| County Donegal |
| Northwestern Donegal |
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Northwestern Donegal - MOUNTAINS
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Northwestern Donegal - COUNTRYSIDE
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part of the county is pure wilderness, as few other places in Ireland
have. Breathtaking, spectacular, amazing, words are not enough to
describe the landscape, which surprisingly does not attract as many
tourists as it could, making northwestern Donegal an excellent
destination for nature lover and peace seekers. |
Accommodation_Donegal
The area around DUNGLOE
is known as the Rosses. This Gaeltacht stretches from Dungloe to Crolly
and has a number of small lakes as well as great sandy beaches.
ARRANMORE is a small island with amazing scenery. Inhabited since the
Early Iron Age, the island has many sea caves and sandy beaches. Mostly
wild and isolated, the landscape on the island is quite rugged. It will
take up to fours hours to walk around the island on what is called the
Arranmore Way. The |
pubs on the island are open 24-hours. The Arranmore
Ferry (call 952 0532 for information) leaves from BURTONPORT.
GWEEDORE is a remote Irish-speaking district, although not as remote as
it used to be as the villages along the coastline have basically
extended into one another. The inland area has remained wild and
isolated though. Great walks are to be made around, such as the
Tullagobegley Walk which goes over Tievealehid 431m). At the foot of
Mount Errigal is DUNLEWY, right beside Lough Dunlewy. While around the
lake you can pay a visit to Ionad Cois Locha, the Lakeside centre.
Mount Errigal is the highest peak in Ireland, culminating at 752m.
Apart from the unpredictable weather, climbing up does not require a
mountaineer’s experience. The so-called Poisoned Glen owes its name to
an orthographic error. Originally called the Heavenly Glen (An Gleann
Neamhe), an unfortunate cartographer marked the name as An Gleann
Neimhe (the Poisoned Glen). GLENVEAGH NATIONAL PARK is a valley with
many lakes and one of the most beautiful parts of the county. A
protected area, it is overlooked by the Derryveagh Mountains and has a
rich wildlife. The Glenveagh Visitor Centre (call 074-913 7090 for
information) provides good background on the area. Glenveagh Castle has
magnificent gardens.
The red colour of the rocks when the sun sets give its name to BLOODY
FORELAND, an ideal place for cycling.
11km North of the mainland lies TORY ISLAND, a place which few Donegal
people have visited. The island has a strong sense of traditional Irish
culture and people speak their own dialect of Irish. The island even
has a king and is well worth a visit. A monastic area was supposedly
founded in the 6th century, of which only a cross on the pier and a
round tower remain. A great place for bird-watching, Tory Island is
most famously known though for it school of primitive painters.
Elegantly attractive, DUNFANAGHY mainly has a Presbyterian heritage.
Killyhoey Beach and Marble Hill Beach are sandy and popular. Around
Dunfanaghy, the landscape is quite scenic and a number of sites are
noteworthy. Horn Head is a dramatic headland with amazing coastline
scenery. Ards Forest Park is a wild fowl sanctuary, covering the
northern shores of the Ards peninsula. The Muckish Mountain make a good
climb. Activities in the area include walking, Golf, Horse-riding,
Sea-angling, Windsurfing… |
| PS : GETTING AROUND NORTHWESTERN DONEGAL:
McGeehan Coaches (call
954 6150 for information) operates the following services: Dungloe to
Dublin
Feda O’Donnel (call 974 8114 for information) operates the
following services: Annagry to Killybegs (via Burtonport, Dungloe,
Glenties and Ardara) Gweedore to Letterkenny, Donegal, Sligo and Galway
Falcarragh to Letterkenny Lough Swilly (call 912 2863 for
information) runs a Dungloe to Derry service (via Burtonport, Crolly,
Bloody Foreland, Falcarragh and Letterkenny) |
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