Making your own way in the Wild Atlantic
Take the ferry trip to a peaceful place
Christmas is over and what most of us need now is a break away from the feasting and festivities.
Not everyone wants to fly off to the sun though.
Some of us would rather take the car and keep our feet firmly on the ground when we get out of it.
Some of you, if you are like me, would rather take the ferry to wherever you want to find peace and a slower pace of life.
There is no question about where I would like to go for a winter break and that is to Connemara in the far off West of Ireland.
I have been there many times and even written a book about it called How Are Things in Connemara?
This time, however, I believe the trip back there could be made much more interesting if I were to divert from my usual route to the Wild Atlantic Way.
There would be no diverting of course from the ferry from the M77 to the new port of Cairnryan in South Ayrshire.
Stena Line provides a daily service from Cairnryan to Belfast in Northern Ireland.
And from just £ 15 per person you can upgrade to the exclusive Stena Plus Lounge and travel in the lap of luxury.
The lounge is available as part of Stena’s Premium fare, which also includes express boarding and disembarkation.
Passengers in the Plus Lounge can enjoy complimentary drinks, snacks, newspapers and magazines.
And, of course, there is free wi- fi which lets you catch up with your emails or get into the holiday mood by just playing games.
If you want something more than just snacks and coffee you can have a Stena Plus breakfast or dinner, which comes as an extra and is served pleasantly and efficiently by the personal waiter service.
Stena Plus lounge access is from £ 15pp on the Cairnryan – Belfast route only when booked in advance and costs £ 18pp if upgrading on day of departure.
The West Atlantic Way is all the rage these days for people who want to see Ireland from the wind- whipped tip of Malin Head in Donegal to the safe southern haven of Kinsale Harbour in Cork.
You can wrap yourself in the wilderness of the west coast of Ireland on the world’s longest defined coastal touring route.
The Wild Atlantic Way is a sensational journey of soaring cliffs and buzzing towns and cities, of hidden beaches and epic bays.
So whether you drive it from end- toend, or dip into it as the mood strikes, it’s going to be a once- in- a- lifetime experience.
From Belfast you can head off through Antrim and along the northern coast to the northern headlands which are rocky, remote and romantic.
Beneath skies streaked with the Northern Lights, you can follow the curve of the coast from this island’s northernmost point at Malin Head, past lonely Fanad Head lighthouse to the sweeping Slieve League cliffs.
Wave- riding on the Atlantic shore has become a major attraction for thrillseekers.
However, some of us prefer just to stand and watch and with other sensitive souls lose our hearts to the Surf Coast, where pounding waves and poetic silence exist side by side.
Donegal, Sligo, Mayo look out to sea from Mullaghmore and Downpatrick Head to Yeats Country.
Prepare to be inspired by the words of WB Yeats who wrote the poem which begins: I will arise and go now …
Stop and relax at the secluded beaches. Walk in the sheep- spotted hills.
Sail in the breath- taking Killary Fjord, which was big enough to accommodate the whole British naval fleet,
Take in the Derrigimlagh Bog, near Clifden in Connemara, where Alcock and Brown landed after their historic, first ever trans- Atlantic flight.
Weave between Mayo and Galway in a bountiful display of Ireland’s inherent beauty.
What is now called The Bay Coast is waiting for you.
The Cliff Coast is where the island’s most improbable landscapes meet.
Some were shaped by the Ice- Age, others resemble the moon, and all are worthy of pilgrimage.
Take in the Cliffs of Moher, Aran Islands and The Burren, in all their weather- beaten splendour.
Stay a pleasant while in Clifden, the capital of Connemara, where you can browse in the locally owned bookshop.
Stay at the Station House Hotel, where the food is superb and the rooms are warm and comfortable before heading off to Galway.
If, like me, books are your thing then go into Charlie Byrne’s bookshop in the Cornstore or to Kenny’s, the most famous bookshop in Ireland.
You can travel on then southwards through Clare and Limerick to the five great peninsulas of the southwest, which knit together like a finely tuned melody.
Answer the mysterious call of the deserted Basket and Selig Islands; or see if you can spy Mizzen Head on the horizon from the Dorsey cable car.
Stories of siege cling to the salty air at the Old Head of Kinase. Once a Viking trading post and medieval fishing port, gourmet food and whale- watching cruises now reign supreme.
You’ll leave with a sea shanty in your heart.
If you have the time – and in Ireland, God made plenty of it – you can travel along the coast to Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow and stop off in Dublin.
If you’re like me and a winter or spring break beckons then there’s no better place to spend it in Ireland, where peace comes dropping slowly.
- Bill Heaney travelled in luxury from Cairnryan to Belfast with Stena Line in the Stena Plus Lounge.
The Wild Atlantic Way is a sensational journey of soaring cliffs and buzzing towns and cities