places to visit > uk and eire

West Coast of Ireland

(1/5) > >>

Nigel:
After drawing a blank asking most people I know, I'm after any info the hive mind has on Ireland, particularly the west coast.

Basically I've spent the last few Augusts vanning around Scotland doing a mix of bouldering, walking / scrambling, and kayaking, all at a fairly chill level. With a nice sideline in drinking beer in country pubs and scranning fresh seafood where possible. I'm currently pondering whether to spread my wings and go somewhere new to do the same sort of stuff, and the west coast of Ireland has sprung to mind. So I guess questions would be:

+ any OK bouldering areas with a nice compact-ish circuit? Not expecting Font. A quick look on UKC and nothing is jumping off the page...
+ Looks like there should be loads of options for (entry-level!) sea-kayaking, but any direct knowledge is welcome  :)
+ Will it be busy or quiet? Expensive or cheap?
+ Is van camping generally OK, like Scotland?
+ Weather in August?
+ It looks like taking in the whole west coast top to toe would take forever - any particular areas that are a "must do"?
+ Any other recommendations at all as I know literally nothing about the place!

Any beta at all appreciated  ;D

SA Chris:
Have you got the Ireland Bouldering Guide? Tons of info in there.

I've only ever gone looking for surf that way and the sea is generally pretty wild, but there looks to be some pretty sheltered inlets and estuaries.

No idea on the rest, it was 20 years ago over the jubilee before last, so probably all changed, but there were loads of beach parking places with surfers in vans, so seems generally tolerated.

Dave Flanagan:

--- Quote from: Nigel on June 19, 2023, 09:35:38 pm ---After drawing a blank asking most people I know, I'm after any info the hive mind has on Ireland, particularly the west coast.

Basically I've spent the last few Augusts vanning around Scotland doing a mix of bouldering, walking / scrambling, and kayaking, all at a fairly chill level. With a nice sideline in drinking beer in country pubs and scranning fresh seafood where possible. I'm currently pondering whether to spread my wings and go somewhere new to do the same sort of stuff, and the west coast of Ireland has sprung to mind. So I guess questions would be:

+ any OK bouldering areas with a nice compact-ish circuit? Not expecting Font. A quick look on UKC and nothing is jumping off the page...
+ Looks like there should be loads of options for (entry-level!) sea-kayaking, but any direct knowledge is welcome  :)
+ Will it be busy or quiet? Expensive or cheap?
+ Is van camping generally OK, like Scotland?
+ Weather in August?
+ It looks like taking in the whole west coast top to toe would take forever - any particular areas that are a "must do"?
+ Any other recommendations at all as I know literally nothing about the place!

Any beta at all appreciated  ;D

--- End quote ---

There is a decent amount of bouldering, Doolin in Clare springs to mind as the notable coastal spot, scattered minor stuff in Connemara and plenty of nice granite in NW Donegal.

If you go in high summer it will be busy, the first 2 weeks of August is the busiest time. Towards the end of August it gets quieter. Post covid there are a lot more vans about, they are generally tolerated, but the increase in numbers has put pressure on that situation. 

You might find Ireland expensive. A pint would be 6euro. Could spend a lot eating seafood platters in nice restaurants.

The weather is hit and miss. Impossible to predict really.

The WAW is 2500km long so don't expect to see it all in a week.

I wrote a book called Exploring Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way that might be of some use. Feel free to PM with any questions.

remus:

--- Quote from: Dave Flanagan on June 19, 2023, 10:28:25 pm ---
There is a decent amount of bouldering, Doolin in Clare springs to mind as the notable coastal spot, scattered minor stuff in Connemara and plenty of nice granite in NW Donegal.

--- End quote ---

A bit too early for you Nigel, but the Doolin folk festival is ace (usually in June I think). I had an ace trip a few years ago where we started off with the fairhead festival then drove down to the burren after the weather crapped out. Topped off with an impromptu night at the folk festival and waking up sprawled half way in to my tent with an awful hangover.

Fultonius:
We were over a few summers ago (in fact, must have been just pre-covid?) for my cousins wedding in Donegal, we took the van and drove down the west coast for 2 weeks after, doing a bit of climbing, biking and kayaking.

It's nice. But. Compared to Scotland and when we've done van trips in Europe, we found it generally harder to find good, free, scenic, non-local-rage inducing van camping spots. It just seems like there are fewer free bits of land that aren't overlooked by houses.

We also expected a slightly more vibrant folk scene in the pubs (having been to orkney and Stornoway at festival times, maybe expectations were too high) but it seemed often that anyove music was a pair of old codgers going through the motions for the tourists again, rather than it bejng a good vibrant music scene.

I guess what I'm saying is. People, place and activities are good (can't help with bouldering, sea kayaking down by kerry is great) but maybe do a bit of research and have some targets to go to, rather than just drifting along expecting to just find good stuff.

I realise this sounds a bit harsh, we had a great time! Just found it took more thna a week to figure out a few things and then we were nearly ready to come home.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page