EISG Sligo Trip Report

As mentioned in the 2021 trip wish list thread, I’d planned to do a camping trip to Sligo. I found what looked like a lovely little secluded spot on Google Earth, among the trees close to EISG Sligo Airport.

So yesterday I did a flight there to take a look and see if it was a viable option for a future trip.
There are a few waymarked walks in the area. My ‘spot’ was close to one of them, so I decided to do this walk too and check out “my spot” while doing the walk. It linked up with another walk so I did both of them.

The flight was from EIKH Kilrush in the eastern half of Ireland to Sligo on the west coast. The aircraft is a Piper Arrow II. The weather was lovely. Overcast on the east coast and glorious sunshine on the west.

Here is a shot of some typical Irish countryside. Green fields, interspaced with occasional woods and the odd lake.

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I didn’t take too many photos on the way to Sligo. But here is a nice one of of McDermott’s Castle.
McDermotts Castle
It’s set on a small island in a lake. A castle existed on this island since the 12th century. The Mac Diarmada familt (McDermott in English) were a powerful family in the area for a long period.

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Markree Castle is a 17th Century castle. It’s now a boutique castle hotel.

Markree Castle

Castle website

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This is right base for Sligo Airport.
The unfortunate reflection goes just over the threshold. Donegal Airport, just a bit further north than Sligo, repeatedly wins the most scenic approach award every year. But personally, I think that the two approaches to Sligo are much more beautiful.

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As mentioned earlier, I decided to do two walks. The first one is the Killaspugbrone Loop.
Killaspughbroe loop

It takes you nicely around the airport (and by my proposed camping spot!)
This looped walk is flat and easily walked in shoes. No need for hiking boots.
Incidentally, that site is very good for finding waymarked trails in Ireland, should you wish to do some walks.
Here are some photos from the walk.

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The walk takes you just past the threshold to the runway!

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Crap! There goes the plan for a future camping trip!

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Plenty of room on this beach!

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Note the hill visible in this shot. The second walk goes up to the top of this hill. Also note the Fokker 27 on the airport grounds. In 2002 this aircraft, while on a passenger flight, ran off the end of the runway. It’s now used by the fire service for training (well…at least used to be used by them for training).

The second walk that I did is called the Queen Maeve Trail.
Queen Maeve trail
This is a short walk at just 2.5km (and 2.5k back!). But it’s all steeply uphill. It was busy on the day (best day of sunshine since our lockdown ended!) But I met quite a few people who were turning back without reaching the summit! Again no need for hiking boots. At least not when the weather is dry.

Here is a little bit of the mythology of Queen Maeve (source https://sligowalks.ie/walks/knocknarea-queen-maeve-trail/)

“In Irish mythology Knocknarea is the burial place of the beautiful Warrior Queen Maeve of Connaught. Queen Maeve was granted rulership over the kingdom of Connaught by her father, the High King of Ireland and whosoever should be her husband would be King. Maeve had several husbands including Ailill. Táin Bó Cúailnge or The Cattle Raid of Cooley is the great “epic” of Irish Mythology. The story begins when Maeve and her husband Ailill compare their wealth and find that the only thing that distinguishes between them is Ailill’s possession of the phenomenally fertile bull Finnbhennach. In order to gain equality with her husband Maeve determines to get the equally potent bull Donn Cuailnge from Cooley. She successfully negotiates with the bull’s owner, Dáire mac Fiachna, to rent the animal for a year until her messengers, drunk, reveal that they would have taken the bull by force even if they had not been allowed to rent it. The deal breaks down, so Maeve raises an army and sets out to capture the bull by force and a great conflict ensues.
Queen Maeve is said to be buried upright in the cairn at the summit of Knocknarea, spear in hand, still facing her enemies in Ulster.”

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Still badly needing a haircut! It was very hot out (well at least by Irish standards!) I took a good bath in sunscreen before venturing out!

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Looking back down on the airport. You can just about make out the piano bars on the runway (left of picture just in from the beach).
The island under the shadow of the cloud is called Cooney Island. Apparently Cooney Island in New York was named after this Island. You can walk or drive out to it, across the sand, when the tide is out. The lifeboat apparently needs to be called out a few times every year, when people leave it too late and get caught out with the tide coming in around them!

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Here is the cairn at the top that Queen Maeve is, according to legend, burried in.

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Looking down here, you can make out the last bit of the village of Strandhill. This is a popular tourist village, and particularly popular with (aspiring) surfers. There are a few surf schools here, and the area is well known for its big waves.

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Strandhill beach from the village

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Strandhill village. It was quite busy with little in the way of social distaning going on (not too bad in the photo, but quite crowded in other areas, espically the footpaths).

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With about 15km walked and plenty of elevation gained, it’s now time to head home and gain altitude in an easier fashion!
Here is the same hill that I walked up, but seeing this way was a lot easier!

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Parke’s Castle is a 17th century castle (an older one existed on the site before that). The castle was extensively restored by the state at the end of the 20th century.
Parke’s castle

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I snuck across the border with Northern Ireland for this one. But only by about a mile (well the FIR by about a mile. It’s more than that across the state border). Castlecoole is an 18th century mansion house on a 1200 acre estate
Castlecoole

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This is Belle Isle Castle. Now we’re back in the Irish FIR, but still in Northern Ireland. It might not look like it from the photo, but this is a small island, separated out by rivers leading into a lake.
It’s an 18th century house. It’s a hotel & wedding venue now.
Belle Isle Castle

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An American once described their tour around Ireland to me as “ABC”. Another Bloody Castle!
Well here is another castle for you!
This one is Crom Castle. Originally built in 1611, it was destroyed by fire in 1764 and rebuilt in 1840. It’s set on a 1900 acre estate. The castle is privately owned as a private residence. But the west wing is available for rent.

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In the lake beside Crom Castle is Crichton Tower. This is a folly (building without a practical purpose or to deceive). It was built in 1847 as an observation tower.

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Too many castle? How about an Abbey! This is Drulane Abbey.

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This is Fore Abbey.
Fore Abbey
The buildings that remain are from the 15th century, but an abbey has existed on this site since 630BC.

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Horse racing is a very popular activity and important industry in Ireland. This is the Curragh Race course. This is about as close as you can get, as it’s adjacent to an army training ground and covered by a prohibited area.

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This is the route flown. Please ignore the red dots. I use the GPS from my pilotaware unit to feed into EasyVFR. The PilotAware unit overheated shortly after take off and turned off. EasyVFR takes the GPS signal from the PilotAware, and once it lost the signal it seamlessly changes over to my tablet’s internal GPS. So I didn’t need to do anything. EasyVFR records both GPS breadcrumbs (from the PilotAware and from the internal GPS) continuously and both are shown on the map, one on top of the other. The red dots are connecting the last point where the PilotAware signal stopped and where it restarted.

Flight time was 55 minutes outbound and 1:05 back. Even if my future camping spot proved to be non-workable, it was a very nice day out. It’s amazing how many things can be seen in a relatively short flight. Landing fee was €15. There is no parking charge for a day trip.

Reading this forum, a non pilot might be forgiven for thinking that IFR is the ideal form of flight. But IFR is just a tool in the toolbox. There is a lot to be said for VFR, flying low down! A lot more can be seen!