2 CommentsWhen Colum Sand’s penned the line “Well my trouble really started at the crossroads I suppose” in his 'Directions' song, he surely must have been sitting in his car scratching his head at this crossroads up the road from Camlough Lake!
South Armagh has always been famed for its lack of road signs, in fact there possibly could be someone still out there driving around looking to get to Killnasaggart having missed out on the family growing up!
In that vein you might need to take the directions contained on an old style road sign in Ballintemple at the junction of the Chapel Road, Church Road and Seavers Road with a pinch of the proverbial salt as it attempts to drive you round the bend. Mind you the sign certainly isn’t lacking in information and could keep you on the road, maybe the wrong road, for quite some time.
The sign certainly contributes to bringing us all closer to each other reducing the distance to many towns and villages that once were quite a few miles away.
Amazingly that spot in South Armagh is simultaneously ½ mile from Killeavy Old Church and 5½ miles from Lurgan. No wonder there are so many discarded Buckfast bottle on the roadside.
Being just 3 short miles from Camlough you’re also perfectly placed for some shopping at The Outlet as you are also just 5 miles from Banbridge and ½ a mile from Scarva, - What a handy place to park for the Sham Fight on the 13th!
If you suddenly can feel a migrane coming along as you drive by in your car, just drop in to Bingham's Pharmacy in Markethill just 3½ miles away and you'll be as right as rain when you hit the Cathedral in Armagh, just 10 miles up the road. Oh and you're just 3½ miles from Newry too!
The centre of the universe or what - you're just 6¼ miles from Jonesborough and 5½ miles to Forkhill but heading the same direction you’ll hit Keady just 4 miles along or Castleblaney 16 miles around the corner. All those years travelling to Keady Mart via Newtownhamilton when all we had to do was head in the direction of Meigh and we would have been there in five minutes .... If only we had known!
