Irish roadtrips are beyond any kind of roadtrip in the world. This isn’t just because you are constantly driving for your life (maybe dodging a sheep or trying to stay on the one lane roads), but because they have the most gorgeous views you will probably ever see.
I had been wanting to visit the north west of Ireland since I studied abroad in Galway. Sadly it is a hard trip to do by public transportation. Our bus went through this area on the way to Derry, but it is a long haul via bus. You are also limited to the town the bus brings you to, so you can’t really go out and explore all these counties have to offer. I am glad I waited until I had someone to drive me to attempt to visit Sligo and Donegal, because my world was completely opened up and I don’t think a bus trip would do it justice.
If you haven’t been following my blog then wouldn’t know that I met my boyfriend, Paddy, on one of my trips to Ireland. I went over this fall to spend two weeks with him and he made sure I got to see everything in Ireland that I have ever wanted to see (that’s a lot). We had two long weekends to do it all. The first weekend we headed northwards from Galway to stay in a cute little airbnb in Burtonport on the Donegal coast for two nights. The first two days we planned to see all the big sights of Donegal and then we would see a bit of Sligo on the way back. Here is what we did!
Day 1
We left Galway early Friday morning so that we would reach our first stop in Donegal around noon. Donegal is about a 3 to 4 hour drive from Galway, but its quite scenic. While they aren’t the fastest roads, at least you get to see the countryside. Our first stop was the Hidden Waterfall.
Hidden Waterfall
Sadly we did not plan this one out very well. There isn’t great parking and google maps can get a bit confusing. You can only really park on the side of the road and then you have to walk down to it. Look out for where all the cars are when trying to figure out where it is. Be careful on the road though. Donegal is notorious for its road accidents.
Now once you walk down, the view alone is worth the stop. The entire time I was thinking, “It gets better than this?” Good thing I was content with this view because we didn’t actually get to see the waterfall and this is what I mean by we didn’t plan.
It is a bit of a walk along the water to the waterfall and it is quite rocky, so you have to take your time with your steps. We were about halfway there when a couple was walking back and alerted us that the tide was rising and people were trying to get out and head back. We could have tempted fate and tried to see the waterfall, but we thought its not worth the risk. We could tell the tide was rising and if everyone is leaving, then that is a tell tale sign. As we walked back we alerted another couple asking about it and we told them we didn’t get to see it and they mentioned someone telling them to go at 11:30 am which by this time was an hour ago. It was a lesson learned about planning, so hopefully someday I get to go back and actually see the waterfall, but as for this stop, I did enjoy the view and it was a nice walk after being in the car for awhile.
Lunch: The Rusty Mackerel
From here we headed westwards towards Slieve League, the main attraction of our visit. We were getting a bit hungry through so we stopped for lunch along the way. We stopped in a town along the way where we thought we had found a pub that served food, but upon entering we were met with an empty room and a confused hostess who told us to continue along the way and we would come across a nice lunch place. We hopped back in the car and off we went. I for sure thought we went the wrong way because it seemed like we were driving in the middle of nowhere for awhile but alas we were met with The Rusty Mackerel in between Carrick and Teelin. While it definitely was a place targeting tourists, it was still a nice cozy place with the fireplace lit and a small number of customers. I would highly recommend it for a place to stop on the way to the cliffs of Slieve League.
I had ordered the seafood chowder, which was actually my first seafood chowder! I am not a huge fan of fishy things. I like fish and shrimp, and I don’t mind lobster and crab every once in awhile, but I don’t like when these things cause a dish to have a strong and obnoxious fish taste. I was a little nervous that this would be the case, but it was just the opposite! It really was a creamy soup with pieces of seafood in it and it was fantastic! It also was served with some delicious brown bread. I was really happy with how my meal turned out! That was another check off my list of Irish food I still needed to try.
Slieve League
We then continued on for what could only have been 10 minutes to the Slieve League parking. Here was another instance when we did not do our research. First of all, while Slieve League itself is free, parking is not. It cost us 10 euros. Then there is a bit of a walk to the actual cliffs from the parking lot. It didn’t bother us at all and luckily it was a nice day, but it was about a half hour walk so that is definitely something to consider when planning a visit to Slieve League. There is a shuttle option we discovered along the way. The parking for this was a bit before the parking lot, closer to the visitor center. This shuttle will take you all the way to the cliffs, so you don’t have to worry about the walk. It isn’t terribly priced as they are 9 euro per person, but it was still cheaper for us to park as two people and the walk was worth it. It was a beautiful walk to say the least.
While the dramatic cliffs weren’t into view yet, you had the sea to your left the entire time (on the right on the way back) and it felt like you were in the mountains. There were rollings hills with lakes sitting at the bottom of them and lots and lots of sheep hanging out on the hill side and even right next to the path. It was a paved path, so don’t be worried about hiking. It was a very enjoyable walk.
We knew we were arriving to the end (or our end) when we were met with the famous view of Ireland’s tallest cliffs. The Cliffs of Moher are the country’s most famous cliffs, but Slieve League towers them. It doesn’t have the same dramatic drop off, since it seems more like the side of a mountain, but they are still incredible and I think they could even rival the Cliffs of Moher for the island’s most amazing cliffs. You can’t even get the full extent of these cliffs in a photo because they are just that huge. You just have to see them in person. A tour group had come around the same time as us and occupied the observation deck, but we found a spot to the side to look out and take in the cliffs to the beautiful singing of their tour guide. We eventually got a turn on the observation deck, but I didn’t think it was as good.
The trail then continues upward above the cliffs, but we didn’t want to risk more of a hiking trail given injuries. I felt ok with that decision though, because while it might have had a cool new view, I think this was the best view we were going to get of the actual cliffs. Plus we still had other plans for the day and still wanted time to enjoy those, so we decided to start our walk back, with a few photo stops for me because I was wearing my new favorite cow sweater and I wanted some nice Ireland pictures in it. Then we walked back to the car.
Glencolmkille Folk Village
It was about 3:30pm by the time we left the cliffs. We had spent almost 2 hours here between the walking and taking in the view. We had a 30 minute drive to our next stop, the folk village at Glencolmkille. I don’t even know how to describe this drive into the village. It was full of mountains, more sheep, and typical Wild Atlantic Way sea views.
If you are having a hard time picturing what a folk village is, it is a little park full of old white stone and thatched roof cottages. Inside each one is mementos to the old ways of life, traditions, and culture. You enter into the craft shop, which looks like any Irish gift and souvenir shop, and here you can either just come in for some shopping or purchase tickets to the village. We got the tickets and were given a guide book (to later be returned) to tour the houses.
I know these kind of parks are made for tourists who want to learn about and experience the traditional life in Ireland, but there was something really fun about visiting with an Irishman. First off, he was an abundance of knowledge. For any question I had, he had an answer. It didn’t matter what time the building was from, he knew exactly what each thing was that the guide was describing. “Where is the butter churn?” He’d already be on to the next item. Second, it was fun to see him experience his own world. The last of the cottages we walked into, which would have been the most recent, I would have placed in the 40s and 50s based off the small metal stove and oven, but Paddy immediately said its like every old lady’s house in Ireland TODAY. It was actually placed in the 80s according to the guidebook, but that just goes to show how slow development was in Ireland. I learned a lot about Irish life from this stop since it was a catalyst for so much discussion.
There were a few of these homes from different time periods including one from each of the last few centuries. There was also the fisherman’s home, which wasn’t modeled after any particular time or place, but acted more as a spot to learn about the life of a fisherman since fishing is a big industry here in Donegal. There was another cottage dedicated to the grocer pub of rural Ireland where you could see what it looks like when your local is also the shop. I have never experienced this, but apparently they do still exist! There is also a little trail around the park and up the hill where you learn a little bit more about Irish life from the hedge schools, which were secret schools where kids could get an Irish catholic education during the penal laws, to the sweat house, which is where you’d go to use heat to sweat out your sickness.
From here we went to the tea house because an Irish countryside experience wouldn’t be complete without tea and a sweet treat. We both got tea and then shared an apple cake. Apple cakes are probably Ireland most well known desserts, so it definitely is something you have to try here. We had the whole place to ourselves, which probably was because it was getting to their closing time, but it was really nice. I liked that we were there at such a peaceful time. I also got a kick out of the woman working there crocheting while it was quiet. This is the life I yearn for: a cottage, baking, and crocheting!
Airbnb
After purchasing Dillisk for a snack from the craft shop (I wasn’t a fan), we continued our journey to Burtonport where we would be staying. We wanted to make sure we got there before sunset and it was a little over an hour drive. We drove along the coast which had just spectacular views, especially with the sun on the horizon. We passed through Dungloe which is a bit bigger of a town than where we were staying. We looked at staying here, but ultimately decided on Burtonport because we liked the little cabin. Dungloe does have an Aldi, which is a positive, but it still isn’t too far from where we were staying, so we stopped here for some groceries for dinner. Here I remembered just how cheap groceries are over here. I know Irish people complain about their prices, but it is nothing compared to the US.
We stayed at Coastal Escapes in Burtonport. I can get a little hesitant about Airbnbs because they take away housing from locals, but in this case our airbnb was built to be a holiday stay. There were eight little cabins located around a roundabout on top of the hill above Burtonport. They really were small houses! You entered and it is the kitchen, living room, and dining room in one. The kitchen was located on the far side with the dining table next to the big windows that make up the outside wall and then on the opposite side of the table is the couch with the tv basically in the kitchen. Its hard to explain, but I promise it makes sense. Then there is a door between the kitchen and couch that leads to the bedroom, which is just one double bed and then an attached bathrooms. Its really all you need for two people for a weekend.
As for Burtonport itself, there isn’t much to the town. There is basically one restaurant, two cafes, and a pub, and we went to all of them during our time there. Again, it is all you need for a weekend. I will describe each of these places as we visit them with the first being the next morning! Burtonport is also where you can catch a ferry to Arranmore Island, which I wanted to visit, but we didn’t have the time in our itinerary to squeeze it in, so I will just have to come back to Burtonport!
Day 2
We had quite the day planned! Were we going to do it all, that I was unsure, but somehow we managed! The plan was to get breakfast in Burtonport and then head east to the other side of Donegal, basically to the border with Derry. We had two stops here, Wild Ireland and Grianán of Aileach. Afterwards we would head back to Burtonport with a stop at Glenveagh National Park along the way.
Breakfast: Harbour Front Cafe
For breakfast we headed into town. We could have walked, thats how small and close everything is, but we just drove since we would be leaving right away anyway. Conveniently there is a good amount of parking at the harbor, right in front of the cafe.
I had been in Ireland for 4 days now and I had really been craving a fry up. Luckily this place had a full Irish with a little bit of a northern twist. It was all my favorites, eggs, beans, rashers, sausages, hash browns, black and white pudding, mushrooms, tomato, and toast, and as for the twist, potato bread. Potato bread has now become my new favorite bread. It is basically a thick flatbread made out of potatoes fried in butter and served with a fry up. Its most common in the northern part of Ireland. I would highly recommend giving it a try if you have the chance! And of course it wouldn’t be a full Irish breakfast if they didn’t give you tea and coffee with it, so I got my coffee for the day. Well actually, I got it for the morning. It was a two coffee day.
Wild Ireland
After breakfast we headed east towards Dundreans, which is quite literally on the border with Northern Ireland, to visit Wild Ireland. Wild Ireland is a wildlife park dedicated to caring for species that once lived in Ireland. Now I am not talking about animals that you would consider Irish that are going extict, I mean animals that were once there a long, long time ago. Many of them don’t exist anymore so they house animals that are the closest to, example being the Brown Bear. Bears were in Ireland thousands of years ago, so the exact Brown Bear that was there doesn’t exist anymore, but the European Brown Bear is pretty close and Wild Ireland has three of them. Its a cool place. It also had arctic and red foxes, monkeys, reindeer, wolves, lynx (which we sadly didn’t get to see), and then some much more common animals in Ireland like rabbits, birds, and goats.
It was an hour and a half drive from Burtonport. We had to go through Letterkenny to get there which wasn’t the most convenient because we definitely hit some traffic there. As for the rest of the way, I couldn’t really tell you what it was like, because I fell asleep. This was the first of probably three times I fell asleep in the car that day. What I do remember was mountains. I had never imagined Ireland having mountains, yet there they were! They weren’t huge mountains, but they also were not hills. They were quite barren. There weren’t many trees at all so all you could see was what felt like the most rural part of Ireland. It was just mountain upon mountain and occasionally you’d see a house and think, “Why are you living out here all alone?” Donegal is one of the bigger counties, but its also not that big. What makes it take so long to travel through is all the small mountain roads. I wouldn’t recommend Donegal as a destination for those who get car sick, because Irish people also drive insanely fast on these roads. That’s probably why I needed to sleep!
Once we got to Wild Ireland it was late morning. We got our tickets and headed in. Adult tickets at about 20 euros each. There were a lot of families there, especially because it was a Saturday, but it wasn’t too overcrowded with kids, or adults even. Its laid out in a way that makes you feel like you are walking through the woods, so you could get away from the crowds and enjoy the animals in a peaceful environment. You can get a map, but you don’t really need it as there are a lot of signs pointing to where you’ll find each animal. There actually was a lot of interesting stuff to see, even though its a lot of the same animals that we have in the wild back home in the states. It was curated in a way thats really enjoyable and we had a lot of fun with it.
Grianán of Aileach
Just 15 minutes away from Wild Ireland is Grianà n of Aileach. It is an ancient stone circle that I had been told to visit when I was in Derry a couple years ago, but didn’t have the chance to visit. We were told to go by the receptionist at the boutique hotel we were staying at there, but we couldn’t figure out how to get to the circle via public transportation. As we drove up the big hill this trip though, I discovered exactly why it is not a place meant to be visited via public transportation. I could not imagine a bus driving up or down this, I would have really regretted walking up it as well. So, I was quite glad I waited until this trip when I had someone to drive me to go.
The mountain we drove up was Greenan mountain and it had the most spectacular views. The stone circle was cool, but Paddy and I both agreed the view was the star of the show. You could see both Donegal and Derry lay out before you with a few towns scatter amongst the rolling hills in the background and Lough Foyle and Lough Swilly in the foreground. When we climbed the fort we even got a rainbow which made for the most perfect picture.
As for the fort itself, what story do you want to go with? It could be that its origins date back to the Tuatha de Danánn and faeries as the burial place of Dagda’s son or it could be it was constructed in 800 AD as a fortress from the king of Cenél nEogain to look out upon his lands. Either way its a pretty neat place. Its a huge stone circle, not like any I had previously seen in Ireland and its location is what makes it such an astounding site. Its so simple, yet so amazing. This would be a must see in Donegal in my book.
Lunch: Coffee Time
After the stone circle and another nap we were in desperate need of more coffee, so we found a cafe in Kilmacrenan to stop for a coffee and a snack. We stopped at a place called Coffee Time and it ended up being the cutest place we could have by chance picked. It was those same whitewashed thatched roof cottages of traditional Donegal with one of them having a coffee counter and a bakery counter. There wasn’t much other room inside and their dining area was either currently closed or under constructions so after we got our stuff we just sat on one of the picnic tables in front of the cottage.
I had got my usual oat cappuccino and Paddy his flat white. We both got a focaccia from the bakery counter. There were a few different toppings to choose from and they each sounded good, but I ended up with an olive and feta topping. It was good but I kind of wished I got the one Paddy did because it had pesto on it so it wasn’t quite as dry.
Glenveagh National Park
From here we were back on the road. It was nearing 4 pm and the park closed at 5:15 pm. This was another case of “we didn’t really plan or do our research”, because you definitely need more than an hour here. In our original plan we were going to go to the park first on the way to the stuff by the border, but it looked liked it was going to rain during the day, so we thought it would be better to wait until the rain stopped to do Glenveagh, since it is mostly walking outdoors. Of course, it didn’t really rain at all. There was just a light sprinkle during the stone circle and that was about it.
When we got there we had to decided what we wanted to do and what we could do. We decided on the castle and its gardens. We could walk there or pay to take the bus. For the sake of time we decided to take the bus there (only 3 euros one way) and then walk back since the shuttle ends at 5:15 pm but we could still walk the park after that time.
While the park itself is free to park and walk around, we did have to pay to visit the castle. After a few minutes on the bus we were dropped off in front of the castle and its gardens. We entered to the left where we purchased tickets for the self guided tour. Usually it is 10 euros for an adult ticket, but tickets were half price that day because many of the rooms were closed.
It was a self guided tour, but there wasn’t much information about each room. In the end it didn’t really matter, because we weren’t really big fans of the castle. It was ok, but it wasn’t the best castle we had ever seen. Immediately Paddy said, “The mansion that we visited in Minnesota was way better.” That being said, the castle gardens were the highlight of the visit. I really enjoyed the gardens. There was a pretty greenhouse on the side of the castle that led out to the main garden full of vegetables and flowers. From here you could walk to either side to experience the rest of the gardens that felt much more like walking through a park.
We definitely didn’t get to see all the gardens with the time we had. We started walking a small trail up the hill until we realized it was a walking trail that we weren’t sure where it went. It looked like it would have a nice view from the top, but with the gardens closing soon we turned back around to see what else we could before the gates started to close.
We sat at a bench in the pleasure garden for a bit until we say the castle workers lock up the gates and start closing them. We figured it was time for us to go since it was nearing 5:15pm. Then we began our walk back to the parking lot. We did the Lakeside Walk which was about 3.5 km (2.17 miles) and very flat, so it was a nice easy walk. It had fantastic views of the lake, valley, and mountains. I was just regretting in this moment wearing my rain boots, because I didn’t wear thick enough of socks so they weren’t the best for walking. I perservered though. There was a lot of pretty stuff to look at to distract me.
Dinner: Lobster Pot
By the time we got back to the car park, it was after 6 pm and we still had a 45 min drive back to Burtonport. With a stop to freshen up at the Airbnb and a walk into town, it was a little before 8 pm when we got to the town’s big (and only) dinner spot, the Lobster Pot. It was a seafood place, but it also had a lot of the regular pub food. They didn’t have a table for us right away, so we ended up at the bar with a couple pints for a bit. We weren’t there too long before a table opened up next to it.
Their menu looked amazing with a lot of great seafood options, but we both ended up getting the catch of the day fried up with some chips and mushy peas. As we were ordering they asked about a side and I quickly looked at the sides menu and went with the first thing that popped out at me, cheese bread, even though we didn’t need it as we were getting plenty of food. We even got dessert, because Paddy wanted me to try sticky toffee pudding, which was the first of many sticky toffee puddings this trip because I loved it!
After dinner we headed next door to the town’s major (and only) pub. There were two sides to it and the furtherest side we discovered was hosting a family reunion. This was where most of the seating was so we had to squeeze in on the other side at a table with an older gentlemen who kindly let us sit with him. I got my Guinness for the trip (I usually drink cider), and settled in. It was kind of loud there so it was hard to talk and it sounded like there was music, but it was on the other side so we couldn’t see it. It wasn’t the best pub experience, but at least I could say I went out to THE pub in Burtonport.
Day 3
Our last day we would be leaving Donegal and heading back to Galway, but we’d be taking the long way. While there was so much more we could have done in Donegal, we wanted to spend this day in Sligo, since I had a few stops I wanted to make there. For the fun of it we also added a stop in Fermanagh in the north to visit the caves there and Leitrim to see a waterfall. Both were well worth stops.
Breakfast: Wheelhouse Cafe
Before heading south to the caves, we stopped for breakfast. The night before was a late night so we slept in as late as we could before our check out at 10 am. Then we stopped at the cafe of the holiday rentals next door. It was a nice cafe. There wasn’t anyone in there at the time we got there which seemed a bit odd, but it quickly filled in once we sat down and ordered. I had gotten a breakfast wrap, which was really good, but super hot. I didn’t want to waste too much time on breakfast so I ate it anyway, but it definitely would have been better enjoyed if it was a bit cooler. It had sausages, rashers, and eggs insides with a side of hash browns. Paddy had the breakfast bap, which was pretty much the same thing but on a bap bun instead. We both were happy with the breakfast.
Marble Arch Caves
It was a two hour drive from Burtonport to the Marble Arch Caves in Fermanagh. Between this drive and an incident that held us up a few minutes, it was a little after 1 pm when we got to the caves, so it felt like half the day was gone already. We were only about 10 minutes from the caves when we saw a man digging through a car that had ran into a electrical pole and box and decided to turn around to see if he was ok or needed help. He sounded like a foreigner, but he had a Ireland license plate. He claimed to have insurance when another man from the north stopped and told him to call the police (not the garda… we aren’t in the republic anymore). It was a very weird situation because he seemed very against help or calling the police, but that was the only way to get out of this, because that car was not safe to get back into. Luckily when we left the caves we saw the police there with him.
Now back to the caves. The next tour was to start at 1:30 pm so we didn’t have to wait too long for it which was nice. We had just enough time to walk around the visitor center and check things out before we were brought down into the cave system. The tickets were 16.50 pounds each for the hour long guided tour of the caves.
When our guide picked up the group of maybe 25 people, we headed down a lot of stairs. They tell you not to do this tour if you have heart or breathing problems and as we were walking down I couldn’t help thinking, “This isn’t that bad at all!” We also made a lot of stops down to talk about things, so that broke it up quite a bit, but after awhile it did seem like the stairs just kept on going and I was a little nervous about the walk back up.
I don’t think I had ever experienced so many stairs getting in and out of a cave before and I have been to quite a few other caves at home, in Ireland, and other parts of Europe. It was pretty cool once we got inside though. Each cave is unique, from the minerals inside it, the shape of the rocks, its stalagmites and stalactites, and what bodies of water may sit inside it.
These specific caves were formed 340 million years ago by the river carving through the limestone. This cave is quite unique for its river that passes through. Sometimes the tour includes a boat ride, but it wasn’t operating while we were there.
The coolest part about the river though was towards the second half of the tour when the water just sat as still as water could be, split by a man made walkway named the moses walk after the splitting of the red sea. Here the water was so still that the stalactites reflected off the water making it look like it was sticking up from the cave bottom. I was actually in awe of this.
The toured ended with looking at the biggest stalactite in the cave system that people tried to break off when the cave was first discovered. It eventually was attempted to be put back together, but now has a very weird shape because of this. Then we headed up the stairs to the cave entrance, then up the stairs to the entrance to the entrance, and then up the biggest part of the stairs back to the visitor center. It had become quite clear to me in this moment how bad I had been eating on this trip, and my lack of exercise.
Glencar Waterfall
After the caves we wanted to try to get carvery, but it was already after 2:30 pm and most places would be closing their carveries around 3pm. We were nowhere near one, so we decided we would just put it off for another day and drive towards Sligo instead. On the way we stopped at Glencar Waterfall, since we didn’t get to see the other waterfall we wanted to see on this trip. It ended up being a really nice waterfall.
The waterfall is located in Glencar, Co. Leitrim in a nice park. There is a car park surrounded by beautiful fields, lakes, and mountains. Across the street is the park to see the waterfall. Its a super easy walk as it was not far at all to get to the waterfall on the walking path.
You know you’ve reached it when you’ve been transported to a tropical island. If you just saw a picture of this waterfall without knowing where it is, I guarantee you will guess its somewhere in Latin America or a Pacific Island. I think it is because of just how green it is around the waterfall with the flourishing trees and moss covered rocks.
After a brief walk to see the waterfall, we headed back to the car, but not without a stop at the ice cream truck. I really wanted a 99 cone, but sadly they were out of sprinkles and after a couple attempts ar asking for strawberry sauce, I got nothing. All I got was the flake, but that’s still better than nothing!
Benbulbin
We continued driving through the gorgeous countryside into Sligo to see Benbulbin, the big mountain that seems quite out of place in the rest of the rolling hills and fields, but it is the symbol of Sligo because of how amazing it is! If I had to find an equivalent for Americans, it would be Devil’s Tower, as it is just this randomly amazing structure. The only problem was finding a place to park the car to get out to admire and take a picture of it.
We tried the Benbulbin Forest Walk, but it was on the side of the mountain and there was a lot of trees that were in the way so it wasn’t the best picture. I wouldn’t have minded doing the forest walk, but we didn’t have the time for it with all the other stops we wanted to make. We ended up driving around to the back side of it and decided to turn onto one of the small country roads. This is when I learned Ireland has a name for the roads that have the grass growing in the middle. I can’t remember what Paddy called it but google says Boreen.
I think this was actually the best place we could have been to see Benbulbin. It was just the right distance to get a photo with the whole of it in it without anything in front of it taking away from its amazingness. Behind us was a sheep pasture which provided some great background noise to the whole experience. The only downside to this was we were literally just sitting in the middle of the road so as soon as a car started coming down that actually needed to use the road, we had to hop in the car quick and speed off. We got long enough to truly enjoy the view though.
Dinner: Gracie’s Bar
After Benbulbin we were going to head into Sligo town for dinner. We stopped at Yeat’s grave along the way. It was just a quick stop at the church where he is buried. We didn’t even go in the church. We just walked around to the opposite side where his grove stone lays. There is an audio tour you can do of the site, but we were getting hungry, so we were content with just seeing his gravestone with a moment of peace and heading back to the car to go to Sligo.
We didn’t do much sight seeing in Sligo. We only were stopping into town for dinner and then we were going to visit Strandhill before heading back to Galway. We parked at the shopping center and just walked towards what looked like would lead to food. After about 10 minutes of walking we ended up a Gracie’s Bar. It was a pub that offered food, but instead of being just your small town local, it was more of a chain restaurant in a building that seemed like went on forever. It was a huge building and was definitely the bar for young people late in the evening.
It felt very empty in there, but that was probably just because of how spacious it was. We sat at the top floor by the other entrance. There were maybe a couple other people sitting there in that whole dining space. Paddy got the roast of the day since he didn’t get his carvery, but I am not a beef eater so I did not do the same. Instead I got chicken goujons with sweet chili sauce. We did end up getting more sticky toffee pudding (I told you we had it a lot).
Strandhill
Our last stop of the day was probably our favorite, Strandhill. It is one of the beaches in Sligo. It was located just a little bit outside of the town on the coast. It felt like the Salthill of Sligo: a bit more coastal with nice houses, seafood restaurants, and a promenade. We drove to the water’s edge along the promenade and found a parking spot close enough to the water. It was now evening time and the water was fierce. Huge waves crashed against the rocks that divide the prom and the sea. They were so big that the car was definitely left a bit salty after sitting there for a bit. It really was beautiful though. We got out and just watched the waves for awhile (trying to get the best picture). Then we walked along it for a bit, but the best view really was right where we got out of the car. The sun wasn’t necessarily setting yet, but it was on the horizon and there was a golden hue to the sky. It really was the best way to end our road trip up north.
Strandhill was our last stop and we still had a two hour drive back to Galway. As we headed out of Sligo we were met with the most amazing view of the moon. Now it was sunset, but no picture I could take (even with my nice camera) would capture how amazing it looked. We pulled over at the side of the road on a hill towering over the water with all the other cars pulled over to get a photo. They may have gotten a much better picture than me, but the fun of it was all being together enjoying the world’s natural beauty. There really isn’t anything like the natural landscape of Ireland and this weekend definitely gave me a new appreciation for it. I have always enjoyed how beautiful Ireland was, but I saw things this weekend that I didn’t even know could be in Ireland. That is why a roadtrip along the Wild Atlantic Way is definitely worth it. First you just need to find yourself a nice Irish lad to drive you. 🙂
I hope you enjoyed reading about my roadtrip up north. Go to my Ireland page to read more about my time in Ireland and stay tuned for more because this trip isn’t over!
