Two countries and 3 counties in 1 day

We left our B&B in Derry, Northern Ireland this morning around 8.30am and in no time at all we were in the Republic of Ireland again and the county of Donegal - back to euros again and kph instead of mph. We were heading SW today, initially to Slieve League and then on to Sligo (in county Sligo) via Donegal town and the NW corner of county Leitrim.

Our first stop after an hour and half of driving through some pretty rugged and desolate looking country was at Ardara on the west Donegal coast on Loughros More Bay. 

Ardara had a very well stocked Tea Room and good coffee. The baked goods here in Ireland are next level - especially the Irish scones. Every cafe & B&B does them and they're really good! We have not found one hipster, whole food type cafe in any of our Irish travels as yet (maybe except for the little 3fe cafe up the road from our hotel in Dublin) - but hey what they do, they do so well!.

 

The main street of Ardara......

the remaining drive to Slieve League was only 28klms - but it seemed a lot longer than that. The country/farm road was very narrow (we had to virtually stop and pull over when there was an oncoming car) and a heavy fog descended as we had to cross the Glengesh Pass (a narrow mountain pass), causing us to consider turning back at one stage.

For a lot of this drive we followed the Glengeash River which cuts a deep gash in the valley floor between two mountain ranges.

There are some very hardy sheep and farmers living along the valley - no doubt busy producing the wool for which Donegal is famous.

We got to Slieve League on Donegals's SW Atlantic Coast a bit after 11.00am. Slieve League is considered a sacred mountain by many Irish people  and a site of Christian pilgrimage for over a thousand years. At 601 metres high Slieve League is the second highest sea cliff in Ireland and one of the highest in Europe. We weren't going to climb the mountain today but we were keen to see the views of the sea cliffs that everyone says are stunning!

So we parked our car and set out walking the 2.2klms path (climbing 100metres in the process) up to Bunglass Point where there was a viewing platform above the cliffs....

There were lots of very hardy Scottish Black Face sheep (and lambs) enjoying the views as well.

This was our first (partial) view of the cliffs.

and our first view of the cliffs from the Bunglass Point viewing platform ........

The summit of Slieve League is the highest peak on the left in the picture below - we could see people walking along the rim track from this viewing platform - but we had no wish to join them..

This was looking out to the furthest SW point of Ireland from here. On a clear day it's possible to see south over Donegal Bay down to county Sligo - but not today.

This was the start of the serious climb up Slieve League.

Walking back to the car we got a good view of this small lake - looking very similar to the alpine landscape in Australia's Kosciuszko National Park!

We left Slieve League around 12.30, following the coast road to the fishing port of Killybegs before driving the loop around Donegal town and heading south towards Sligo town, at the mouth of the Garvoge River where it flows into Sligo Bay.

About 6klm out of Sligo we decided to stop at the Drumcliff Churchyard to pay our respects to the burial place of the poet WB Yeats (1865-1939).

Yeat's self penned epitaph is: "cast a cold eye on life, on death, horseman, pass by." His wife "George" (she/her) is also buried here. 

The churchyard and the gravestones are very atmospheric - especially backed by the majestic flat topped Benbulben Mountain, shrouded in fog today.

The interior of the church (St Columba's Church) is rather beautiful in its way too.

It was a challenging drive today through all those narrow rough mountain roads. I take my hat off to Rob navigating it all so carefully and the little Yaris hire car - what a great (even if a bit basic) little car!

We got to Sligo town around 3.00pm - very hungry by now and looking for a good (late) lunch place. Luckily we found the Harp Tavern in the centre of town fitted the bill. It was nice walking along the river's edge between our hotel and the town centre, especially when we found such a great lunch/early dinner place to bookend another great day of travel.

.... and a thrill to see this healthy looking mother swan with her 6 cygnets, resting on the grass bank on the edge of the river.