The Wild Atlantic Way is one of the world’s longest defined coastal routes, running a full 1553 miles (so I won’t have time for it all), from the Inishowen peninsula in the north, down the entire west coast and then east along the south coast as far as Kinsale, County Cork.
More Irish friends – we often end up in the same place as Irish motoring hacks – have told me that if one keeps going from there, Wexford, in the south-east, has more great roads again, so perhaps a circumnavigation of the whole island, starting and finishing in Dublin or Belfast, both terrific cities, is the dream driving trip.
But today I land in Dublin and head pretty much west, then down a bit, to Shannon, crossing the country in under three hours, from where some of the best roads – and, crucially for photographer Jack Harrison’s camera, views – are within easy reach.
The motorways are good. Quiet and smooth, they feel a bit like France’s (only the tolls are cheaper) and allow you to engage cruise control and ease the miles away with minimal traffic, which you’re not often able to do in England.
It’s getting late by the time I arrive at what must be about 30-40% up the Wild Atlantic Way route, but if you wanted to start at either end, you could catch an afternoon ferry and still arrive in time for late supper and a pint.
