SquaresRenew 30: Inishowen and the Wild Atlantic Way
Derry is very close to the border with the Republic of Ireland, and on our last full day there we decided to explore the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal. Advised by Julie, our super-helpful breakfast server, we drove across the Mamore Gap and had a lovely coastal walk. In some ways, Northern Ireland and the Republic have moved forward in tandem, for example the only indication we had of crossing the border was that the road signs changed from miles to kilometres.
Inishowen has also experienced a tourism renewal since 2014 when Ireland launched the Wild Atlantic Way, one of the world’s longest coastal routes. The driving route stretches about 2,500km along Ireland’s dramatic western coastline, from Inishowen in the north to County Cork in the South.
The following day we returned to Donegal, this time driving further south to a cottage we had rented for a week – but that’s outside the scope of these posts. Last day tomorrow!
Part of Becky’s SquaresRenew Challenge, using images from our April 2024 trip to Northern Ireland to illustrate one or more of the following:
- Move forward
- Reconstruct
- Renew
- Burgeoning
The Glasgow Gallivanter 
A beautiful photo of Inishowen and what good weather you had! Wish I was there.
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It was beautifully bright that day, but very cold – especially at the top of the pass!
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Looks beautiful
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It was!
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That looks like a good place for a scenic driving route. I hope that it doesn’t get overloaded.
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From the small parts we saw it doesn’t yet seem to have suffered the fate of the North Coast 500.
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It is perhaps not quite so easy to get at.
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Marvellous scenery, Anabel!
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It was so beautiful!
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Lovely photos for this beautiful area.
Another area of Ireland we didn’t visit during our trip in 2014. We only went as far as Fanad Head on the other side of the Inishowen Peninsula. We truly enjoyed our time in Donegal despite the rainy weather. (Suzanne)
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And we didn’t get to that bit! So much more to see.
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Donegal is really nice, Much like the Scottish Highlands. No coincidence as I believe both and USA Appalachia were all joined together in the distant past with mountains of a similar look today and height 3000 to 4000 foot which is maybe why a lot of Scots and Irish picked the Appalachian mountains to settle in, instinctively, without really knowing why it felt like home in some fashion. They were all part of the giant Central Pangaea Range before they separated millions of years ago. Bob. BSS.
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We wished we had more time to explore – but further south was lovely too! It’s always funny to think that Scotland and England used to be on completely different landmasses. Well, to me anyway!
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Now that’s a road trip I would love to do, as long as the weather played ball! I wouldn’t have thought it was that long, but I guess it’s very winding. Beautiful scenery.
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Very windy indeed! And so many lovely places to stop, even in the short bits we did.
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It looks like your breakfast server gave you some good advice, those views are stunning 🙂
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She was from Inishowen so knew what she was talking about! Lovely helpful person.
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You seem to have had such an interesting, thought-provoking and now beautiful holiday too. And all in pursuit of splendid Squares for Becky!
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Well of course, we wouldn’t even have bothered going if it hadn’t been for Becky! Such a hard task mistress, I just knew I had to gather material. (It’s ok, she’s already visited today’s post – I won’t get into trouble for cheek 😄).
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😉
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Hi Anabel – I’ve been to that part of the world (in the 1960s) … it’s a stunningly beautiful part of the world. This looks amazing – fantastic with the weather … beautiful – good advice from your ‘guide’ … cheers Hilary
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It is stunning, as you say. It was a bright day but still not very warm!
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I am so enjoying your trip!
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Thank you! You would think after 31 days I’d be done but I left out so much.
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This is absolutely stunning – what a wonderful suggestion by your breakfast server
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She was a real gem.
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Wow, wouldn’t this be a great road trip. You’ve set me thinking ahead to a future trip. I must do some research.
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It would. We travelled a tiny bit of it in Donegal and it was beautiful.
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