Donegal's bogs constitute, in effect, an outdoor museum, preserving the remains of flora, fauna and occasionally human beings as well as or better than modern conservation techniques. The museums of Ireland, both local and national, are full of items retrieved from the bogs - manuscripts, golden chalices, weapons, as well as human remains from bits of bones, to skeletons to bodies preserved like leather. Bog butter, i.e. tubs of butter placed in the ground as a type of refrigeration, has been found in a number of places, most recently near Falcarragh. You will come on stumps of pine trees which were growing here long before the first human set foot in Ireland. We have Donegal’s bogs to thank for the quality of our water, as they act as natural filters for ground water.

The sand dunes found in many parts of North Donegal, but especially in Cruit Island, and in the Downings-Carrigart area, are great places to explore. They are a fragile habitat which should be respected, and contain many different species of wildflower, including wild Thyme, Tricolour Pansy and Pyramid Orchids. Sand dunes are home to machair, a kind of grassland rich in lime. Mullaghaderg in the Rosses is a good place to see this.

Red Deer are the most distinctive and attractive mammal found in Donegal. Their home is Glenveagh National Park. Most but not all males have the distinctive antlers, but only the stags have them - females do not. There are many other types of animals - rabbits, hares, stoats (Donegal has no weasals), pinemartins, badgers, bats and even some mink. Off the coast you will see both grey seals and the common seal (confusingly the grey seal is more common than the ‘common’ seal). Increasing levels of traffic on Donegal's roads, even minor roads, and intensive farming methods, have affected mammal populations, but if you leave the road and wander the hills it will not take long to come across those we share this earth with.