The pyramid centre
An old pine trunk from the bog.
Mmedich — CC0 · Michael Dibb — CC BY-SA 2.0 · PaulT — CC BY-SA 4.0 · PaulT — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gunther Tschuch — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Michael Dibb — CC BY-SA 2.0
The Céide Fields are a wide prehistoric landscape on the north coast of County Mayo. They hold stone field walls buried under blanket bog, with signs of dwellings, enclosures and megalithic tombs. The heritage authority calls them the world's most extensive Stone Age monument, and they are on UNESCO's tentative list. Discovery began in the 1930s, when the schoolteacher Patrick Caulfield noticed lines of stones under the peat he was cutting and realised people had placed them before the bog grew. Most researchers read them as farms of the fourth millennium BC, though one has suggested they may be later. The buried walls are estimated to run for more than 100 km. A visit starts at a pyramid-shaped visitor centre, with an old pine trunk preserved in the bog inside, and continues on boardwalks over the bog. In certain cuts you see the stones appearing under the peat. Small plants such as the insect-eating sundew grow in the bog. Close by, high cliffs overlook the ocean, a superb view in themselves. The site is 29 km in a straight line north-west of Ballina. It is closed until 2027, when the heritage authority says it will welcome visitors again, so check before you go. Wind is strong and rain common, so bring a waterproof jacket. Keep to the boardwalks, as the bog is fragile and wet.
An old pine trunk from the bog.
A walk over the open bog.
High walls above the ocean.
Glenurla, Ballycastle, County Mayo
No, the heritage authority says it will welcome visitors again in 2027.
Ancient field walls preserved under the bog, running for more than 100 km.