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In spite of getting fine weather, there were other attractions
on the day and we only got John Donaldson to come out with
us. However, we had Ann and Sandra so it made up an expedition
and away we went.
This was a tour around the old park at Mingarry, as defined
by the long dyke running all round it. We started at 'The
Avenue' a little beyond Mingarry Point and followed the dyke
from the beech trees up into the pine woods. The lower section
was largely a bank dyke cut into the hill and clearly designed
to keep grazing animals out of the park, which was presumably
for young trees, although we did see some cultivation marks.
Higher into the wood the dyke was built up in fine stonework
which is still in very good condition. We followed this along
the top of the wood until we were almost above the old school.
Then we went further up the hill where we looked at the old
cave where the children used to play. Some of the walls had
fallen down and we did a bit of rebuilding. Young John found
another cave under a big boulder which he was able to climb
into and we were sure the schoolchildren must have used that
for playing in also.
At this point we left the park dyke and went up the hill,
following an old iron pipe to a water source for the church.
John Donaldson found an iron base which might have once supported
a small reservoir tank.
Finally we climbed over the fence and crossed an old field,
re-crossing the fence close to the old houses at the top of
the wood and walking back to the car past the hall and the
old school.
John
Dye
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