{"id":11557,"date":"2026-08-07T05:37:45","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T05:37:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/s691948366.onlinehome.us\/demo\/cogitations\/?page_id=11557"},"modified":"2026-09-02T05:09:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T05:09:16","slug":"donegal","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/s691948366.onlinehome.us\/demo\/cogitations\/ireland\/westport-to-donegal\/donegal\/","title":{"rendered":"Donegal"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Home<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n
\n \t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Donegal\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n
\n \t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Road to Donegal<\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

It\u2019s just a hop and a skip to Donegal so we start with a leisurely breakfast in Madden\u2019s bar. The publican gives us a grilling about all the places we\u2019ve been – to check we\u2019ve not missed anything important. We\u2019re pleased, and relieved, to pass this test. He tells us about the Red Bull diving from Downpatrick Head and we check out the YouTube video<\/a>. Breathtaking or stomach churning depending on your disposition. Google it, if the link doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n \t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

We are also told that the population of Bundoran is around 2,000, but with holiday homes, guest houses and so on, there can be up to 30,000 people there at any one time in the summer. Nearly all the visitors are Irish, many from the North, and the pub does two thirds of its annual trade in July and August alone. I\u2019m on driving duty, so park up and head back to meet the others at halfway. There\u2019s the usual shenanigans at the rendezvous point, and Nigel misses the coffee stop altogether, but we soon regroup and head down to Rossnowlagh beach, where there are dozens of surfers hard at it, in high winds and great surf.<\/p>

I am told that the highlight of the first part of today\u2019s journey was the statue of Rory Gallagher in his birthplace, Ballyshannon, and pretty soon we are back at the car and loading up. It feels odd to be finishing our circuit of the Irish coastline in Donegal, given that we started it in Cork. But that\u2019s what happens when the order of events is decided by committee. This week\u2019s journey may have been reckoned, by some, as the least interesting part of Ireland, but it has been a joy from start to finish. I have a feeling I\u2019ll be back for more Irish pedalling before too long.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t
\n \t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t