Irish rovers
TAKING a car to Ireland has never been easier with Irish Ferries offering up to 16 daily ferry crossings to Ireland from Britain with sailings from Holyhead to Dublin and Pembroke to Rosslare.
BREATHTAKING views and spectacular scenery make an Irish road trip a must this summer. Two of the world’s great motoring journeys – the Wild Atlantic Way and the Causeway Coastal Route – take in many of Ireland’s fi nest vistas while offering some surprises along the way.
Coasting along
Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coastal Route from Belfast to Derry~ Londonderry runs for more than 195 miles along stunning coastline, across spectacular headlands and through pretty towns and villages.
Along the way you might recognise some of the locations from the award- winning Game Of Thrones TV series, much of which was fi lmed here, while for real drama try taking a walk across the Carrick- a- Rede rope bridge that stretches across a 100ft chasm. You could also visit the medieval Dunluce Castle, perched on a dramatic headland 100ft above the sea.
No journey to the area would be complete without a trip to Giant’s Causeway. One of Northern Ireland’s most famous landmarks and a World Heritage Site, its 40,000 interlocking basalt columns formed by an ancient volcanic eruption are a geological marvel not to be missed.
The Causeway Coastal Route ends in Derry~ Londonderry, still buzzing from its year as UK City of Culture in 2013. From here, a short drive will take you across the border to the start of the Wild Atlantic Way.
Going wild
The world’s longest coastal driving route runs 1,553 miles from Donegal to Cork.
Donegal, with its rolling seas, the rugged peaks of Inishowen Peninsula’s Malin Head and the towering Slieve League cliffs, marks the northern tip of the Wild Atlantic Way.
The route from here takes you through County Sligo, which is currently marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of Irish poet WB Yeats with a series of festivals and events. Yeats spent his spent his childhood holidays in Sligo and considered it his spiritual home.
A stop to take in the incredible views at the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare is essential and from here you can visit the harbour city of Galway, which hosts an international arts festival next month.
You can also discover why the Ring of Kerry tourist route is known for its beauty and climb the steep steps of Skellig Michael Unesco World Heritage Site more than 700ft above sea level and with an early Christian monastery on it, before visiting the city of Limerick.
Then head to County Cork, driving as far south as possible in Ireland to Mizen Head, which juts out into the Atlantic, and dine in Cork city – one of Ireland’s culinary hotspots.