Last updated: 2008 Jun 12
We had a very enjoyable trip to Northern Ireland and Donegal, taking our own car on the ferry from Fleetwood (Lancashire) to Larne (near Belfast). This was a scenic holiday -- we did not touch any cities. We stayed in a B&B in Larne on the first and last nights, but all other nights we stayed in hostels, and we were able to get a private double room in every case. Most we booked a few weeks in advance, but at 2 hostels we just turned up. The scenery was beautiful everywhere, ranging from rather austere moorland to extremely beautiful coasts, cliffs, bays, beaches, green hills and rounded mountains. Our photos (available soon!) will testify to this. But first, let's look at the towns and villages we passed through or tried to do shopping in.
The hostels were all in small villages or country areas, and we were impressed by almost all of them. (I will put up some reviews later). It was early season and there was plenty of room at most hostels most of the time, however a few hostels had full periods due to booking of groups to take over the whole hostel, and for our days 2-5 there was no room available in any hostel in N Northern Ireland due to a big motorcycle rally (we did not know this until we tried to book, and it meant we had to go the opposite way round on our planned route). All the hostels had good to excellent kitchen facilities, which enabled us to prepare all our own meals. As a result it was a very economical holiday.
3. THE WEATHERIn green Ireland we were ready for cloudy skies and drizzle. We got very little of that, but lots of days of sun and no significant rain till the last day. Indeed there had been little rain for 6 weeks, and the mountain bogs in Donegal were dry underfoot! However, it was never warm, and the persistent east wind was penetrating or bracing, depending on how we felt at the time.
3. THE TOWNSWe visited some towns and villages for shopping. In general we were not very impressed by them, and were very disappointed with shopping -- in most town centres and villages there were few or no useful shops (butchers, greengrocers, bakers), and we had to find a supermarket on the way out of town. In Northern Ireland, Ballymena was a large town and not very attractive. Draperstown, a planned 'plantation town' was small but spacious with neat sets of buildings. Omagh had a pleasant wide main street with a variety of good architecture. Portballintrae on the north coast has several hundred pleasant houses and a small harbour, one high-class pub, but NO town centre! No shops, no churches, nothing but houses! Portrush was a bustling holiday resort for the 'masses', but good for fish and chips! Larne was one of the most depressing towns I've seen, with in the evening half the shops being completely covered by metal shutters. Many shops were closed down awaiting development, there were gaps between buildings, and at least 10 churches within a 10-minute walk. However it did have a fine park, a promenade along the sea, and a backdrop of gentle green hillsides. The towns and villages in Donegal were tidier and some of them had robust-looking buildings around a green or 'diamond' (a variant on 'square'!).
In both countries, away from the towns, new houses were going up everywhere. That includes on remote peninsulas, bays and hillsides. Just houses, not schools, churches or shops. Often there were old cottages left to decay while a sparkling modern house was built 50m away.
Northern Ireland is a gentle green country, with moderate hills in most areas, some woodlands, and plenty of cows and sheep. We drove west through the Sperrin mountains which looked quite impressive. The most distinctive flower was gorse, which half-covered the hillsides in brilliant yellow, and even formed hedges along some roads. The east of Donegal was similar. Much of Donegal contained a variety of hills and mountains, with some areas with scattered rocks all over the landscape. The high areas were rather brown, but not boggy as the bogs had dried out during a 6-week drought. Most of the mountains were not that high (up to 750m) but severe looking and totally exposed (think of Uluru (Ayers Rock) -- similar shape and size). On the days when we might have attempted one, the wind was so strong that there was no attraction in the idea!
5. DONEGALWe started with a brief stop in Donegal town, more attractive than many with a bustling centre and an ugly castle. We were on the way to the Glencar region, where we found room in Derrylahan hostel, a quirky but very good place. The owner had good advice about local walks and we made a fine 90 minute walk. On the next day we visited the 600m not-sheer cliffs, and climbed the magnificent Slieve League mountain (to the top of those cliffs) in perfect weather. Next day we drove to Malinbeg (not to be confused with Malin Head; Malin means 'head' in this sense, so there's several Malins in Donegal!) A lovely beach was sheltered from the strong cold E wind which persisted for the next 8 days, but this day was very sunny and clear. We drove to the remotest spot, Port (port means bay, so there's lots of them also!) -- this village was deserted after the famine and has had no population since, though modern fine houses are spreading gradually closer. The area was wild with some tremendous coast walks above scary cliffs. Malinbeg has a superb new hostel, which is also within reach of Slieve League and many other walks. We checked out the music in the village of Carrick and found that there was nothing on, but we had missed a day folk festival on the day we arrived!
We then drove quite a way to our next stop, but the roads are mostly good and uncrowded so we had plenty of time for short stops. We drove through Ardara, which looked neat, without stopping, and we wanted to spend a little time in Dunglow (pronounced Dunlow!) but we gave up after looking for a parking in the crowded main street and finding ourselves driving into the country again. We crossed a variety of areas, ending up at a hostel at Dunfanaghy. This was a railway carriage, transported from some railway somewhere and plonked on a platform beside a derelict watermill. The owner was very helpful and enthusiastic. The weather now turned worse, with overcast skies (although medium cloud, and the mountains remained clear. The rain kept away, just a few light bursts, but a taste of that wind cancelled any ideas that we might climb one of those modest, but stark and totally exposed mountains such as Errigall or Muckish.
The area of Malin Head, the northernmost point of Ireland, was very attractive in sunny but very windy weather. There are houses all over the place, mostly modern bungalows, and in one or two spots they were close enough to be called a village, with the occasional pub and one good-sized shop/post office.
6. SPECIAL HAPPENINGSOn leaving one town, we suddenly saw what looked like a car bounce on its roof. Then we realised that the car 2 ahead of us had turned over and was lying on its roof. The person in front of us went to help. The young man inside was unhurt. A police car turned up within 2 minutes. The car had been travelling at a reasonable speed, and had evidently hit the bank at the side and started to rise up it like a skateboarder going up a ramp. This evidently was enough to turn the car completely over in 2 seconds. It's scary how easy it was to turn a car over.
At lunchtime the same day we stopped on the top of a pass, but realised the wind was just too strong to get out a picnic so we drove half way down to a more secluded parking bay, still with a fine view of the coast. We got out our picnic table, and all was well. However, the strong wind was still there above us, and every few minutes some of that wind came down to our level. Thus it was that a 30mph gust suddenly blew things off our table. we retrieved most of them, but one of our yellow plastic plates took the form of a frisbee and was whisked away in no time at all, over the rocks and down the hillside! We sent out 2 search parties (i.e. each of us went in turn!) but the plate remains on the Donegal hillside!
In N Ireland we went to see Lough Neagh. It's giant; on a calm hazy day, we couldn't nearly see the other end. There was a ruined church which I think was interesting, but as we perused the notice we were distracted by what I can only call midge-quitoes: the size of large mosquitoes, black, but in clouds of thousands! The combination of two of nature's worst torturers ensured we did not stay around long!
Donegal is famed for its music, but we were not greatly impressed. We usually seemed to miss events by a day, or by not knowing about them till too late. We did go to 2 sessions, in which local musicians give impromptu performances. They were good, but started very late (advertised for 2130h, they got going at 2220h) and the pubs got crowded even later. The music was good, but almost all reels and dance tunes, and no songs. Back in Ballintoy in Co Antrim we found a singer with guitar who sang a good range of irish and modern songs, which was very enjoyable. Unfortunately there were only about 6 listeners.
But the best holiday occasions are the unexpected ones. At Sheep Island View hostel in Ballintoy, our last stay, we discovered that a community choir from Yorkshire was staying in the same hostel. I sing in a community choir in our area, so I met up with them and sang with them on the morning, and we joined them on a walk to the Rope Bridge in the afternoon. We had an acquaintance in common, a song leader from a nearby area, and one of them had been on his tour of Slovenia, which I will be going on this year. They sang in the same pub that evening, to an audience of 2 (us) and about 6 other people who just chatted to themselves and ignored them.
7. PASSPORTSBritish citizens do not need a passport for Ireland. In fact, the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic was unmarked on the quiet road that we used, and evident only in the changes in road signs from miles to km and 2 languages. The only security check is between Britain and Britain. At the ferry ports, cars are given a quick examination which could easily turn into a thorough one -- one person was body-whisked. We were asked whether we had 'sporting goods such as guns or xxxs', which took 3 repetitions to understand that he said 'knives'. When we checked in in Larne, we were given a leaflet and told, in a fast irish accent, to put it on the xxxsd mirr, ? Oh, on the outside mirror, OK. After two more repetitions it turned out that he had said 'inside mirror'.
8. IRISH JOKES Not many this time.