The modern world moves pretty fast, but it’s only when you take things at a slower pace that you realise what you’ve been missing. Slow travel is the antidote to the fast-moving, tech-reliant life that most of us lead – it’s about taking your time, spending longer in a destination and really immersing yourself in a new world, rather than simply ticking locations off a list. And the shores along the island of Ireland, from Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coastal Route to Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way, are the perfect place for a slow adventure. This is a land where it pays to be unhurried – to explore every nook and cranny of a beach, to hike coastal trails, and to eat foods plucked fresh from the sea. If that sounds like your kind of trip, here’s how you can travel the coastline and really soak up the culture, the vibe and the stories …
Indulge in the vibrant and varied food scene
Great food tastes even better when you take the time to enjoy it. And you can go one step further with a foraging experience at Wild & Fired BBQ School in Derry~Londonderry. With the beautiful Brook Hall Estate & Gardens as a backdrop, you’ll forage for wild ingredients and learn how to build a fire and cook over it, preparing a feast of sticky, smokey barbecued dishes.
And just as meat tastes better when cooked outdoors over flame, oysters taste their best when they’re eaten by the sea. At the Sligo Oyster Experience, you visit a coastal farm where they’re grown, then learn how to shuck them yourself and tuck in by the shore, with the scent of the ocean in the air and a chilled local craft beer on the side.
Back in Derry~Londonderry, after you’ve checked out its famous walls, you can delve deeper into the world of craft beer at the Walled City Brewery, where experts will take you on the journey from grain to glass, tasting six of their different beers along the way. There’s a “drool-worthy” menu on offer too, much of it locally sourced, so you’ll have no trouble finding a suitable food pairing for whatever ale takes your fancy.
Discover the coastal icons
Whether they’re historical, natural or literary, there are plenty of icons to be found along the coast. And if you take the time to explore at your leisure, you’ll find there’s so much more than meets the eye. Fanad Lighthouse in north Donegal looks like it’s been plucked out of a Wes Anderson film, particularly when you climb the tower to see the turquoise telephone and binoculars inside. And in the small museum downstairs, you’ll learn all about the historic technology as well as the (numerous) tales of sunken treasure in the bay. You can even sleep in the lighthouse keepers’ cottages, where you can curl up in front of the fire and feel like the whole craggy bay is yours and yours alone. As an added bonus, you might also be able to spot a dolphin or two, perhaps a basking shark. For a better chance, you could always go by boat, aboard, for example, Tor Mór Charter Boat out of Killybegs.
Farther down the Wild Atlantic Way in Sligo, you’ll see one name pop up again and again – WB Yeats. The poet spent his childhood summers here and is buried in a scenic graveyard in Drumcliff, with the sea to one side and the mountains to the other. There’s a permanent exhibition in the Yeats Building in town, and in the summer you can tour Lissadell House, where he would have played as a child.
County Antrim’s Dunluce Castle is one of the most photographed sights along the Causeway coast, perched on the edge of a cliff and looking like it could succumb to the elements at any moment. But if you were to simply snap a pic and move on, you’d miss the view through the old stone arches out along the cliffs, the seabirds flitting between the stone window frames, or the rare blue flower that grows only on this short section of the coast.
Since you’re here, you’re just 10 minutes by car to another much-photographed coastal treasure – the Giant’s Causeway. It would be a shame to miss the stunning hexagonal basalt formations, which are forever linked to the mythological giant Finn McCool.
Have an adventure by the sea
For those with an adventurous spirit, it can be hard to look at the island of Ireland’s rugged coastline without itching to get out and explore. If you really want an adrenaline kick, you can head to the northernmost point of the island, Malin Head, and try your hand at climbing the sea cliffs, under the experienced eye of guides from Donegal Climbing who will lead you along the coast.
If you want a taste of adventure without strapping on a harness, the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge is just the ticket. Suspended almost 30 metres over the sea, this bridge links the coast and a tiny rocky outcrop on the Antrim coast – walk over, and you’ll get an incredible view of the water below as it crashes on the rocks.
If you’d rather take in the views from the water, you can set off on a kayaking tour of the Causeway coast from Ballycastle, with Causeway Coast Kayaking Tours, where you’ll paddle right by the rope bridge as well as local beaches and sea cliffs, as birds fly overhead.
Explore the best locations on a multi-day hike
There are thousands of miles of hiking trails all across the island of Ireland, from short loops to multi-day adventures that lead you through dramatic, rugged scenery. On the latter, you can spend your days hiking coastal trails, past sandy bays and sea cliffs, before turning in each night in a village hotel after a slap-up meal. The Bluestack Way is a three-day hike that weaves from Donegal town to the coastal village of Ardara, taking you through ancient woodlands and along the foothills of the Bluestack Mountains.
You can even walk the Causeway Coast Way, taking in all the incredible sights between Portstewart and Ballycastle, on a 31.5-mile long trail that slowly reveals locations such as the Giant’s Causeway and Ballintoy Harbour. You’ll walk with the sound of the ocean keeping you company and, as is the spirit of slow travel, it’s not just about the destination, but the journey itself.
If a shorter hike is more your thing, Glenariff Forest Park in the Glens of Antrim is well worth lacing your boots for. You might spot a red squirrel as you wind through the glen on a timber walkway. If not, there are plenty of mosses and ferns to catch the eye along the rocky river gorges, especially on the waterfall trail.
On the subject of waterfalls, if you happen to be heading towards Sligo on your coastal journey, you could stop by County Leitrim’s Glencar waterfall, not far from Glencar Lake. There’s a 4.3 mile Glencar hill walk that takes in a waterfall that inspired none other than the great WB Yeats.
Discover more at Ireland.com
