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Thursday 17 April 2014

Travels: Donegal [Ireland]



Donegal (Dhun na nGall), located on Ireland's upper-left-most corner, overlooking the North Atlantic, is an area of the world I have always been interested in. As a Brit I have always felt incredibly guilty that whilst I've ventured across the Atlantic many times I have never really been to any of the countries on my back door (Scotland, Ireland, N. Ireland) so finally being able to rectify that was important to me. Also have studied Brian Friel's Translations for A-Level (which is set in County Donegal) I was interested to get out and see a part of the world I had read about. It most certainly didn't disappoint.

We flew into Belfast and drove across the border and I was surprised at how quickly cityscape fell away into sprawling countryside. We bypassed Derry and headed north for Rathmullan and Milford where half of my boyfriend's family comes from. The scenery was breath-taking. Motorways end shorty after leaving Belfast, but the slower pace was nothing to be disappointed about. I never realised how rural Ireland still remains (in comparison to the 'countryside' where I live in the South East), and being a lover of country-side, sea and rain at heart this gave me some real hope for one day finding somewhere to hole up and be a hermit. 

In this instance however, hermitting was strictly prohibited as I was travelling with my boyfriend, his mother and grandfather to visit family. We stayed in a holiday home in Rathmullan, a beautiful seaside town overlooking Lough Swilly (a channel of the North Atlantic which runs inland; in the summer you can ride a ferry between Rathmullan and Buncrana, but in March most attractions (including restaurants) are closed. We spent a lot of time in the Milford Inn where there is a live band and dancing every saturday night. We also took a tour along the Atlantic Drive (where most of my photos were taken), and spent a night at club Voodoo in Letterkenny with Leigh's younger brother and girlfriend who were responsible for opening the new Letterkenny CeX.

Sadly I'm shy and what with the nature of this holiday being so family orientated I often didn't lug my camera with me which conveniently calls for another holiday.











2 comments:

  1. The view and these pictures are breathtaking! One day, I will make it over to Ireland.
    http://youarebeaut.blogspot.com/

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