Donegal to Portrush - a full day with cliffs, parks, a castle, and an Iron Age ring fort

This day was quite a busy full day with lots of driving as well as sightseeing. We first stopped at the Slieve League cliffs viewing area. These cliffs are some of the highest sea cliffs in Europe, and guess what? We didn't know the shuttle bus only picked up from the visitor center which we had passed a couple of miles before. 

So here we are at the parking area at the base of the cliffs and the man at the gate says we can drive back to the visitor center to catch the shuttle (which wouldn't leave for another 20 minutes) or we can park and walk up. Walk up...sure we can do that, right?  It probably would take less than 20 minutes, right? We looked at each other and at the road that lead upward out of sight and thought "how bad can it be"?  Bad, very very bad! It was so steep that we basically were walking bent at an angle the whole time. And just when you get to what you think is the top, you curve around and it's just another uphill section. Oh my gosh, I was so hot and sweating by the time we finally made it to the top that I didn't even mind the crazy amount of wind that was blowing up there. Seriously. This wind could rival the winds we experienced in Iceland. I had to have Mike stand right next to me just so that I could try to get a photo while the wind was pushing me around. 

I have to tell you that the prospect of walking down that steep road was not a pleasant one and we certainly weren't looking forward to it. I was mentally psyching myself up while Mike went over to a bus that was parked at the top and asked if it was the shuttle bus and could we get a ride down even though we hadn't boarded at the visitor center. It turned out the bus was a private charter full of German tourists but the driver and the tour guide said we were welcome to ride down with them. Hallelujah! 

Glenveagh National Park and Castle and Gardens was our next stop after driving over the Glengesh Pass. Although the castle and gardens are not large, it was a very nice place and a pretty setting on the lake. 

 

The Grianan of Aileach is an Iron Age ring fort with walls that are 15 feet thick and great 360 degree views of the surrounding countryside. We had the place to ourselves most of the time we were there.