Benbulben from Maugherow, North Sligo

The sky really was like this.

Whether the centre of a very gentle and slow-moving weather system was over head, this curious round hole in the clouds stayed overhead for the whole time I was there painting!

I have been fascinated by this small valley for a long time because there are recorded reports of how the estuaries in Sligo were able to moor whole fleets in Elizabethan times. There is a derelict castle to the left and it may have once guarded the upper end of a  long shallow harbour full of fishing boats. Who knows but maybe the same storm that cover so many houses nearby in the nineteenth century may also have helped to fill in this peaceful haven.