621633706. At your destination, there is a parking lot. From here, you can walk to the Carrowmore Visitor Centre that houses an exhibition and provides both guided tours and multi-lingual self-guide options for the Carrowmore megaliths. There is a small admission price with discounts for seniors, groups, students, and families. There are thirty surviving tombs on both sides of the road. Since the site is extensive and takes time to visit all of the sites at Carrowmore, this will be the last site for the day before returning to Sligo town for the evening. Detailed Driving Directions Map. Second day: Our journey's next destination is Carrowkeel Megalithic Cemetery, Like Carrowmore, a number of passage tombs built in the 4th millennium B.C. during the Neolithic era. There are a number of passage tombs to easily visit. The site is 19.4 miles (31.2km) from Sligo town and is located at G75231206. Follow the road signs to a small parking area. From there, walk up the road to a gate. Go through the gate and follow the trail on the left for a 15-20 minute hike to the tombs area. Detailed Driving Directions Map. Return to Sligo after visiting Carrowkeel. Visitors Information Visitors information on Sligo area stone sites may be found at the Heritage Ireland website. General tourist information may be found at the Sligo Area Tourism website. Disclaimer As of the date of this posting, road directions and conditions are correct. Please check local road conditions, however, for possible changes prior to venturing forth on this journey. A helpful resource for directions and road changes if you are travelling in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland is the AA-UK Route Planner. |
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