Back in to Ireland

Sad to leave Northern Ireland as the scenery has been stunning but looking forward to continuing on to discovering the rest of Ireland too. Before we left N Ireland we popped in to another derelict castle called Dunluce. Nice little wander then on through Londonderry to cross the border (with the fam) then up to the most northerly point in Ireland, Malin Head. A different, very rugged landscape. Quite epic. We walked the rugged coastline to ‚hell‘s hole‘ - 2 rock faces with dramatic waves then over to the look out/signal post/Eire sign used during the war. V windy and bracing. This point is also the start of the Wild Atlantic way, the coastal route all the way down south that we hope to follow.
Next was a bit of a drive down to Donegal stopping just a couple of times to stretch our legs including a little woodland full of bluebells and wild flowers. Very pretty. Have definitely come at a good time as there’s spring growth and blossoms everywhere, very lovely.
Arrived at Donegal, by the harbour, our stopover for the night. Ready for our dinner so found a nice old pub next to the (small) castle ruins nearby. Had a bit of a walk in the lovely evening sun around the little harbour/ruined abbey, waiting for the footy to start. By then, the car park became a bit of a drugs run? Constant stream of cars back and forth, in and out, sitting, waiting, then more car swapping, mostly men, in pairs, not all young. It was quite bemusing just how many there were. What a hub we’d stumbled across. Ironically, the Garda station, plus 2 cars is just opposite the car park! An older man pulled up next to one of the bins, lifted off the main bin and put a large red bag inside then drove off. When the council emptied the bins this morning, it had gone! It was such an interesting evening, who needs football for entertainment? It’s not even a quiet, out of the way car park. There were quite a few of us parked up, right next to the high street. Anyway, we weren’t murdered in our bed so ready for lots of driving today!Read more