County Donegal
Colmcille's Hall of Fame is this comprehensive heritage centre on the shore of Lough Gartan in a wooded grove, with a lavish display on the production of illuminated manuscripts. The centre is signposted just southwest of Church Hill.
St Colmcille's mother, on the run from pagans, supposedly haemorrhaged during childbirth and her blood is believed to have changed the colour of the surrounding Gartan clay to pure white. Ever since, the clay has been regarded as a lucky charm.
29.27 MILES
This astonishing beach is a dream come true, especially if you are rewarded with a gorgeous sunset. Get here during lowish tide to explore the caves in…
29.95 MILES
On a narrow road from Glencolumbcille to Ardara, past remote mountain bogland, magnificent Glengesh Pass (Glean Géis; meaning 'Glen of the Swans'),…
24.86 MILES
Guarding a picturesque bend of the River Eske, well-preserved 15th-century Donegal Castle is an imperious monument to Irish and English might. The castle…
22.95 MILES
The 12 murals that decorate the gable ends of houses along Rossville St, near Free Derry Corner, are popularly referred to as the People's Gallery. They…
16.39 MILES
The towering headland of Horn Head has some of the Wild Atlantic Way's most spectacular scenery, with dramatic quartzite cliffs, topped with bog and…
18.21 MILES
Once named the second-most beautiful beach in the world by British newspaper the Observer, this tawny-coloured Blue Flag beach is a supremely fine place…
23.15 MILES
The best way to get a feel for Derry's layout and history is to walk the 1.5km circumference of the city's walls. Completed in 1619, Derry's city walls…
23.17 MILES
Standing just outside the city walls, the neo-Gothic Guildhall was originally built in 1890, then rebuilt after a fire in 1908. Its fine stained-glass…
0.69 MILES
The English painter Derrick Hill bought this 1828 mansion in 1953, providing him with a mainland base close to his beloved Tory Island. Sumptuously…
2. St Colmcille's Abbey & Birthplace
1.39 MILES
The 10th-century ruins of Colmcille's abbey lie on a hillside to the north of Lough Gartan and northwest of Lough Nacally, beside a 16th-century chapel…
3.95 MILES
This castle was modelled on Scotland's Balmoral Castle. Henry McIlhenny made it a characterful home with liberal reminders of his passion for deer…
4.55 MILES
Lakes shimmer like dew in the mountainous valley of Glenveagh National Park. Alternating between great knuckles of rock, green-gold swaths of bog and…
5.81 MILES
Parts of this complex date back four centuries to a time when water was the main source of power for multiple tasks, such as grinding grain. One of…
7.16 MILES
Letterkenny's 19th-century workhouse, built to provide Famine relief, now houses the local museum. The permanent collection offers 8000-plus artefacts…
7.25 MILES
Letterkenny's long, sloping main street is graced by a cute little market square halfway down. This is the most attractive part of the town, with a…
8.27 MILES
With a name like this – misnomer that it is – how can you resist its allure? Follow a rough walking path into the rocky fastness of the glen (4km round…