On a recent visit to County Mayo, we decided to pay a visit to the Ceide Fields, just outside the town of Ballycastle. The Ceide Fields are a 5000 years old Neolithic field system, which were discovered in the 1930's by a local man out cutting turf on the bog. In the 1970's and 80's archaeological digs took place which uncovered many of these walls. Ongoing research is taking place. They are to be found outside the town of Ballycastle in the North of County Mayo.There is a visitor centre onsite which has splendid views of the sea and the surrounding landscape. On the day we visited it was not raining (a miracle) which enabled us to take in the magnificent scenery. To get the most from your visit I would advise to wait for the start of the tour. Some people were heading out and catching up with the tour that already had departed. Whilst you are waiting you can view the interesting displays and watch the short film in the visitor centre. We had a wonderful tour guide, who had also worked on the site. He brought the whole story about the find, the archaeological dig and the way of life of Neolithic people , who farmed the land in the area. There is a small cafe in the centre where we had 2 teas and 2 slices of apple pie, though we felt they were overpriced at €12 for what we recieved. Before you leave make sure to visit Belderrig Cliifs below the centre. there is a walkway down to the viewing point. read more

Ceide Fields - Museums Near Me - Mayo, Missouri

A fascinating place -- I can recall it vividly even though it's 7 years since we visited! In the 1980s archaeologists discovered that the area had been farmed about 5,000 years ago, before the bog formed; this museum explores their discoveries and what life might have been like then, and it does so very well -- it's an excellent museum. The building in which the museum is housed is particularly impressive -- a sort of glass pyramid -- and the way it was set out was captivating. We also enjoyed an interesting tour of the site with a very well-informed guide. The museum is in the middle of nowhere (and the roads to get there are slow, slow, slow), but hey, this is Ireland! The coast-line is spectacular and worth exploring (by car or on foot) in its own right anyway. In short, if you're anywhere near here on holiday, go to Ceide (prounouced Kay-zure, I think) Fields: you won't be disappointed. read more

I don't know if I can say that this is 5 star, but it's a great place to visit. For €4, you can stroll through a nice (but little) visitor's center, and if you time it right, take a guided tour of the fields. As others have discussed in their reviews, these are a neolithic field system that was buried and preserved under a bog, so it's a good way to see both an ancient way of life, as well as some of the unique ecosystem involved with the bog, such as carnivorous plants like the butterwort and dewdrop which compensate for the nitrogen poor soil by capturing and "eating" insects. There are nice wooden pathways that lead up and down the bog, and as you climb the hill, on a nice day (which we fortunately had) you get a better and better view of the sea cliffs nearby, Downpatrick Head and it's sea stack (which is simply stunning up close) and off in the distance, portions of Donegal. The visitor's center is crowned with a cool little glass pyramid which you can step out of on to the walkways, kind of a neat little feature. And to top it off, there's a nice little cafe as well, which is a bit expensive but was pretty tasty. All in all, I would highly recommend this. It's certainly a unique thing for me, and pretty inexpensive. read more