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times, obstacle course). Follow a series of tiny pictorial signs of a gate beyond the turn-off to Woodhill House up a series of steep dirt tracks. More signs instruct you to enter the gate, and then the main house, where you’ll find its gregarious owner, writer and bon vivant, Paul Chatenoud. Accommodation is in small, simple but charming thatched cottages with private bath and, for the ultimate in relaxation, no internet or TV. But you won’t miss them anyway – the view over the bay is one of the most magical in Ireland. Phone bookings essential; no credit cards.

Nancy’s Bar ( 074-954 1187; Front St; mains €6.50-12.50) This pub-restaurant successfully makes its guests feel as though they’re sitting in Nancy’s living room. It serves superb seafood and chowder, and is also the best place in town for a social pint or two.

Entertainment

Corner House ( 074-954 1736; The Diamond) is a good spot to listen to an Irish music session (Friday and Saturday year-round; nightly from June to September). Occasionally, someone will spontaneously break out in song and, if the mood is right, the rest of the pub will join in.

Shopping

Signs in the town centre point you to the town’s knitwear producers.

Eddie Doherty ( 074-954 1304; www.handwoventweed.com; Front St) Behind Doherty’s bar, you can usually catch Eddie Doherty hand-weaving here on a traditional loom.

John Molloy’s ( 074-954 1133; www.johnmolloy.com; Ardara) Handmade and machine-knitted woollies are available here at its flagship establishment and at its factory outlet in Glencolumbcille.

Kennedy’s ( 074-954 1106; Front St) In business for over a century, Kennedy’s helped establish Ardara’s reputation as a sweater mecca.

Triona Design ( 074-914 1422; www.trionadesign.com; Main St) Weavers keep traditional skills alive while demonstrating their techniques for visitors.

Getting There & Around

Bus Éireann ( 074-912 1309) service 492 from Killybegs (€3.40, 25 minutes, three daily) stops outside O’Donnell’s in Ardara.

Don Byrne’s of Ardara ( 074-954 1658; Main St; 9.30am-6pm Jun-Sep, 5.30-8.30pm Mon-Fri, 9.30am-6pm Sat Oct-May), at the eastern edge of the town centre, rents bikes for €15/70 per day/week.

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DAWROS HEAD

The outer reaches of beautiful Loughrea Peninsula, north of Ardara, glisten with tiny lakes cupped by undulating hills and the wishbone-shaped Blue Flag beach by the twin settlements of Narin and Portnoo. The beach’s sandy tip points towards Iniskeel Island, which you can walk out to at low tide. St Connell, a cousin of St Colmcille, founded a monastery here in the 6th century. Hardly any trace remains, but the island is studded with early-medieval Christian remains.

Another adventurous diversion is to track down Lough Doon, 3km south of Narin, in the centre of which sits the 2000-year-old Doon Fort, a fortified oval settlement. To reach the fort, you need to hire a rowing boat (around €10) from an adjacent farm. Pick a day that’s not too windy.

If the fort whets your appetite for archaeology, the Dolmen Ecocentre ( 074-954 45010; www.dolmencentre.com; Kilclooney, Portnoo; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri) can point you towards several other prehistoric sites, including a tortoiselike passage tomb a short walk up a track left of the church.

Also on the peninsula, hemmed in by grassy dunes, is Tramore Beach. In 1588 part of the Spanish Armada ran aground here. The survivors temporarily occupied O’Boyle’s Island in Kiltoorish Lake, but then marched to Killybegs, where they set sail again in the Girona. The Girona met a similar fate that year in Northern Ireland, with the loss of over a thousand crew (Click here).

Sleeping

Tramore Beach Caravan & Camping Park ( 074-955 1491; campbella@eircom.net; Rosbeg; campsites €14-20; Easter-Sep) This remote place has 24 sandy campsites sheltered amid dunes, just a short hop from the beach. Take the road from Ardara to Narin then turn left, following the signposts to Tramore Beach.

Lackagh Mor Cottages ( 074-954 5935; mgyo@eircom.net; Lackagh; s/d €35/60; ) A short walk from the ocean, these self-catering