June is here and it is a good time to prepare for summer. In the last post I talked to you about travelling in Ireland, but outside of Dublin. You can check that out HERE.
From the south-west coast of Ireland, I ended up in Donegal, North of Ireland a few weeks ago. From Dublin to Donegal you basically pass the most typical Irish landscapes that you can find.
Green, green everywhere
You can imagine my amazement at the names of towns we were going through. Take Gortahork for example. Not only is that the most troll name ever, but if it wasn’t featured in Lord of the Rings, then it will definitely appear in Game of Thrones at one point in the future.
The bus up to Gortahork lasts around three and a half hours. From there, you can take another bus or if you are willing to walk, why not? Hitchhiking is apparently not that popular in Ireland, but is worth a try in such a simple place. Why simple? You can see that people there just want to take care of their own, meet new friends and basically travel through life. Essential to hostelling, right?
15 minutes away, on the road, you actually do not feel like you are in Ireland anymore. The landscape is rugged, grass isn’t that green anymore. It is not because of some sort of natural disaster, it is just the way Northern Ireland really looks like. And it looks amazing. When you see the Errigal Mountain rising on the horizon, you can feel the myths of Ireland coming to life: giants, leprechauns, fairies.
Errigal Hostel is one of the most sustainable hostels in Ireland, featuring an electric car charging station and was awarded EU ECO Flower Label. What I like the most is the area is that here you can actually feel far away from every big city. Total silence. And hiking there is extremely beautiful. I met 4 French hikers who were walking on the Wild Atlantic Way and decided to make a small detour to Errigal. It’s true, Dunlewey Lake and Errigal are not exactly on the Wild Atlantic Way, but that beautiful road is just 15 minutes away by car and a bit more walking. That is not a problem for true hikers. The French loved the wilderness of the area and the fact that the hike is not that much marked. You can actually feel the adventure spirit, trying to find your way through the meadows and saying hi to the sheep who guard the entrance to the Poisoned Glenn.
The stories of giants fights start from here and end up on the east coast of Northern Ireland, on the Giant’s Causeway. Here, the true battle began, with giants chasing each other and fighting and poisoning to win. When you look around, you can’t blame them for wanting to own that land.
Poisoned Glenn, Glenveagh National Park, Errigal Mountain and Dunlewey Lake ... These are just a few things you can see up here. Once you meet the reception staff from the hostel you will see why Donegal is so special. Typical Irish friendliness doesn’t disappear from here. In fact, probably here it all began. In the north, where Gaelic (Irish) is still spoken pretty much everywhere and you can feel like you are in a different country. I couldn’t understand anything when they were speaking Irish. It was otherworldly. Basically like hearing elves speak. Not kidding.
Check out the
video on our Facebook to get more out of the Errigal in Donegal experience and see what awaits you when you get up there. Oh, I forgot to mention the weather. Don’t be scared of it. The weather here does whatever it wants. It can snow, rain and become spring and even summer in a matter of minutes. That’s Donegal.
