bogman

Had to take the old road to Macroom as there is no safe access from the recently opened bypass

Aerial view of Knockavilla fort

Aerial view of the cairn at Knockavilla

Aerial view of the cairn at Knockavilla.

Aerial photograph of the cairn at Knockavilla

Not the easiest to access, supposed to be a stone circle close by but I didn’t find it, will return when the land dries out a bit

Sunset today, totally obscured for the purpose of observing the solstice at 4.30pm

Winter solstice 21/12/2011, weather wise today was not as kind but was equally enjoyable, surprised to see that my buddy and myself were the only people there

Wired off and neglected, sad, cows were as usual inquisitive

View from inside looking out

Larger of the two cairns

Interior of the chamber, took refuge from a downpour in there :-)

Top of the larger cairn, capstone of the chamber visible

The larger cairn, has a fine chamber broken into at some stage in the past

Smaller of the two cairns, some pillaging on top

Back at the bikes after a remarkable couple of hours, a walking stick would have been handy

View of the fort wall as we arrived, well worth the trip even though I had to stop every 5 or 6 minutes on the way up, totally out of condition

Remains of the stone wall

Views were stunning

90 minutes to get to the top, hard going, walk down was a breeze, 50 minutes, make sure you have good boots

Dropped over yesterday evening on the way home from a trip to Sheeps Head

Massive capstone

Looking out from inside the souterrain

One of the souterrains, this one in excellent condition

Very easy access, asked for permission to visit this monument that is located just off the main road