Traveling the Emerald Isle - Day 13, Wednesday, August 31, 2022

 

The Wild Atlantic Way in County Donegal, Ireland  – Day 13, Wednesday, August 31, 2022

Today we travel the Wild Atlantic Way, darting in and out along narrow roads and inlets, skirting the rugged coves, beaches and cliffs in western County Donegal. This is a harsh country, battered by the Atlantic winds and storms, which also brings with it its own beauty and allure.   The country’s largest fishing port was at Killybegs where the harbour was crowded with boats, ships and freighters.

Harbour at Killybegs

Our next hike is along the soaring polychrome cliffs at Slieve League. At over 2,000 feet high, the dramatic cliffs are among the highest in Europe, plunging over 600 meters into the churning sea.  The trail begins with about 250 feet practically straight up … requiring sheer might to get to the top, but the rest of the mile and a half trail, while still hilly, was not as bad.  The scenery, however, was spectacular with magnificent views of the Atlantic Ocean, Donegal Bay and the Sligo Mountains. As difficult as I thought it was, it was also the absolute best walk ever with its very dramatic rock formations, cliffs and, yes, grazing sheep at every turn.  It’s something one must experience, as words and even photos cannot adequately describe it!  Out on a far ledge we see a stone watch tower, one of 80 built around the entire island within view of each other, built in the early 1800s in anticipation of an invasion by Napoleon.

It's a lot easier going down hill!!!

We enjoyed more views as we weaved our way up the jagged coast for quite a ways, but we also see what looks like commercial peat bog areas where many piles of peat are still drying in the late summer sun.  It’s all very interesting and intriguing.  After maneuvering; the switchbacks through the spectacular Glengesh Pass, we turn east to toward Glenveagh National Park and the looming Mount Errigal, County Donegal’s highest mountain. The cone shaped top dominates the horizon for miles around, looking taller than it is from the surrounding bog land.   

Mount Errigal

Our next stop is our B&B in Letterkenny. After settling in, we take a stroll up to St. Eunan’s Cathedral. Built in 1890, it was remodeled in 1985 with care to preserve the style and materials of the original altar by incorporating an Irish carving of Leonardo’s The Last Supper. Along with a lovely Marian side altar, there’s also a side room of a life-sized Nativity as well as a small relic of St. Faustina. 

We had a delicious dinner at the Warehouse Bar and Grill of shank of lamb. Interestingly, given the fact that sheep are found in abundance everywhere on the island, lamb is rarely found on the menu.  During the entire trip we did eat a lot of tasty dark breads, fish and chips and seafood soup/ chowder. Other scrumptious dishes include phyllo- or panko-coated baked brie with berry sauce, breaded mushrooms, steak sandwiches and the typical Irish breakfast of eggs, sausage, baked ham (their version of bacon), a baked tomato, yogurt, cereals and beverages.  As you can see, the cultural food and drinks have been a wonderful part of this journey!