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Donegal Is 'Hidden Paradise' For Adventurers

2nd May 2016
Slieve League on the southern Donegal coast is part of the International Appalachian Trail Slieve League on the southern Donegal coast is part of the International Appalachian Trail Credit: Jon Sullivan/Wikimedia

#Donegal - The coastline of Co Donegal is as much an attraction for adventure tourists as it is for those drawn to its rugged beauty, according to Outside magazine.

And some of those seeking thrills have even made the north-east county their home – such as Scottish-born climbing guide Iain Miller, who leads the magazine's Stephanie Pearson to breathtaking heights at once startlingly remote and surprisingly accessible.



But it's not just about climbers seeking the challenge of Donegal's sea stacks, nor the big swells that bring top surfers to the county in ever increasing numbers.

Sea kayakers, too, have coastal nooks and crannies to explore when the weather permits, while hikers have miles of the Irish portion of the International Appalachian Trail – which crosses one of Europe's highest sea cliffs in Slieve League.

Outside has much more on the story HERE.

Published in Coastal Notes
MacDara Conroy

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MacDara Conroy

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MacDara Conroy is a contributor covering all things on the water, from boating and wildlife to science and business

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Coastal Notes Coastal Notes covers a broad spectrum of stories, events and developments in which some can be quirky and local in nature, while other stories are of national importance and are on-going, but whatever they are about, they need to be told.

Stories can be diverse and they can be influential, albeit some are more subtle than others in nature, while other events can be immediately felt. No more so felt, is firstly to those living along the coastal rim and rural isolated communities. Here the impact poses is increased to those directly linked with the sea, where daily lives are made from earning an income ashore and within coastal waters.

The topics in Coastal Notes can also be about the rare finding of sea-life creatures, a historic shipwreck lost to the passage of time and which has yet many a secret to tell. A trawler's net caught hauling more than fish but cannon balls dating to the Napoleonic era.

Also focusing the attention of Coastal Notes, are the maritime museums which are of national importance to maintaining access and knowledge of historical exhibits for future generations.

Equally to keep an eye on the present day, with activities of existing and planned projects in the pipeline from the wind and wave renewables sector and those of the energy exploration industry.

In addition Coastal Notes has many more angles to cover, be it the weekend boat leisure user taking a sedate cruise off a long straight beach on the coast beach and making a friend with a feathered companion along the way.

In complete contrast is to those who harvest the sea, using small boats based in harbours where infrastructure and safety poses an issue, before they set off to ply their trade at the foot of our highest sea cliffs along the rugged wild western seaboard.

It's all there, as Coastal Notes tells the stories that are arguably as varied to the environment from which they came from and indeed which shape people's interaction with the surrounding environment that is the natural world and our relationship with the sea.