Bohonagh..... at last !

26th March 2012

A much belated trip to Bohonagh Stone Circle. It's a sunny afternoon and I need a circle to visit and I can combine it with a bit of birding at Rosscarbery !
This is such an easy circle to get to..... Go through Rosscarbery, up the hill, round a few bends, over Temple Bridge (don't turn here - a lot of people try to access the circle from along this road), then turn left up a farm track at Newmills Cross, which leads to a milking barn. There's space to park by the barn.
I've knocked on numerous houses in the area to find out where the farmer lives, so that I can ask permission to go and have a look, but bizzarely, no one seems to know ! so I nip under the gate and along the track.The circle is just past the barn about 100 yards over in the field to the left.
You can tell that this is going to be a great circle the moment you catch a sight of it and luckily there are no cows in the field today, but there is a fair bit of electric fencing about. Easy enough to duck under or step over though !

As I approach, I can see a large boulder burial sitting a short way to the East of the circle. The boulder itself is massive and amongst the support stones is a large quartz rock.The Portal stones are set radially to the circle and are both around two and a half metres high and the circle is aligned East - West for the sunset at the Equinox. Only nine original stones out of thirteen still stand. Boulders have been placed on three of the other four places.
There is a mass of tangled vegetation, mostly brambles, which is starting to encroach but hopefully the farmer will keep this in check.....
It's been said that this is the finest circle in County Cork. It's certainly up there and surely a must for anyone visiting the area !