It was good 5 hour drives to reach Donegal town in the most nothern county. The coast, in sunny moments, looks charming.
First stop is Slieve
League, sheer cliff straight down to sea, the highest in Europe, and 3
times the height of famous cliff of Mohar. Easy walk up to view point,
and indeed steep, but not as eye catching as Cliff of Mohar.
The
perfect horse shoe shaped sandy beach at Malin Beg below the low cliff
is breathlessly beautiful. There is a long flight of steps to go down,
but what interest me more is the green field of the cliff top and the view along the coast.
So instead of
walking down to the beach, we stayed up and walk along sheep fields to
the very far end of the field, for the rewarding view of massive dark rocks in
bright blue sea.
The drive
inland over Glengesh Pass to Adara and to Portnoo beach reminded me of
the spectacular open vista in Iceland. Huge U shape glacial valley, peat
blog land as far as your eyes could see, not a tree, not a house in
sight. The openness is rare and is an enjoyable panorama.
When
I visited the west coast of Ireland last year, I was already very
impressed with the immense beaches there, without much human activities
and constructions. Arriving and walking on Portnoo beach, I am
speechless, an endless stretch of fine golden sand beach, the beauty is hard
to describe. I just keep walking and taking shots, return when
tired, not even touched half the length.
Only on driving to the next destination, I got a distance view of the bay from some height, and realize it is an Z shaped sandy beach, no wonder I felt like water on 3 sides.
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