Drive the Wild Atlantic Way in Ireland
The Wild Atlantic Way is Ireland’s first long-distance driving route, hugging the Atlantic coastline north to south for 2,750km. Stretching from Malin Head in Donegal to Kinsale in Cork, the drive offers long sandy beaches, the highest sea cliffs in Europe, and pubs that vibrate to the sound of live, traditional Irish music.
Donegal: The Wild Atlantic Way begins in Donegal, the county that produced traditional Irish music band Clannad and where Gaelic is the spoken language in many parts (although all the locals can also speak English). Near the village of Maghery is the Assarancagh Waterfall, and just beyond it is a 10km hiking trail to the cascading mountains, lakes and lush valleys of Glen Gesh Pass. Further south is the village of Ardara, the heart of Donegal’s knitwear and tweed industry. From here it’s a short, scenic drive to Slieve League, the highest sea cliffs in Europe (601m).
Sligo is best known for its association with the Nobel Prize winning poet William Butler Yeats who is buried in the grounds of the local Protestant Church at Drumcliff. The area is overshadowed by the limestone plateau of Benbulben (525m), which offers terrific views to those who have a few hours to climb it.
The Mayo coastline takes in some of Ireland’s most remote communities, both on the mainland and the offshore islands. The Céide Fields are here; a set of small walls and enclosures that show there were farmers in this area 5,000 years ago. Further along the jagged coastline is Achill Island with dramatic mountain and seascapes.
The town of Westport is an excellent base for climbing Croagh Patrick (764m), the conical-shaped mountain where Ireland’s patron saint, Saint Patrick, is believed to fasted for 40 days and nights.
Galway: From Mayo to Galway city, the route takes in Connemara with its wild and desolate landscape of mountains, bogs, lakes, stone walls, and sheep that graze along the sides of roads. Galway city is cosmopolitan and vibrant. From here you can take a boat trip to the Aran Islands.
Clare is the cradle of Ireland’s traditional music scene. In the town of Doolin, you’ll share a busy pub with musicians and toe-tapping music lovers, backpackers and weekend visitors from the city.
Nearby are the Cliffs of Moher, the famous walls of sedimentary rock that rise 200 metres above the crashing Atlantic. The Cliffs are among the great symbols of Ireland.
Kerry is Ireland’s traditional tourist capital and has many of the attractions that visitors seek when they look for the ‘real’ Ireland. The Dingle Peninsula is a few hours’ drive through beautiful mountains, sandy beaches, indifferent sheep, and narrow cliff-clinging roads.
To the south is the Iveragh Peninsula, famous for the 180km scenic route that encircles it, called the Ring of Kerry. Much of this route has been borrowed by the Wild Atlantic Way. The many touring coaches that drive the Ring, approach it in an anticlockwise direction. You would be advised to follow suit or else face a steady stream of large vehicles every few minutes along very narrow roads.
The coastline of west Cork is less mountainous than neighbouring Kerry, but is instead dotted with charming and gastronomic towns including Bantry, Clonakilty and the last stop of the Wild Atlantic Way, Kinsale.
Visitors such as Keith Floyd and Rick Stein helped Kinsale earn a reputation as Ireland’s gourmet centre, and there are plenty of seafood restaurants that maintain this mantle.
Photo courtesy of Spatialpan and used under the Creative Commons license. Image shows Portsalon beach, Fanad, Donegal.
Written by Claire Sweeney
Claire has a long love affair with travel that began as a school student when she travelled to Angouleme in France on an exchange program.
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