The Wild Atlantic Way

In December while Elf Town was open to the public we did a tour in van along some of the Wild Atlantic Way in Connemara, Co. Mayo and Co. Sligo. We then headed inland and across to Dublin for Christmas. This post shows some photos and information from the part of the Wild Atlantic Way that we followed.

In 2018 we had done some further north in Co. Donegal and both times it has been wonderful. There are great signs pointing the ways to go and information boards at different locations. I highly recommend taking some time for a road trip to some of these spectacular sights!

We started our journey in Salthill, just a few miles from the border with Connamara, an Irish speaking area of County Galway.

Next we went to Gurteen Beach and Dog’s Bay which lie back to back forming a tombolo jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean. We visited just as the sun was setting and it was an awesome sight.

Both beaches are well sheltered from currents boasting crystal clear waters and are considered safe for swimming. We didn't swim but plenty of locals turned up in the morning for a dip!

The beaches are naturally protected by the headland which it faces to the south. The beaches were formed by a sand spit and tombolo which now separates the two bays and their beaches. The area has international importance for its rare and interesting ecological, geological and archaeological features.

The sand and grassland habitats are of particular interest as the sand was not formed from rocks, but rather from the shells of tiny sea creatures known as foraminifera. The grasslands, made up of machair vegetation is considered rare and is found only on the west coast of Ireland and Scotland.

There is a great little carpark here which is on #park4night There are signs saying no overnight but out of season it's fine. All the locals were very chatty and didn't have a problem with us parking there for a night.

Here we are on the Sky Road, a loop road that goes out on a stretch of land from the town of Clifden. The Sky Road in Clifden is one of the most picturesque areas in the Connemara region. The circular route is 16km long and takes you out west from Clifden, onto the Kingstown peninsula, and back into Clifden via the N59. The peninsula is part of the Wild Atlantic Way driving route. The scenery along the Sky Road is stunning. Very few places in Ireland can match the rugged beauty and range of scenery that can be seen from the Sky Road.

In Clifden we had a walk around and took in the old buildings and pubs. There are lots of nice independent shops here which is nice to see. We also stopped at the Alcock and Brown statue in the town. British aviators John Alcock and Arthur Brown made the first ever non-stop transatlantic flight in June 1919. They flew a modified First World War Vickers Vimy bomber from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, County Galway.

It was really windy the day we turned up at Killary Fjord! We had a night away from the van here at the hotel on the fjord so we didn't have to put up with the van rocking all night!

Killary fjord is a flooded valley 16 kilometres long, and in the centre over 42–45 metres deep, the sea level is higher outside its mouth, as is normal for a fjord. For nearly half its length, it runs south east from the Atlantic, and then it crooks and runs directly east. It narrows after the infall of the Bundorragha River, and then widens in the vicinity of Leenane. In its innermost section, it becomes very narrow, widens where a small river comes in from the south, and ends with the line of the valley of the Erriff River.

The northern shore rises sharply to a much greater extent than the southern, which is in places merely hilly. On that northern shore lies the mountain Mweelrea, Connacht's highest, rising to 814 metres, and the sides of which fall steeply into the inlet, with Uggool Beach at its western edge. To the south rise the Maumturk Mountains and the Twelve Bens. The island of Inishbarna is situated at the mouth of Killary Harbour. The area contains some of Ireland's most dramatic scenery.

Killary has for centuries been known as "the only fjord in Ireland" or sometimes "one of 2–4 fjord-type inlets" on the island. There has been argument in at least one peer-reviewed paper that it is in fact one of three glacial fjards (shallower than true fjords) in Ireland, the others being Lough Swilly and Carlingford Lough. A key point in such argument is that it lacks extensive steep cliff walls, but this does not take full account of the underwater sides of the valley, and the shape of its bed. The matter was considered in a dedicated peer-reviewed paper, "An Oceanographical Survey of Killary Harbour...," that concluded that Killary was a fjord. The landform was shaped by a massive glacier, carving its way from the land to the Atlantic Ocean.

In the Doolough Valley we visited the first one of two famine memorials we took a look at.

Here in bad weather, poorly clad and perhaps barefooted, hundreds of men, women, and children, were forced to make the eleven-mile journey on foot by road and mountain passes to Delphi Lodge to be inspected to see if they were still worthy of famine relief. It is reported that when they arrived they had to wait around as the inspectors were at lunch. Seven people died on the walk home and ten more never made it home, presumed dead.

on the same day we went to the National Famine Memorial, a bronze sculpture of a ship, with skeletal figures symbolising the many people who died in the "Coffin Ships" that set sail from Ireland in desperate hope of escaping to a better life.

Coffin ships carrying emigrants, crowded and disease-ridden, with poor access to food and water, resulted in the deaths of many people as they crossed the Atlantic. Owners of coffin ships provided as little food, water and living space as was legally possible, if they obeyed the law at all. While coffin ships were the cheapest way to cross the Atlantic, mortality rates of 30% aboard the coffin ships were common. It was said that sharks could be seen following the ships, because so many bodies were thrown overboard.

A sad and emotional day but important to acknowledge that this happened.

DownPatrick Head is a headland between Ballycastle village and the archaeological site of Ceide Fields. It commands breathtaking views on the Atlantic, the Staggs of Broadhaven to the west and high stunning cliffs to the east. Here Saint Patrick founded a church whose ruins can be seen todays. 

Dun Briste, is a sea stack close to the edge of the cliffs, which is 63 metres by 23 metres, 45 metres high and 228 metres from shore. In 1393 it was separated from the coast as a result of high seas and violent stormy weather. Old annuals said people who lived there were taken off using ships ropes.

'Poll na Seantainne' is a spectacular blow-hole with subterranean channel to the sea. It is well known in the local history because during the 1798 rebellion 25 men, Irishmen and French soldiers, lost their lives taking refuge on the ledge at the bottom, but unfortunately tide came in before ladders could be replaced.

One of the last places we visited on the Wild Atlantic Way before heading inland was the village of Killala, a place steeped in history.

By the end of the 18th century, Killala had established a small sea port, where fishing was the primary activity. The town also produced coarse linens and woolen products. The train line from Dublin once ran all the way to Killala.

Killala was the site of the first battle of the French force of General Humbert in the 1798 Rebellion. On August 22, 1798, Humbert landed at nearby Kilcummin Harbor with 1,109 troops with the objective of supporting the United Irishmen. The force quickly seized the town. Humbert advanced to Ballina, which he captured with little trouble. The force then moved further and on August 27 it won a battle in Castlebar against larger force commanded by General Lake. The town was also the site of the last land battle of the rebellion on 23 September 1798 when the British army defeated a rebel Irish force in Killala.

Our last over night spot on the coast was Enniscrone over the border from County Mayo into County Sligo. It is a lovely place with a good car park and cheap seaweed baths compared to other places we have found. The old baths pictured are no longer in use but just up the road is the newer building.

Thanks for looking :)