County Donegal

County Donegal is the wild child of Ireland and home to some of its most ravishingly sublime scenery and beautiful beaches. This is a county of extremes: at times desolate and battered by brutal weather, yet also a land of unspoilt splendour where stark peaks and sweeping beaches bask in glorious sunshine, and port-side restaurants serve majestic food.

Donegal's rugged interior, with its remote mountain passes and shimmering lakes, is only marginally outdone by the long and labyrinthine coastline with windswept peninsulas and isolated pubs. In recent years the local food scene has been flourishing, and delicious fresh seafood is never far away. Proudly independent, one-third of Donegal is official Gaeltacht territory, with Irish the lingua franca.

After its northern start in Derry, the Wild Atlantic Way really begins to strut its stuff here as the county's untamed craggy coastline truly puts the wild into the way.