Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way
Three days on Coastal West Ireland
Story and Photos by Carol Canter
To experience the coastal drama of Western Ireland, we took to the road one early October to drive a bit of the legendary Wild Atlantic Way. Stretching 1500 miles from Kinsale, County Cork in the South West to Inishowen, County Donegal in the North West, this designated wild coastal route is said to be the longest in the world.
We drove the southern section from Kinsale to the Connemara over 4 Days, and were dazzled by the scenic splendor, palate-pleased by the farm-to-table and sea-to-shore meals, moved by the “trad” music, and impressed by heritage sites from abbeys to castles to monasteries. Yet it was always the local people whose warmth, humor, and gift of gab — which at times would rise to eloquence — deepened the sense of the journey.
Cork — Day One
The trip launched with a flight from Liverpool to Cork, where we spent our first two nights. Cork, like its sister city San Francisco, is youthful, cosmopolitan, and a magnet for foodies, as a visit to the English Market will affirm. This wonderful Victorian confection, one of the oldest covered municipal markets of its kind in the world, is Ground Zero for understanding Ireland’s food scene. The best way to do this is by chatting up the vendors selling artisanal jams, breads and cheeses, the fishmongers with their glistening catch of the day, and the butchers displaying their corned crubeens (pigs feet), drisheen (a type of blood pudding), and other items “exotic” to the untutored.
Cork’s compact city center is built on an island in the River Lee, upstream from the Cork Harbor, and a walking tour is the best way to see it. Stop in at the Cork city tourism office and pick up a free Audio Guide to the Cork Visitor Trail. The tour begins on pedestrian-friendly St. Patrick’s Street, modernized in 2004 by Catalan architect Beth Gali. The street curves to reflect the course of the river channel that still runs beneath it, and which was covered over between 1783 and 1789. Nearby you’ll find the English Market, as well as the city’s oldest place of worship, the Unitarian Church dating to 1710.
Outside the city center but still within walking distance, the tree-lined University College Cork (UCC) campus is worth a stroll. Visit the Lewis Glucksman Art Gallery in its award-winning modern limestone building, and learn about Cork luminary George Boole. This self-taught genius invented what came to be known as Boolean Algebra in 1854, forming the basis for modern high speed computing.
The well-located Metropole Hotel www.themetropolehotel.ie/ offers bountiful breakfasts overlooking the River Lee and access to the Leisure Centre with lap pool, Jacuzzi, steam, and sauna as well as a fully-equipped gym. We found the service to be exceptional. Front desk manager Emmet O’Brien thoughtfully mapped out our drive to Killarney and our free time once there, sending us to the best pubs and eateries. His dinner recommendation that evening at Isaac’s Restaurant across from the Metropole was a fine introduction to dining in Ireland’s Food Capital.
Kinsale to Killarney
Skipping the shorter direct route northwest from Cork to Killarney, we headed 18 miles due south to the coast, to visit the picturesque seaside town of Kinsale, launching point for the Wild Atlantic Way.
Though a week early for the annual Kinsale Gourmet Food Festival with its sweet lobsters, crabs and prawns pulled from the surrounding waters, we enjoyed the winding streets with houses, shops, and galleries splashed in shades of mango, lime, and raspberry, with a purple door here, an indigo window frame there — and colorful flower boxes everywhere. As Kinsale marks the start — or finish — of the Wild Atlantic Way, it’s a place to spend a night or two soaking up its maritime charms, sea kayaking through coastal caves, or golfing at the Old Head of Kinsale.
But we had miles to cover, peninsulas to skirt, and isolated islands to view, so drive we did, past towns with such musical names as Clonakilty and Skibbereen. Then there was the learning curve, as we began to master the challenge of driving on the “wrong” side of the sometimes very narrow road, not to mention keeping our focus when dreamy vistas vied for our attention.
The high point — literally and scenically as we looked out over the Sheen Valley — was Molly Gallivan’s 200-year-old stone cottage, situated halfway between Kenmare and Glengarriff in the Kerry Hills. Though a commercial enterprise with much to sell, the charming complex of cottages is so well-situated that few pass by this inviting stop. The view is memorable, music lovely, tea warming, and the handspun woolens and cottons well worth consideration.
The tea and sweets relaxed and readied us for our favorite part of the day’s drive-–from Molly Gallivan’s to Killarney. The late afternoon sun lit up the rolling hills and valleys like the jewels that give Ireland its moniker, the Emerald Isle. The road at times narrowed to one-lane stone bridges and an arched tunnel, but by then we had found our rhythm.
And soon enough we were on the vaunted Ring of Kerry, pulling off the road at many a lookout, where we could let our gaze safely linger on the deep blues of the loughs, the lakes that shimmered in the golden light before dusk.
Ring of Kerry and Killarney — Day Two
We opted to forgo driving the Ring of Kerry on Day 2 of our trip along the Wild Atlantic Way, leaving it instead to O’Connor Autotours. This decision gave us more than a respite from the rigors of the road. There were lullabies and legends and local lore to listen to, and history recounted with much passion and humor. Our driver John O’Neill, dapper in his cap and tweeds, could ease the bus around hairpin turns while reciting poetry and naming wildflower-strewn headlands.
We expected an older crowd on the bus tour, but found independent travelers of all ages and countries of origin. What we all shared was a relief to have a day off from driving on the left, a chance to relax and laugh and leave the planning to someone else.
Who knew we’d become expert at identifying rare breeds of sheep at Kell’s Sheep Centre, where local farmer/trainer Brendan Ferris whistled commands to his border collies? They’d race up the steep slope in the morning sunshine to round up the herd and bring them bounding down the hill, where we attempted to distinguish a Wiltshire from a Hampshire from a Herdwick, and learn whose coat was destined to become a sweater or a carpet.
We sipped Irish coffee through the whipped cream, ate seafood chowder at a cliffside restaurant 700 feet above sea level, and posed with a statue of Charlie Chaplin in Waterville, a favored holiday retreat of the legendary actor/filmmaker.
We looked out at Valentia Island, whose slate is said to cover the roofs of such notable landmarks as Parliament and the Paris Opera House. Farther offshore we could make out the Skellig Islands, where the closing scenes of Star Wars: The Force Awakens were recently filmed. Driving past an emerald patchwork of cultivated plots carpeting barren slopes, O’Neill shared stories of the terrible Irish Potato Famine of 1845–49, a watershed in Irish history that still resonates dramatically over a century and a half later.
Continuing our exploration of Ireland via its Wild Atlantic Way, we returned to Killarney, gateway to the magnificent 26,000-acre Killarney National Park. We wished for an extra day or two here to explore the park and its landmark historic sites like Muckross House and Abbey, its waterfalls, hiking and bicycle trails. But we enjoyed the lively and welcoming town of Killarney, where we devoured the best fish and chips ever at the legendary Quinlan’s Seafood Bar (www.kerryfish.com) to which everyone in town had sent us. It was worth waiting on line with other visitors, and the locals who advised us that the best fish to order was the hake–or was it the haddock! We were sent next door for dessert at Gaelic Gelato, which turned out to be another significant stop. Clive, the charming owner, designed for us the best driving route for the next leg of our Wild Atlantic Way journey. He mapped out our drive to Clifden in the Connemara, even giving us the schedule for the short ride on the car ferry that would cut significant time off our trip.
The warmth and sheer delight in our encounters with the locals continued at the Grand, one of the happening pubs known for good “trad” music. No sooner had we entered than I found myself whisked onto the dance floor by a jovial Killarney lad, and after a pint of Guinness, worried no more how well I followed.
Later that evening at Murphy’s Pub, a duo on guitar and accordion sang the heartbreaking “Fields of Athenrye,” an Irish folk ballad of love and exile set during the Great Irish Famine. The song, which has become a popular anthem sung at sporting events, was new to us that night, but what an impact it had. We were to hear it several more times during our trip, and each time it opened for us a small window into the poetry and politics of the Irish soul.
Killarney to Clifden, The Connemara — Day Three
We left Killarney in the early morning fog and cold, fortified with a deliciously warming Irish breakfast. The roads in County Kerry were good, and we got to the car ferry in Tarbert in time to line up for the 10:30 a.m. crossing. The short trip across the Shannon Estuary over to Killimer — a mere 20 minutes and 18 euros–-saved us several hours of driving. (Thank you again for the essential tip, Clive, owner of Gaelic Gelato in Killarney!) We even enjoyed a dolphin sighting, one of the many species who make their home in Ireland’s longest waterway, the River Shannon.
The rugged windswept County Clare was mostly a “drive-by” for us, as we made our way north along the wave-lashed coastline to the iconic Cliffs of Moher. The movie-star beauty of these imposing vertical cliffs, which rise to a height of 700 feet and stretch five miles along the Atlantic Coast, has made them the setting for such films as Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince, Ryan’s Daughter, The Princess Bride, and Far and Away, to name a few.
Such splendor draws over a million visitors to Ireland’s premier tourist attraction, but walkers and hikers who take to the trails can find some silence while inhaling the sea air and soul-stirring vistas of the sculpted cliffs. Thousands of seabirds nest on the cliff face or the grassy slopes below, so bring binoculars and look for species such as Puffins and Guillemots, Razorbills, and Kittiwakes, depending on the season.
Focus the binoculars on the mystical-looking Aran Islands set out in Galway Bay and consider a visit by ferry from the seaside town of Doolin just up the road. Doolin, a magnet for surfers and for seekers of trad music, is also the point of departure for seasonal boat cruises under the soaring Cliffs of Moher.
The Burren is the next otherworldly stop on this easy and highly rewarding coastal drive. Time allowed us only a short walk in this lunar limestone landscape, once a submerged seabed. In the late afternoon mist, the rugged grey terrain punctuated by an occasional brilliant-hued wildflower or bit of golden green lichen felt a world apart, one in which we carefully watched the cracks and indentations in the rock so as not to disappear from the face of the earth.
Our lonely lovely coastal route eventually rejoined civilization, approaching and then bypassing the city of Galway as we entered the Connemara, an unspoiled peninsula that Oscar Wilde called “a savage beauty.”
Who could disagree with Wilde! And thus began our love affair with the region as we headed to Clifden on the western edge of the peninsula. A warm welcome at the Abbeyglen Castle Hotel, (www.abbeyglen.ie/) was just what we needed after a full day’s exploration of the Wild Atlantic Way. But as the sun’s rays magically emerged from the cloud-laden sky, we deferred a much-anticipated cocktail by the fire for a short walk to watch the sunset over Killary Harbour, Ireland’s only fjord.
A tasty dinner based on mussels from said fjord, followed by tender Connemara lamb, was served in a restaurant where the service was congenial, the guests from around the world. Diners followed proprietor Paul Hughes into the bar for a nightcap, singing along as he played favorite Irish tunes on the piano. It felt like just the place to be, there on the windswept western edge of Europe, along the Wild Atlantic Way, engulfed in the warmth of Irish conviviality.
If You Go
Visit the excellent Tourism Ireland website for travel planning support. Visit them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Ireland/
• Email Tourism Ireland at info@tourismireland.com
• Stop by their information center at:
Tourism Ireland
345 Park Ave, 17th Floor
New York, NY 10154
Mondays through Fridays 9.00 a.m. — 5.00 p.m.
Aer Lingus offers direct flights SFO/DUB. www.aerlingus.com
An earlier version of this story appears on Travel Examiner, where you can view dozens of award-winning national and international travel destination articles. Visit here: https://travelexaminer.com/
