Granny

This has got to be most strangely named place I have been to in Ireland. It is probably just coincidental but the English name of the place is Granny. The Irish name is Greanaigh. Strange as the name of the place is, there is nothing strange about the place itself. The Granny is like a a piece of land who’s land got scooped out by something. That something is most probably glaciers from the last ice age. The glaciers ended up carving an amphitheater shaped valley which is surrounded by mountains on three sides. There is a road which traces the shape of the valley and it makes for a spectacular walk or drive.

Granny reminds me of a similarly shaped location not that far away from here which is Glengesh pass. No doubt both structures were formed by the same forces. At the far end of the valley, visitors can stop and admire the stunning scenery. I was lucky that the weather was so good that day. The angle of the sun makes it so that it is easy to tell the curves of the land. It is amazing that there aren’t many people who know about this place. Perhaps it is because of the very narrow roads here and further on. One wrong move and you might find yourself in a ditch or worse. For visitors who want to continue, there are indeed road which bring you further south, just be warned that it can be very challenging to drive these roads.

I myself got into trouble when I fell in a ditch trying to get out of some place. One wheel of the car fell into a ditch when I was trying to reverse my way out of a one way, one lane farm road. I was resigned the fact that I might have to spend the night there because there isn’t any cellphone signal so I can’t call for roadside assistance. Fortunately, a helpful and friendly local helped me out and managed to call someone who can pull the car out of the ditch. A huge thanks to Patrick Gallagher and James Molloy! Because of the circumstances at that time, I wasn’t able to take any photos of the ordeal.

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