SCHULL+VILLAGE

=SCHULL VILLAGE (pronounced Skull) - **COBH and the DROMBEG STONE CIRCLE**= For our first day we decided to explore the village and a bit of the surrounding area (plus do a bit of food shopping - we'll give the pubs a break for a few days). Schull is quite a pretty village with the usual winding, narrow shop-fronted main street with cars parked haphazardly just about anywhere. Thankfully it also has several car parks which were pretty empty - this is a summer tourist town so its relatively quiet at this time of the year. We wandered along the streets and down by the harbour - a number of fishing boats work out of here and fresh fish is readily available.
 * [[image:Schull.jpg caption="three views of Schull from Ann and Tim's yard"]] || [[image:Schull1.jpg]] ||
 * [[image:Schull2.jpg]] || [[image:Schull3.jpg caption="Main Street, Schull"]] ||
 * [[image:Schull4.jpg caption="ruined churchyard Schull"]] || [[image:Schull5.jpg caption="Schull Harbour"]] ||



After lunch Ann and Tim advised us to visit Mizen Head which is the most south-western tip of Ireland. There is an old lighthouse which has been turned into a Visitors Centre which, according to the brochures "is an exciting and exhilarating experience for all ages". Unfortunately no-one thought to mention (or put up signs somewhere before the 9km trek down the narrow road) that it is closed at the moment whilst repairs are effected! So we couldn't get to see much at all as the entire site was fenced off. We consoled ourselves that the actual drive was fantastic!We managed to see the "back" of Mizen Head by boldly driving down a "private" road - worth it as the views were great! Real rural Ireland - narrow, hedge lined road with some stopping places with great views of the green, dry-stone walled fenced fields and of the ocean.
 * [[image:Schull10.jpg]] || [[image:Schull11.jpg caption="Luckily we saw few other cars!"]] ||
 * [[image:Schull12.jpg caption="Mizen Head the most south westerly point in Ireland"]] || [[image:Schull13.jpg caption="stone walled fields"]] ||
 * [[image:Schull14.jpg]] || [[image:Schull15.jpg]] ||
 * [[image:Schull9.jpg]] || [[image:Schull8.jpg caption="Crookhaven"]] ||



We also chanced on a Altar Wedge Tomb which was originally erected during the Bronze Age (3,000 - 2,000BC) and believed to have been used as a sacred site for centuries until the arrival of Christianity.
 * [[image:Schull6.jpg caption="the Altar Wedge Tomb"]] || [[image:Schull7.jpg caption="view from tomb"]] ||
 * AND ...... the TomTom support actually replied, supplied the necessary information (a tricky little procedure) and it is now working AOK!**


 * COBH and the DROMBEG STONE CIRCLE**