A Mini Adventure

Today the sun was shining, but don't be fooled, it was freezing outside!! We visited Donegore Motte, which some of you might remember from the post about St. John's Parish. Donegore Motte dates back from pre Anglo-Norman times and it is situated in a private farmer's field, but no gates or fences ever kept us out! It was a bit of a struggle climbing through the wired fence and nettles but once we got there it was pretty much plain sailing. The land is all rocky and uneven, and some horses were grazing close by. This itself didn't make me feel very confident, but luckily we were quiet and they didn't notice us. Mark practically pulled me onto the motte, which is quite tall despite how small it looks in photographs. From the top of the motte you can see all six Ulster counties, and it had a lovely view of the Lough Neagh.

St. John's Parish

The Moat Inn, an old pub which is now a house

We've been to St. John's Parish before so we decided to head down the hill into Templepatrick to visit an old graveyard which I always drive past but never explore. Castle Upton is opposite, and on our way back to the car we decided to call in and visit the Mausoleum, which we've also visited it before. We really need to branch out of Antrim!!

View of Lough Neagh

Approaching the moat

A pretty gravestone

The old gate into Castle Upton

Approaching the mausoleum

Castle Upton

Inside the mausoleum

A specter

We began our journey on that hill

Donegore Motte & St. John's Parish

"On a clear day this historic pre-Anglo-Norman motte has views of six Ulster counties. In earlier years the "Motte" was believed to have been a Passage Grave, but around 1798, it was an important meeting place for the United Irishmen preparing for the ‘Battle of Antrim’. The picturesque St. Johns Church is located close by and has recently been restored" Source Discover Northern Ireland.

I've always been curious about this church, often as I drive toward the motorway to Belfast I can see the church high on a hill. Mark and I set off along the country roads to Donegore to find this hidden gem, accidentally we missed the turn off and drove up what was the original motte, as we ascended the steep hill the views of the six counties were spectacular but unfortunately we couldn't stop and take photos as traffic along the windy narrow road can be quite hazardous.

Finally we realised the entrance to the old churchyard is actually close to two houses, one pink and one blue, the blue one was an original 18th century pub called The Motte House. We parked outside the stone walls and opened the gates to get inside. This is part of the adventure, wondering if one is trespassing or not! We noticed a small charity box on the gate so we dropped a few pounds into the collection.

The graveyard is very unlevel but beautifully maintained, there is no litter and the stones have gradually fallen over or were unreadable due to wear and tear, although some were still very clear. The most unsettling part for me was having to walk on some poor souls graves, as I find this quite disrespectful if one can avoid it, and there were some unmarked graves (pauper?) and once again I found this quite unnerving. However, the beauty of the stones, ranging from 18-19th centuries were magnificent, with elaborate wording and beautiful craftsmanship, of course there were some modern granite stones erected in memory of ancestors but this did not detract from the eerie atmosphere where everything seemed lost in time. From the highest part of the graveyard, (some tombs were accessible by steps) we noted the lovely view of the fields. As you can see from the photographs the plots ranged from very simple WW1 veterans plots or ostentatious family tombs.