McSwyne’s Castle by the Beach
I was driving towards Saint John’s Point in county Donegal in what is a scenic part of the county. I wasn’t really sure what Saint John’s point was but along the way there was the ruins of an old castle. McSwyne’s Castle doesn’t look that nice. Only a few walls are left standing. The site didn’t seem to be very welcoming. The castle is built by an elevated area by the beach. I immediately noticed that the beach itself is filled with large stones. I thought to myself that I doubt it has always been like this. Suffice to say, it was difficult to make the trek to the castle because some of the stones were unstable. I think the stones were put there much later to prevent erosion of the shore and thus endangering the castle.
Wall at McSwyne’s Castle
Indeed much of the stones were put near where the castle is. This makes approaching the castle a little tricky. There is another path which visitors can take and that would take you beyond the rocky beach. However, I think you would need proper footwear to go that way. There seem to be parts which are wet so you need to make sure you have waterproof shoes. The castle itself is underwhelming. There are a few walls still left standing here but that was it. It is difficult to imagine how it was back then because of the current state of disrepair of the castle. Anyway, I took my photos and head back to the car. I think the castle is better used as a photographic subject from afar then seeing it up close.
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