Photo copyright Jorge Bacani
Today we visited a tower that is plainly Isengard, but which locals insist on calling Scrabo Tower. It’s visible from everywhere around us here, and the view from the top is stunning. From away over here on the farm, it stands silhouetted on the horizon.
Amazingly, three sisters were born in it, grew up (and grew old) there, before handing it over to the National Trust in the ’60’s. They must have been tough ladies – the tower contains only 5 rooms, and they’re joined by a single, steep, spiral staircase. It stands on a site that has been occupied for thousands of years, and which must have been the perfect lookout.
I borrowed this excellent image, because it captures the brooding darkness of the tower better than my old iphone could hope to. A great building, if only because it captures the imagination.
