Donegal break

Boxing day morning I drove up to Creeslough, where I stayed for three nights at the home of Christine and Andrew Davidson. Here's the view from the house of one of the many estuaries lacing the coast.

I turned the heat on in the house, unpacked the car, then took Paddy to Ards Friary, where we hiked a loop trail and he went swimming on two beaches. He was having a ball. It was a sunny day but unfortunately I didn't take my phone camera with me. On the drive back from the Friary--which is on a point--I got a shot of a different estuary in the fading winter sunlight.

Then into Dunfanaghy looking for dinner. Nothing doing on Boxing Day. So I bought some groceries and headed home, just as well as the house is down a series of narrow farm lanes and I wasn't eager to drive them at night.

The next day was a morning run in Ards Forest then the afternoon at Tra More beach at Dunfanaghy, where the waves were loud and splashy in a high wind.

Donegal is famous for its lovely beaches. When the sun shines on the water, it looks like the Caribbean. I was blessed with mild weather, which made spending a lot of time on beaches much more pleasant than I expected.

Paddy was having so much fun in the water. He wanted me to throw him sticks, but I couldn't throw a stick far enough for him to swim, due to the shallow shelf. To get to the beach, you have to walk through a series of high dunes.

Here's the beach from the dunes.

I can't actually remember which beach was which day. One day I went out at lunchtime without Paddy to have lunch in a pub in Falcarragh. Then I went to the beach there then did some shopping in Dunfanaghy.

The house where I stayed was near Doe Castle, below.

And another shot from the road to Carrickart.

I think this was the day I went to a pub in Glen for lunch. I was trying to get online to buy an airplane ticket for my neice (no wifi at the house) but I didn't succeed, due to running out of battery. The wifi password at the pub: Buymeapint.

This is a view of Muckish Mountain from the road to Carrickart. The colours of the Donegal mountains reminded me of Paul Henry's paintings of Achill Island--all soft blues and purples.

Probably my favourite beach was Downings Beach, which I visited three times, never the same section. Here's Paddy in the water during our first visit, when we accessed it from a long boardwalk through the dunes.

Our second visit we accessed it from a car park near the Rossa Penna Hotel.

Third visit was from the boardwalk but we turned left into a protected cove rather than right onto the strand. On this visit I was accompanied by Siobhan Bigger, an old school friend, and her dog Theo. We had a good catch up--it was lovely to see her.

Coordinating that visit added a few hours to my Donegal time so a late start for Belfast. I ended up going to M&S in Derry for sandwiches and calling in with Mary for a quick meal. The getaway to Creeslough was a lovely break. I read a book, caught up on some Christmas shows I downloaded to my laptop, and enjoyed gorgeous scenery and my insanely energetic spaniel.

Dec. 26-29