The Atlantic Companion · Wild Atlantic Way · Donegal
Two peninsulas at the top of Donegal, separated by Lough Swilly. Fanad — the western one — has the candy-striped Fanad Head Lighthouse and the great natural sea arch at Pollet. Inishowen — the eastern, larger one — has its own 160km signposted loop drive (the Inishowen 100), the prehistoric ringfort at Grianán of Aileach, the surf at Tullagh, and shares a border with the Republic's only point at Malin Head (which has its own page on this site). Buncrana on the Lough Swilly side is the working town; Carndonagh is the inland centre.
Fanad lighthouse, the Pollet sea arch, the Inishowen 100.
First things first
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The essentials
Locally chosen, not algorithmic. In rough order of "if you only do one thing".
History
A working lighthouse built in 1817 on the dramatic tip of the Fanad peninsula, after the loss of HMS Saldanha in Lough Swilly with all 250 hands. White tower, red bands. You can stay overnight in the keepers' cottages or visit by guided tour. Voted 'most beautiful lighthouse in the world' more than once on travel lists.
Good to know · Tours April to October — book at fanadlighthouse.com. Café and tour office at the site. Free outdoor viewing area always open.
Nature
A massive natural sea arch cut into red sandstone cliffs on the Atlantic side of the Fanad peninsula, near Doaghbeg. A 10-minute walk down a grassy track from the road delivers you to the cliff edge above it — and a steep clamber down lets you stand under it at low tide. Look up and the rock is shot through with old marine fossils.
Good to know · Free, always open. Small free car park signposted near Doaghbeg. The clamber down is steep and wet — sturdy shoes.
Drive
A 160km (100-mile) signposted loop around the Inishowen peninsula — Buncrana, Dunree Fort, Mamore Gap, Tullagh Bay, Malin Head, Greencastle, Moville. Allow a full day. The Mamore Gap road climb is the white-knuckle moment; the Five Fingers Strand near Malin is the photogenic moment.
Good to know · Signposted in both directions. Anti-clockwise gives you Mamore early. Allow 6–8 hours with stops.
History
A circular stone ringfort on a 244m hilltop overlooking Lough Swilly and Lough Foyle — possibly built around 1700 BC, definitely a royal seat of the Northern Uí Néill kings from the 6th century. Reconstructed in the 1870s. The 360-degree view from the wall-walk takes in two loughs and four counties.
Good to know · Free, always open. Free car park 200m below — short uphill walk. Exposed in wind.
History
A 19th-century coastal fort on Lough Swilly — built to guard the British Atlantic Fleet's anchorage, handed to the Irish state in 1938 with the rest of the Treaty Ports. Now a military museum with intact gun emplacements, a magazine, and a clifftop gun walk above the lough.
Good to know · Seasonal — check current opening hours before visiting. Café on site.
Town
The largest town on the Inishowen peninsula, on the eastern shore of Lough Swilly. Long beach (Lisfannon to Buncrana shore), Ned's Point Fort, the Crana river mouth, and a working high street. Used by Derry as its swimming beach for generations.
Good to know · Pay-and-display in the centre. Free at Lisfannon beach. Big SuperValu and Tesco.
Local businesses
Hand-picked, not paid for. The ferries, the beds, the pubs and the bike hire that make a visit work.
Before you go. These listings are compiled from public sources and aren't yet verified by the businesses themselves. Hours, menus and prices change with the seasons — always check directly with the venue before travelling, and book ahead in July and August. Owners can get in touch to update their listing.
Eat
On the harbour in Greencastle on Inishowen — McGonagle family seafood restaurant, lobster and crab landed metres away, Lough Foyle oysters from across the water. Dinner only, midweek closures off-season.
Drink
On the seafront in Rathmullan — bar with the Lough Swilly view, decent pub food, sessions on weekends. Where the village ends up after a beach day.
Drink
On the seafront in Buncrana — locals' bar with the Lough Swilly view, trad sessions, fire in winter. The proper Buncrana pub if you want one.
Stay
Stay in the keeper's cottages at the 1817 lighthouse on the tip of the Fanad peninsula — three self-catering houses, the lighthouse tower tours, the cliffs out the door. Booked months ahead in summer; midweek shoulder season is the trick.
Stay
Country-house hotel on the shore of Lough Swilly outside Rathmullan — Wheeler family-run, walled garden, the Cook & Gardener restaurant, a long beach on the doorstep. The Fanad splurge.
Stay
Hotel, restaurant and live-music bar in Culdaff on the north Inishowen coast — the McGrory family have been hosting serious gigs (folk, trad, country) here for decades. Seventeen rooms, decent kitchen.
Stay
Modern hotel in Buncrana — pool, leisure club, big functions space, useful base for Inishowen with kids. Less characterful than McGrory's but more comfortable in winter.
Do
At Burt, in a converted church at the foot of the hill — visitor centre, café and a path up to the spectacular ringfort on the summit. Inishowen, Lough Swilly and Lough Foyle all in one view.
Run a place in Fanad & Inishowen?
Our directory is curated, not pay-to-play. If we'd recommend you, you can be on here.
See how to get listedGot a window or a counter?
Download a free A5 QR card for Fanad & Inishowen — print it, stick it up, and visitors land straight on the Fanad & Inishowen guide.
Ask a local
Stay overnight at Fanad lighthouse
The keeper's cottages are now self-catering. After the last visitor leaves at 5, you've got the headland to yourself. Sunrise from your kitchen window over Mulroy Bay is a quiet privilege.
Five Finger Strand on a wild day
Some of the highest dunes in Europe back this Inishowen beach. Pick a windy afternoon when nobody's there and the spray comes off the waves like smoke.
Know a Fanad or Inishowen spot worth sharing?
Hidden gems on this page are written by locals, not us. The right time of day for the Pollet arch, the back lane to Glenevin waterfall, the Inishowen pub for sessions — tell us and we'll add it.
Off the spine
Not on the Wild Atlantic Way — but a short drive inland (or further along the coast) and locals would always send you here.
Glenevin Waterfall
Inland (Inishowen) · 10 min from Clonmany
A short, easy walk into a hidden glen behind Clonmany — wooden boardwalks and bridges follow the stream up through the trees to a 30m waterfall at the head. Twenty minutes each way, suitable for kids and grandparents both. Almost nobody on the Inishowen 100 knows it's there because the signposting from the main road is modest. The contrast — Five Finger Strand's Atlantic ferocity 15 minutes away, this quiet wooded glen — is the point.
Signposted from Clonmany village. Free car park, picnic tables, no opening hours. Boardwalks can be slippy after rain.
Common questions
Yes — Fanad is one of the most dramatic of Donegal's many peninsulas, with the iconic Fanad Head Lighthouse, the swimming hole at Murder Hole Beach (Boyeeghter Bay), the wide sandy bay at Ballymastocker, and the historic Doe Castle on Mulroy Bay. Allow a full day to drive the loop properly.
Yes — Fanad Head Lighthouse offers self-catering accommodation in two restored Keeper's Cottages on the lighthouse site itself, with cliff-edge views to Malin Head and the Atlantic. It's one of the few working Irish lighthouses you can stay overnight at. Book well in advance, especially in summer.
Yes — Inishowen is Ireland's largest peninsula and contains the country's most northerly point at Malin Head. Headline stops are the Grianan of Aileach hilltop ringfort, the long beach at Lagg, Mamore Gap, Kinnagoe Bay, Five Finger Strand and Malin Head itself. Allow at least two days to drive the Inishowen 100 properly.
The Inishowen 100 is a roughly 100-mile (160 km) loop around the Inishowen Peninsula, signposted in both directions. Pure driving time is around 4 hours; allow a full day with stops at Grianan of Aileach, Mamore Gap, Malin Head and Kinnagoe Bay. Two days lets you walk the beaches properly.
Practical
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