With a bird's-eye view of the county from high in the Bricklieve Mountains, it's little wonder this hilltop site was sacred in prehistoric times. This windswept and lonely location is simultaneously eerie and uplifting. But for a few sheep (you drive though a sheep gate), it's undeveloped and spectacular. Dotted with around 14 cairns, dolmens and the scattered remnants of other graves, the site dates from the late Stone Age (3000 to 2000 BC).
Just the sweeping views down to South Sligo county from the car park make the journey worthwhile. It's a 1km walk to the first ancient site, Cairn G. Above its entrance is a roof-box aligned with the midsummer sunset which illuminates the inner chamber. The only other such roof-box known in Ireland is that at Newgrange in County Meath. Everywhere you look across the surrounding hills you'll see evidence of early life, including about 140 stone circles, all that remain of the foundations of a large village thought to have been inhabited by the builders of the tombs.
Carrowkeel is closer to Boyle than Sligo town. It's about 5km from either the R295 in the west or the N4 in the east. Follow the signs.
