Benbulbin and the Gleniff Horseshoe and a failed attempt to see the "Secret Waterfall"at Large

Benbulbin is a flat-topped mountain in County Sligo that rises above the surrounding fields of grazing sheep. It is said to be the home of fairies and of unique flora and fauna, some of which are found only in Ireland. We didn't see fairies but we did see a lot of sheep here. It's a pretty impressive looking mountain as you drive from Sligo to Donegal. 

We drove on, looking for the Gleniff Horseshoe which is a U-shaped cleft in the rock at the top of a mountain. As we drove closer I couldn't see the "horseshoe" but then we came at the right angle and saw it! I will tell you that we were only the second car here, no one else was around at all - just the way I like it! I walked along the road and took some photos, then we returned to the car and continued on toward Donegal. The road was basically deserted for much of the drive here so we didn't have to worry about driving on the left - we just drove in the middle.

Mike saved the life of a poor sheep out here. It had its head stuck in a fence and it couldn't get its horns free. There was no one around anywhere to help, so Mike got out and wrestled the horns back inside the fence. The sheep ran off without a word of thanks or even a backwards glance LOL

Once we got to Donegal, we dropped our bags at the hotel and went in search of the "Secret Waterfall" which is no longer really secret because I and hundreds of others have seen it on Instagram. This waterfall is on a section of beach that requires scrambling over some very sizable sections of rock as you skirt the coastline to reach the cave where you can see the waterfall. This means that you have be aware of the tides and whether or not the tide is coming in. If you don't pay attention to this you can find yourself trapped in  the cave with the water rising and the prospect of a very difficult cold swim to get back to safety. We arrived at the parking area and started down the road to the beach. We met a local man who told us the tide was starting to come in and we basically had about an hour to reach the cave and get back without getting trapped. Having never been there before, we didn't realize how many sections of rock you would have to climb over and around to the next section and repeat and repeat. We tried for a while but the water was coming in pretty rapidly and some of the rock ledges were quite high of a step and I am not a tall person. We finally turned around because it was becoming clear that we couldn't possibly reach the cave and get back out again in time. We have great respect for how powerful and dangerous the ocean can be.