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s €105-115, d €140-160; ; closed late Dec) Peering out over the harbour, the contemporary rooms at this hotel are austere but many have magnificent views and some open onto a panoramic rooftop terrace with an outdoor hot tub. There are also great views from the tiny gym, and from the adjoining Quay Bar (mains €11 to €23, food served 12.30pm to 9pm), which has music every Saturday night year-round and pretty much every night in summer; and the more upmarket Clashybann Restaurant (set menu €30, dinner nightly).

Getting There & Away

Bus Éireann ( 071-916 0066) buses run from Sligo to Drumcliff (€3.40, 15 minutes), Grange (€5.40, 20 minutes) and Cliffony (€6.40, 25 minutes). In Drumcliff the bus stop is near the church; in Grange it’s outside Rooney’s newsagency; and in Cliffony it’s O’Donnell’s Bar.

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County Donegal

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DONEGAL TOWN

INFORMATION

SIGHTS

ACTIVITIES

SLEEPING

EATING

DRINKING

SHOPPING

GETTING THERE & AWAY

GETTING AROUND

AROUND DONEGAL TOWN

LOUGH ESKE

ROSSNOWLAGH

BALLYSHANNON

BUNDORAN

SOUTHWESTERN DONEGAL

MOUNTCHARLES TO BRUCKLESS

KILLYBEGS

KILCAR, CARRICK & AROUND

GLENCOLUMBCILLE & AROUND

MAGHERY & THE GLEN GESH PASS

ARDARA

DAWROS HEAD

GLENTIES

FINN VALLEY & AROUND

NORTHWESTERN DONEGAL

DUNGLOE & AROUND

BURTONPORT

ARRANMORE ISLAND

GWEEDORE & AROUND

BLOODY FORELAND

TORY ISLAND

FALCARRAGH & GORTAHORK

DUNFANAGHY & AROUND

EASTERN DONEGAL

LETTERKENNY

LOUGH GARTAN

DUNLEWEY & AROUND

GLENVEAGH NATIONAL PARK

DOON WELL & ROCK OF DOON

LIFFORD

NORTHEASTERN DONEGAL

ROSGUILL PENINSULA

FANAD PENINSULA

INISHOWEN PENINSULA

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‘Up here it’s different’, the saying goes, and it’s true. County Donegal is the wild child of the Irish family.

In part, this is due to its rugged landscape, where tortuous country roads skirt stark mountains, craggy peninsulas, towering cliffs, thrashing seas, sweeping beaches, sheep-spattered pastures, icy streams and heather-strewn horizons.

In part, too, it’s due to its isolation. Ireland’s second-largest county (after Cork) feels like its own country. Until the Plantation of Ulster, Donegal was divided between the O’Donnell and O’Neill clans. It was severed from its traditional province when most of Ulster became Northern Ireland, with the extended finger of County Fermanagh cutting it off from the rest of the Republic. Although political turmoil has died down, Donegal remains stubbornly independent and largely ignored by those in Dublin’s distant driving seat. Around one-third of the county lies in the Gaeltacht, where Irish is the lingua franca.

Above all, Donegal’s character is forged by its impetuous weather. You don’t need to set sail to brave the sea – it charges ashore with mists riding stiff winds over fields and into towns. Defying its northerly location, it often tops 25°C (77°F) due to the Atlantic Gulf Stream nudging its coastline. And while the barometer rarely drops below zero, Donegal’s howling winds and sheeting rain can feel arctic. Storms arrive unannounced and just as abruptly break into brilliant sunshine that transforms brooding blues and greys into sparkling greenery.

Once you’ve surrendered expectations for a come-what-may attitude, you’ll know you’ve been tamed by this uncompromising land.

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HIGHLIGHTS

Getting High Take in dizzying views from Europe’s highest sea cliffs, Slieve League

Getting Higher Scale scree-scarred Mt Errigal, Donegal’s loftiest peak

Hunting for Treasures Collect semiprecious stones from the raised beaches at ends-of-the-earth Malin Head

Doin’ the Time Warp Tour flamboyant Glenveagh Castle within beautiful Glenveagh National Park

Unravelling History Watch weavers in action in the heritage town of Ardara

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Population: 146,956

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AREA: 3001 SQ KM

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Getting There & Away

Donegal Airport ( 074-954 8284; www.donegalairport.ie; Carrick Finn) has flights to/from Dublin (50 minutes, two daily) and flights to Glasgow Prestwick (three per week). It’s in the townland of Carrick Finn (Charraig Fhion) about