Continues from Planning Your Trip to Ireland Part 8
NORTHERN ROUTE FROM SLIGO BACK TO DUBLIN (THE LONG WAY!)
If you were to head north from Sligo, you would end up at Letterkenny, the main town of the very large County Donegal, a fairly bustling city, and your last chance for any kind of shopping if you decide to head further north.
From Letterkenny you could begin your tour of wild and rugged Donegal country, with its mountains and remarkable sea coasts. All the way in the very very far north is Tory Island, so far off the coast, especially in bad weather, that the natives there say “I’m going to Ireland” when they get on the ferry.
Donegal is one of the last native Irish speaking areas in Ireland, and is home to Clannad and Enya.
You can visit their family pub where it all started, Teach Leo, (Teach is pronounced like tchack) and it means Leo’s house. Leo the proud papa will often let you talk to the kids if you happen to be there–they frequently phone home!
From Letterkenny, you could start heading southeast back to Dublin via the busy market town of Omagh. The whole drive would take you about 4 hours to get back. Just remember that Irish ‘highways’ are a lot smaller than ours! And a lot more bumpy!
HEADING EAST FROM LETTERKENNY
Letterkenny is also one of the gateways to Northern Ireland via the city of Derry (or Londonderry to the British).
Derry is an historic city with a castle which also still has some of its walls intact. It is a young, vibrant city with a lot of college students. It is also the gateway to the famous Giant’s Causeway, a basalt rock formation caused by volcanic activity in the region many thousands of years ago.
Legend has it that you could walk to Scotland via its step-like formations. You can also walk along the coast, taking in the dramatic scenery.
For those of you not afraid of heights, there is also the Carrickarede swining rope bridge, which the local men use to go from the mainland to the small island to empty their lobster pots. Just remember, if you go across, you have to go back the same way, not an easy feat with other people on the bridge and a bit of wind!
From here you can head back to Derry, and via the main roads back down to Dublin. Give yourself about five hours, more if you want to stop in some of the places we mention on the eastern side of this route.
Continues in Planning Your Trip to Ireland Part 9

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