We have just had two blissful nights in beautiful Donegal. Not having to pack everything into a tiny bag/case.......fill the car with clothes, coats and footwear for every eventuality.......... end up wearing shorts and t-shirts for the whole trip due to the beautiful weather. No hanging around waiting for flights, just turn the key in our ignition, make sure the tank is full, and off we go. No worries about things to do, just look around. No worries about speaking the language, just give a smile if you can’t understand what they’re saying. No worries about being welcomed by the locals, you’ll be family as soon as you arrive.
Our car was filled with a ridiculous amount of clothing, camping chairs, swimming costumes/shorts and towels, cool bag with picnic lunch, and off we went. We were staying in Downings but weren’t in any rush to get there so deliberately overshot it to first visit Bunbeg and Bad Eddie’s Boat. Wow!
Picnic lunch and then along the coast, stopping in Portnablagh and anywhere else that took our fancy! We arrived at our hotel that evening.
Honestly, calling it the Beach Hotel was a stretch...... there is a beach, but the hotel is right on the main road, with a view at the front of houses set on a hillside (we could see right into a number of living rooms from our room!) At the back there is a beautiful beach but in between it and the hotel is unfortunately a large caravan park! It’s only a three storey building so any hope of a sea view was ambitious. The bed was like sleeping on a slab of concrete, but the beach was only a short meander through the caravan park and it was outstanding.
The next morning we went down for a swim. What a treat! Hubby described it as looking like a Canadian lake. The tide was quite low so it took ages to get submerged, but when we did........ absolutely glorious. Cool water but definitely not what I would describe as ‘cold’, millpond calm and crystal clear, surrounded by mountains and with the sun on our faces.
After showers and breakfast we were off adventuring again. This time we were looking for the Murder Hole Beach. Described as ‘secret and mysterious’, we had been told by locals that it was a 15 -20 minute trek across fields...... but “the farmer doesn’t mind and the bull is friendly”!! We were told it was well worth the effort. It was. And it wasn’t nearly as much effort as we’d been led to believe! The hardest part was scrambling back up a sand dune to get out.......and avoiding the cow pats!! We were lucky enough to arrive at low tide so were able to walk the two beaches that join together, resulting in a breathtaking space. Unfortunately it’s not safe for swimming but the sea was peacock blue and the waves breaking over the rocks just made it more beautiful.
Donegal, we love you. Next time we will stay longer and travel further. Staycationing ain’t no hardship when you live here!!
Living with......and loving life xx
