Wild Windy Donegal

I was in Donegal 8-11 April with my friend Ali and her dog. We stayed at Christine's house – the rental fee has gone up so it was great to split the cost with Ali. Our first stop was Downings so we took a short cut off the main road to take us northeasterly – this let us drive by Lough Salt, somewhere I've always wanted to see. Muckish Mountain in the background.

Before a drink at the pub we went to Downings beach to let the dogs run. Here's my cheeky Daphne.

Thursday morning it was Marble Hill beach then breakfast in Dunfanaghy then the gorgeous Tramore beach north of Dunfanaghy.

The beach is reached after a long walk through high dunes, so it is often deserted. Ali and Barli below, with my dogs running in rings.

I love Donegal. We were lucky with the weather.

Below a view of Horn Head as we walked back through the dunes. I was so proud of Daphne, staying roughly near me and Paddy. Let's say Paddy runs in a radius of 20 metres of me, Daphne is probably in a 50-metre radius. I had her up here nearly a year ago and she scared me a few times by chasing rabbits and getting out of earshot. Horn Head below.

My neighbour Sarah is building a house in Dunfanaghy. We got a tour of it after our walk on Thursday and met Sarah for dinner. Friday we headed to Ards Forest.

Friday night we met Sarah for a drink at my favourite pub, the Glen Bar, then she came round to ours for dinner. Saturday Ali went to Falcarragh to run in a 5K Parkrun. I took the dogs to Killahoey beach.

Next we packed up the house and Ali headed home, while I took my dogs to the Boardwalk Beach, so called because a very long boardwalk leads from a restaurant through endless dunes to a beach. I'm not keen on the boardwalk because the dogs can hop off and go rabbit hunting and get too far away. It was a really windy day so they'd never hear me. Instead I dropped down to the estuary on Sheephaven Bay and followed the beach around to where it faces the North Atlantic.

Like I said, it was really windy. The blue waves barrelled toward me while the wind blew the white spray backwards. It was very dramatic. Also, the sand was blowing along the surface of the beach.

I walked the dogs back to the car on the boardwalk, with lots of pulling going on. But it's less work than walking on the sand. I called at the Glen Bar for lunch on the way home – there was a handy guide to the toilets.

I drove back along Lough Salt for a final panoramic view.

This post suggests the weather was flawless, however the afternoons were dark and rainy. I read The Frozen River while I was holed up at the house in the afternoon/evenings. So contented, a good book with a dog on either side!!

Donegal was meant to be a relaxing break after a month of working on the lawn. Instead, I came back as tired as when I left, with a very sore shoulder to boot. I think it was the combination of long walks on beaches/dunes in windy weather, dogs pulling on leads, and driving winding roads every day. I had to take ibuprofen for three days to get my shoulder to calm down. However, a small price to pay for a lovely getaway.

8-11 April