One last round…
Well, here we are… we’ve arrived in the very north of Ireland… Just enough time to enjoy the moment, and here we are, off we go again with a new country in the bag, since we’ve entered Northern Ireland (that is, the United Kingdom)… To mark the occasion, we’re trying out a new design for the posts (let us know what you think about it…).
General statistics of the adventure so far…
Total Distance (km)
Gasoil (L)
Countries Visited
4.761 km
751,41 L
3
A quick note on tides…
17-18/05/2025 – Owenea Estuary, Ardara
The first time, it worked, but this time, we miscalculated!… We had to retreat to a small grassy area, higher up, to avoid ending up with the wheels in the water, among the crabs!… This probably shows that the locals know their region well… We should have listened to them!… 🤓
Once dry on our grassy platform, we were still able to enjoy two incredible days in the spectacular scenery of the Owenea Estuary, with a long walk on the sand down to the ocean, a quick swim in the (slightly less cold) river waters, and two breathtaking sunsets. Two days living like Robinson Crusoe, on our deserted beach…
Is Donegal still wild?
19/05/2025 – Ardara -> The Big Dune
This is a question that’s been haunting us since we arrived in Ireland (given that everyone told us Donegal was the wildest county of all). Based on the landscapes, each more beautiful than the last, the long white sandy beaches, or the immense sand dunes that flow along them, then yes, Donegal is undeniably wild. Yet, we also have the impression of passing through more villages and residential areas in this part of the country than anywhere else. Not a single peninsula here that isn’t covered with houses… So, does Donegal’s reputation come from when the Wild Atlantic Way was invented (over 20 years ago), before tourism, real estate speculation, and AirBnB have since wreaked havoc?… Our stop today, at the foot of the “Big Dune” of Carrickfinn Beach, tips the scales more towards “very beautiful” and “wild,” with its superb panorama of the bay on one side, the lagoon on the other, and the imposing, conical silhouette of Mount Errigal in the background… 😍
Lost in the dunes…
20/05/2025 – The Big Dune -> Ballyhoorisky Point
Yesterday’s reflection on the wild character of Donegal seemed a little “off topic” this morning, in the middle of the immense dunes of Magheraroarty. It’s difficult to describe this incredible landscape on the Dooey Peninsula, where the ocean has created a vast inland lagoon that fills and empties with the tides, and whose various meanders are separated by immense sand dunes covered with tufts of grass. We drove half of the 4 km of dunes with Marvin, and walked the other half, following the meanders of the lagoon where dozens of wild rabbits frolicked and a few sheep grazed. Surrounded by sand, deep in the dunes, we felt like we were in the desert, until we climbed the dune to discover the panoramic view of the white sand beach, the transparent ocean waters, and the sound of the waves.
Around the fjord…
21/05/2025 – Ballyhoorisky Point -> Lenan
From the pretty Fanad Head lighthouse, you can clearly see, just ahead, the last rocks of the Inishowen Peninsula, at the end of which lies the northernmost point of Ireland. Only between the two is Lough Swilly, a very large fjord that cuts very deep inland. Normally, there’s a ferry that allows you to get from one side to the other more quickly, but this ferry won’t be in service until June 1st. So, we had to go all the way around the fjord, before going back up the other side and settling on some mini-cliffs, near Leenan, to be ready for the big day tomorrow..
Far north (end of the Wild Atlantic Way)…
22/05/2025 – Lenan -> Malin Head -> Tremone Bay
After a stop halfway to make sure we didn’t miss Ireland’s highest sand dunes, on Five Fingers Strand in Lag, we only had to cover the last few kilometres to reach Malin Head, the tip of the Inishowen Peninsula and the northernmost point of mainland Ireland. The true northernmost point is located on an islet, a few oar strokes from Malin Head, Inishtrahull, but it has not been inhabited since 1929 (1987 if you count the lighthouse keeper), and is now only really accessible to scientists studying its bird populations… Malin Head has long been a reference for sailors and navigators, since it was from the tower that Lloyds of London had installed there that it communicated with ships in the North Atlantic. Malin Head is also a reference for meteorology, since it is, still today, one of the 22 reference weather stations of the BBC Shipping Forecast. For us, it is a first page in this adventure that is turning. We have reached the end of the Wild Atlantic Way, and to avoid leaving it too quickly, we came to settle on a beach in Tremone Bay, a few kilometres away, for a last night in Ireland…
In the footsteps of giants…
23/05/2025 – Tremone Bay -> Kinbane Head (Northern Ireland)
A few last kilometres in Ireland, before enjoying the first day of operation this season of the ferry from Greencastle to Magilligan Point to reach Northern Ireland (and thus leave the European Union)… It was a little sad to leave Ireland after almost two months in the country, but the long stretch of Benone Beach and, above all, the Giant’s Causeway are undoubtedly the perfect finale to this part of the adventure…
The Giant’s Causeway is an incredible place. It is the result of an ancient volcanic fissure where molten lava came into contact with the icy waters of the North Atlantic and formed hexagonal basalt columns, like so many paving stones laid there by a giant. This is actually where the name of the place comes from. The story goes that the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn MacCool, whom we already talked about before…) was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant Benandonner. Fionn accepted the challenge and built a causeway spanning the ocean between Ireland and Scotland so that the two giants could meet. In the Irish version, Fionn obviously emerged victorious from this fight… 😉
The place is in any case spectacular and fully deserves its World Heritage Site designation, with its large amphitheater-shaped cliffs and basalt columns protruding from the walls like the pipes of a gigantic organ. A fitting end to the Wild Atlantic Way (even if, technically, the Causeway isn’t part of it since it’s not located in Ireland), before planning the next part of the route and the ferry to Scotland, in a day or two…
