We keep ending up in County Donegal because we have to return to Northern Ireland to renew our van lease, and this time is no different. It’s not a bad thing though, as County Donegal (pronounced “dun uh gaul”) has dramatic coastlines and beautiful vistas.
One thing that has really stood out for us is the number and quality of the beaches in Ireland. They are everywhere, and the sand is what we would expect to find in the Caribbean. The temperatures could use another 20°C or so. I don’t know if it is because of our timing (Sep-Oct), but the beaches are largely deserted. Nothing like having your own private beach!
We left Attishane, County Mayo, and drove to Ballinamallard for a one night stay at the “Little Lodge”, an Airbnb located on the edge of suburbia.
A nice place for a one night stay. The unit is a converted garage, with its own entrance down the side and around the back. One unusual feature was the large propane tank in the front yard with a supply pipe running on top of the ground, and then up and over the pathway to the unit. Definitely have different building codes here.
One of the nice things about this place is its location on the boundary of suburbia and rural farmland. A one minute walk from the unit and you are on a wooded lane with fields on both sides.
Next morning off to Omagh Northern Ireland. This will be the third Enterprise Rental office we have visited. We got a new van as the previous one needed routine servicing. The new Van, a Ford Transit, is a bit smaller than the Vauxhall Combo we turned in. The Ford isn’t as nice as the Vauxhall and comes with absolutely nothing extra. I had to ask the Enterprise rep where the switch was to adjust the side mirrors. Turns out there isn’t one, you have to adjust the mirrors manually, very old school, haven’t done that in years!
Next stop is Kate’s Cottage in Rathmullan, Co. Donegal.
The seaside village of Rathmullan is only about 5 minutes away from the cottage. A small village of less than 500 people, and most of them were out and about when we visited on a Sunday.
The main parking lot, located at the intersection of a fort, the beach and the pier was packed. There were food and coffee trucks, and even a pay-per-use sauna that was being used by swimmers! We have seen a lot of swimmers in Ireland. Amazing at this time of year.
Lough Swilly is one of three glacial fjords in Ireland. It starts at the town of Letterkenny and ends at the tip of Fanad Peninsula. The final road (and I use the word road loosely) up to the lighthouse on the tip of the peninsula is narrow and winding. I had to back up twice to get to a “passing bay” to let other vehicles by. Passing Bays are areas of the road that are slightly wider (we are talking inches here) that are built-in to the roads to allow oncoming vehicles to pass each other – much less expensive than actually building a road with two lanes.
Lots of cliffs and dramatic coastline along Lough Swilly, including the Great Pollet Sea Arch.
About 1/2 hour to the west of Rathmullan is the Glenveagh National Park. Within the park an easy 3.5 km walk meanders from the visitor centre, along the banks of Lough Beath and arrives at Castle Glenveagh (there are castles everywhere in Ireland).
A very Irish picnic next to the Balinese statues in the castle gardens.
Why very Irish? We had Tayto sandwiches, an Irish delicacy consisting of squishy white bread, buttered of course, and then Tayto brand onion & cheese flavoured crisps (chips). That’s it. Nothing else. Very tasty, but we both agreed a stronger flavoured crisp is required. Next time we will try our favourite O’Donnells Mature Cheese and Red Onion crisps as they have a much stronger taste!
About 20 minutes north of Glenveagh National Park is Ards Forest Park (have a look at the MAP to get a better sense of where everything is located). Ards Forest Park has it all: forests, dunes, beaches (the photo at the top is this post is Binngorm Point Beach in Ards Forest Park).
October 20 – 27, 2023