The Wild Atlantic Way

Image by Bernhard from Pixabay

The Wild Atlantic Way is as untamed and beautiful as the name suggests. It is 2600 km long (1600 mi) and is one of the “longest defined coastal routes in the world” per website thewildatlanticway.com. It runs from Cork at Ireland’s south end to Derry in the north and is home to stunning cliffs, beautiful beaches, mystical lakes, wild bays and magical islands

A section of the Way runs from Galway up to Clifden, bordered by the ocean on the west and the Twelve Pins (or Bens- “Ben” from the Irish “Binn” which means “peak”) on the left. It’s in a Gaeltacht region- a place where you can still hear Irish spoken in shops and pubs. It continues from Clifden up to Westport where you can see the sacred mountain Croagh Patrick (where St. Patrick reportedly had it out with some snakes). The thousands of yearly penitents who climb the peak barefoot for their sins have caused erosion, making the climb more dangerous than heretofore.