Hitchhiker’s Guide

Across Lough Swilly from the lighthouse is Dunaff Head on the Inishowen Peninsula, in the distance. Donegal is nothing but a series of headlands jutting into the Atlantic. Between and within the headlands are nestled some of the most gorgeous beaches in the world.

Here’s a better look at Dunaff:

We stopped for lunch at a pub with a great view (lighthouse in the distance). We met a young French hitchhiker who asked for a ride back to Kerrykeel, where she’d left her camera for charging. She’s something like halfway through a 3-month trip around Ireland.

Since I hitched around Ireland, I offered our services to take her to her next destination, Marblehead Beach near Dunfanaghy (next headland over). We made a detour to the very popular beach at Downings, then we took the Glen Road, past Doe Castle.

The colours in the estuary were spellbinding (Doe is on the far shore):

In Creeslough, we ran into an old school friend, Siobhan Bigger, a keen cyclist. After dropping our hitchhiker at Marblehead Beach, we cycled along a quiet route she suggested, a lake on our right, and Muckish Mountain in the distance. Siobhan’s mother’s ashes are sprinkled on Muckish and two other mountains because she loved to hike and she loved Donegal.

7-17