Achill Island, pristine, personal and perfect....

Achill Island is one of those one stop shops, that ticks all the boxes and more on the Wild Atlantic Way. Show stopping scenery, vast (empty) beaches, fantastic (easy) drives plus great food and hospitality. And you don’t even have to worry about getting seasick as there are no ferries involved just a short drive across the new bridge which spans Achill Sound.

A little bit of Brigadoon

Almost immediately you will feel like you have stepped into a Paul Henry landscape with the contrast of blue skies and purple mountains against the acid green bogs, brown turf and whitewashed thatched cottages. If it all sounds a little to Brigadoon, don’t mock it till you have tried it. This pristine landscape really does still exist, the elements having won this battle and beaten economic progress hands down, its very remoteness and inaccessibility having become its saving grace. Croaghaun Cliffs are the highest in Ireland at almost 600 mtrs, yet you cannot visit them unless you take a boat trip or hike over a mountain, so Achill doesn’t have the double edged sword of millions of day trippers.

Beautiful Sandy Beaches

Blessed with a truly magnificent beach at Keel, Achill goes one sandy step further with a little jewel at Keem and as if that wasn’t enough cross over to the other side of the island for another Robinson Crusoe experience at Dugort. What Achill lacked in the 1970s in terms of accommodation, basic bed and breakfasts or caravans, has now improved along with some very good restaurants with freshly caught seafood and home baked bread taking pride of place on menus across Achill. For lunch with a view overlooking Slieve Mór (Big Mountain) no prizes for originality there, try the Cottage in Dugort which does the finest seafood platter you will find anywhere on the Wild Atlantic Way.

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Posted: 30 Jul 2014 by Claire Regan | with 0 comments

Tags: Galway, Wild Atlantic Way