Roadtrip along the Wild Atlantic Way

The Wild Atlantic Way is a strange and wonderful thing. The name sounds like it was scribbled by a drunken poet or maybe a tourism board with a flair for drama. It stretches all along the western coast of Ireland for 2600 km of narrow windy roads, said to be one of the longest coastal routes in the world.

There’s a sort of rhythm out here. Sheep blocking the road with more entitlement than a Manhattan banker. Rain appearing out of nowhere like an unpaid tab. Castles crumbling into fields like forgotten memories, and towns that look like movie sets left behind after the shoot wrapped decades ago.

I pass through fishing villages where the boats outnumber the people, where time isn’t measured in minutes but tides. And everywhere, the Atlantic cold blue monster breathing salt and myth into every gust of wind.

On the Sky Road to Kingston peninsula.

The most striking section is arguably the aptly named Sky Road, going through the Colmarra national park area on a route from Clifden onto the desolate Kingston peninsula. The tallest peak of Sky Road is only about 120 meters above sea level, but the wind won’t let me forget where I am.

The rugged beauty of Colmarra is visually striking. We passed strange artifacts such as the Killing Stone in the middle of nowhere. Out here I could really feel the desolation as it was depicted in the movie The Banshees of Inisherin, where many scenes were filmed on Achill Island, a bit to the north of Colmarra.

Kylemore Abbey.

After a short stop for coffee in Clifden, the capital of Connemara, I head straight to Kylemore Abbey, a Benedictine monastery from 1920 with an picturesque location set between lake Pollacapall and a tall mountain.

Followed the Killary Fjord until I reach Westport. This is another small but colorful town with several cute stone bridges across Carrowbeg River.

Bridge in Westport.

Other places of interest around Colmarra is the Quiet Man bridge, seen in the John Wayne movie Quiet Man from 1952, as well as Pines Island, looking like something from an Arthur legend.

Pines Island.

No visit to the Irish west coast is complete without the Cliffs of Moher. These sandstone cliffs tower above the Atlantic Ocean with a height of 120 meters, but still there are some sea spray of salt water making its way all the way up (as I sorely discovered). The lonely O’Brien’s Tower feels like the official end of the world. This is a place where the cliffs don’t care who you are, and the sea has been picking fights with the rocks for millennia.

The cliffs reminded me of Kilt Rock on Isle of Skye in northern Scotland. The place can be seen in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, as well as The Princess Bride (where they are called the Cliffs of Insanity as the band of adventurers scale them by hand). Outside the cliffs are the Aran Islands, another location from The Banshees of Inisherin.

The Cliffs of Insanity Moher.

After long days on the road, Galway is the perfect place to settle in. It’s located exactly halfway on the Wild Atlantic Way and known as the cultural heart of Ireland. A city of music and misfits. I walk through the narrow streets in the the Latin Quarter, humming with buskers and the scent of fried fish. Suddenly a girl starts to do a Riverdance number, in the middle of an intersection. If I would attempt something like that, I would likely get arrested.

I have a look at the lively O’Connell’s Bar where Ed Sheeran’s video was shot, but quickly leave before getting tinnitus. Sit next to the statue of Galway Girl at The Quays. Squeezes in at the eternally crammed Tig Chóilí for a dose of live music. Taking a windy stroll through the Spanish Arch along The Long Walk.

Merry musicians at Tig Cóilí.

When all is said and done, perhaps ending the day with a plate of Coddle and a wee pint of the black stuff?