The Complete Guide To: The west coast of Ireland

West is best?

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• The Complete Guide To: The east coast of Ireland

Even though sunshine and balmy days are not exactly a given, in terms of scenic enchantment there's little that can beat the outlook of Ireland's west coast. Images of the panoramas and vistas here make the 80 million Irish diaspora around the world go weak at the knees – and appeal to plenty of others as well. Yet there's nothing quite like seeing it all up close, even when half obscured by low-lying cloud. Indeed the mist adds to the lyrical effect of the landscape.

Along this ribboned coast there is surprising variety, too, from wide, empty bays of sweeping sands to cliffs, high peaks and desolately beautiful headlands. What's more this largely rural shoreline offers rich Irish tradition (and charm) – song, music and plenty of ancient ruins and standing stones.

Tip top ...

Standing tall at the top of Ireland, Co Donegal's Inishowen (or Inis Eoghain) Peninsula is hauntingly lovely, its rugged terrain dotted with cottages and small villages. The scenic and well-signposted "Inis Eoghain 100" road weaves a spectacular route around this tongue of land, taking in Ireland's most northerly point, Malin Head. At the very end of the windy headland stands a suitably dramatic, ruined tower, built as a signal station by Lloyds in 1805. From here you gaze out over jagged rocks and across crashing seas, and on a clear day the views stretch as far as the Scottish islands of Jura and Islay.

Where can I go wild?

The amazing coastline of Co Donegal has been energetically carved by the sea into a 320-kilometre sequence of peninsulas, bays and promontories. The most desolate yet magical landscape lies between Donegal town and the remote village of Glencolumbcille. Here St Columba (or Columbcille) founded a monastery in the 6th century – and here you can still see some of the area's pre-Christian standing stones that he neatly adapted. The village became all but deserted after the Great Famine, yet during the 1950s it was enthusiastically revived by a local vicar. With fuschia-fringed lanes and painted houses, today it is a lively place with a centre for Gaelic culture and language (www.oideas-gael.com).

A few kilometres further north, the bustling town of Ardara is renowned for the local crafts of knitwear and weaving, and also has a high street lined with cheerful pubs. And nearby there's a charming retreat: about a seven-minute drive out of town and up a winding lane is a haven of a B&B run by a Frenchman named Paul Chatenoud, who arrived here about a decade ago. On a windswept hilltop he transformed a series of low Donegal cottages into simple accommodation with four bedrooms.

The Green Gate (00 353 74 9541546; www.thegreengate.eu) costs from €90 (£64) per double including breakfast. The area's most plush hotel is tucked away down tiny lanes a few kilometres east of Donegal town. Harvey's Point, on Lough Eske (00 353 74 972 2208; www.harveyspoint.com) offers gourmet fare and sumptuous accommodation with a sybaritic touch of bling (double Jacuzzi baths and huge flatscreen TVs in some suites). Doubles cost from €290 (£207) including breakfast.

For sheer poetry?

South of Donegal the landscape becomes gentler and attains an almost ethereal quality. Beautiful, misty Co Sligo was the inspiration for one of Ireland's finest poets. WB Yeats died in France during the Second World War. Nine years later his remains were brought back to Co Sligo and, as he had wished, he was buried "under bare Ben Bulben's head in Drumcliff churchyard" just off Drumcliff Bay. Today, steady streams of people come to pay homage at his modest grave that lies in the shadow of the county's most dramatic mountain. Drumcliff, though, is no recent pilgrimage site: in the 6th century St Columba founded a monastery here, and beyond the current 1809 church two significant monuments remain from the monastic site. A tall Celtic cross, decorated with carvings of Daniel in the Lion's Den, Adam and Eve and more, stands in the graveyard while across the road is a 10th-century round tower, built as a lookout point to warn of Viking attacks.

For otherworldly, almost mystical, appeal follow the country lane heading north of Drumcliff to Raghly Point. From the tiny harbour here (currently being redeveloped) there are stunning views across the bay to mountains beyond. On the way you'll pass signs to Lissadell House (www.lissadellhouse.com; open 10.30am-6pm daily from April to September; gardens open from May; entrance to house, garden and Countess Markieviez exhibition €12/£8.60; house only €6/£4.30). Wonderfully restored since 2004, this gracious Regency mansion was home to the Gore-Booth family, who had close associations with Yeats. There's a fine art collection here, and a special exhibition on Constance Markieviez (*ée Gore-Booth), freedom fighter and the first British female MP. The gardens, meanwhile, are a treat.

Bog standard?

Little-visited Co Mayo has wild and wonderful landscape, but perhaps best of all is its bog near spectacular cliffs beyond the village of Ballycastle. Ceide Fields (open March to November 10am-5pm daily, until 6pm in the summer; adults ¿3.50/£2.50) is an extensive Stone-Age farm complex, its field systems, tombs and homes preserved beneath the mire and mud. The site was first discovered in the 1950s but it was not until 1993 that a visitor centre opened here, an award-winning building that offers an eclectic range of displays and explanations into life some 5,000 years ago. You can also learn about the ecology of the area's blanket bogland here and join guided tours that take in both the archaeology and the natural world.

A good beach?

Co Mayo offers some of Ireland's very best stretches of sand. But before seeking the seaside head first for Croagh Patrick, the extraordinary, conical-shaped mountain, where Ireland's patron saint spent 40 days fasting and praying. Since at least the 6th century it has been a great pilgrimage place and despite challenging paths, it remains a very popular hike today. There are great views of the mountain from the village of Murrisk, where you can also take in the bronze ship sculpture by John Bevan that is a tribute to the Great Famine victims. Move on to the tidy town of Louisburgh and follow narrow meandering lanes to the Blue Flag beaches of Old Head or Carramore. Or for a really stunning sweep of near-deserted sands proceed on to Silver Strand beyond the strung out village of Killadoon.

The peak of beauty?

Make for the sublime Connemara area of Co Galway, presided over by the mountain ranges of the Maumturks and the Twelve Pins (or Bens). The coastal reaches here are patchworked with small farms and fields while the shoreline splinters stunningly into myriad little islands. Further inland jagged peaks are reflected in glass-like lakes dotted across eerie moorland. Below the Maumturks and encompassing some of the Twelve Pins slopes, the Connemara National Park consists of nearly 30 square kilometres of spectacular scenery, from forests to heathland and great swathes of blanket bog. There is a good choice of walking trails here, while the visitor centre is a mine of information (open daily April to October 10am-5.30pm and from 9.30am-6.30pm in summer) with free entry to displays about the bogland and the wildlife, and free guided nature walks on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in July and August.

Set above the sea and the River Owenglin, the town of Clifden is known as "the capital of Connemara" but for all that it is a small, pretty place with an eclectic range of restaurants, a good tweed shop on Main Street and pubs playing live music on weekends and more. On the panoramic Sky Road leading out of town Abbeyglen Castle Hotel (00 353 95 22832; www.abbeyglen.ie) is a beautifully situated early 19th-century mansion with a turreted façade. It offers a range of facilities from tennis court to large gardens, putting course and even two helipads but its real cachet is its genial u o quirkiness and great Irish charm – a parrot wanders outside its cage by the reception desk, while most evenings the bar is filled with music and song both from locals and guests. Dinner, bed and breakfast cost from €119 (£85) per person (based on two sharing, minimum two nights). The hotel also offers island-hopping holidays combining adventure and comfort. These five-day boat-and-walking trips are guided by an archaeologist and take in remote ruins and tiny villages. The cost from €599 (£427) per person includes accommodation at Abbeyglen Castle and in local guesthouses as well as most meals.

Where's the party?

Lively, arty Galway is said to be Ireland's fastest growing city. You can still get a sense of the fishing village it once was by strolling the harbour and Wolfe Tone Bridge at the River Corrib estuary. But to enjoy its vibrancy and energy wander Shop Street and Quay Street where there are usually buskers playing.

Galway abounds with music-filled pubs – and with a population partly made up of university students there's a vigorous creative scene here. Right now the city is gearing up for the Galway Arts Festival, which runs from Monday to 29 July and features the world premiere of Patrick McCabe's The Revenant, dance from Stephen Petronio Company and music from Cesaria Evora (00 353 91 566 577; www.galwayartsfestival.com). Early autumn also sees the city in festive mode, with the Galway Oyster Festival taking place between 27 and 30 September (00 353 91 587 992; www.galwayoysterfest.com) and featuring street bands and oyster opening (or shucking) competitions.

For strange attractions?

As the coastal road from the north enters Co Clare, you reach the extraordinary landscape of the Burren. Stretching about 160km, this large limestone plateau at first looks strikingly bleak but close up it offers an astonishing quantity and variety of wild flowers: saxifrages, gentians, rockroses and more. The harsh, haunting land here has historically supported few people, but an intriguing sprinkling of megalithic tombs and Celtic crosses bears testimony to those who have been inspired (or defeated) by the magnificently bleak region. You can walk the whole of this area on the 45km Burren Way that runs more or less between the coastal towns of Ballyvaughan and Liscannor.

The route passes the huge and battered Cliffs of Moher where phenomenal views of rockface, sea and lashing waves draw crowds of visitors. Entry to the Cliffs of Moher complex and the lookout point, O'Brien's Tower, is free but there's a car park fee of €8 (£5.70). The visitor centre here offers an exhibition on the cliffs: "Atlantic Edge" is open summer only 8.30am-7pm, adults 4 (£2.85).

Beyond Liscannor, the seaside town of Kilkee has been a popular resort since Victorian times. Its long horseshoe bay is protected by Duggerna Reef and is said to be one of the safest places to swim in the sea in Europe. Set just off the beach, Halpin's Townhouse Hotel on Erin Street (00 353 65 905 6032; www.halpinsprivatehotels.com) is an elegant 1880 building with cosy accommodation and good, locally sourced food. Doubles cost from €129 (£92) including breakfast.

The hotel is well placed for trips to Carrigaholt on the Loop Head Peninsula from where boat trips run regularly during the summer to see the dolphins in the mouth of the River Shannon (8am to 6pm, adults €22/£15.70).

I like going round in circles ...

For green scenes head to Co Kerry in the south west. This is a land of moor and mountain, small lakes and jagged coastlines. The magical Dingle Peninsula probably offers the most stunning and remote landscape. What's more this mountainous finger of land is studded with old forts and ancient monastic sites – the defensive archaeological ruins being mainly spread around the south coast while the early Christian remains are concentrated midway along the northern reaches. The 179km Dingle Way footpath (www.dingleway.net) makes a circuit of the entire peninsula and takes about nine days to walk.

For those with less energy, and time, the R559 coastal road from the pleasant little town of Dingle makes a spectacular loop around Slea Head, passing numerous intriguing little sites and museums such as 8th-century Dunbeg Fort (daily 10am-5pm during the summer, adults €3/£2.15) and the Slea Head Famine Cottages (daily 9am-5pm in summer, adults € 3/£2.15) a farmer's thatched dwelling with outlying peasant hut from the 1840s – the accompanying explanations giving an insight into the horrific suffering in the region during that period. Meantime the outlook is staggering, with Slea Head offering amazing views over the now-uninhabited Blasket Islands.

Further south, the Ring of Kerry driving route around the lovely Iveragh Peninsula is a 170km circuit which tends to get congested in the summer. The alternative might be to strike out in the fresh air and follow some of the Kerry Way long-distance footpath. The entire route is 215km and presents some tough going in remote areas: for more information see www.kerryway.net.

The bustling town of Killarney, oozing with visitors during the summer (only Dublin, it is said, offers more hotel beds), is the gateway to much of this region. Here the Randles Court Clarion Hotel on Muckross Road (00 353 64 35333; www.randlescourt.com) presents elegant luxury, with marble floors, open fires and antiques along the corridors. Doubles start at €90 (£64) in the lowest season, including breakfast.

And at the end of Ireland?

Dotted with Bronze Age sites, Co Cork's wild and remote Mizen Head Peninsula leads to the extreme south-westerly point of Ireland. Here, high on cliffs overlooking the swirling Atlantic, is a visitor centre set in the old Mizen Head signalling station complex (open daily March-Oct 10.30am-5pm and until 6pm in summer, Nov-March open weekends 11am-4pm, adults €6/£4.30). It offers an astounding outlook as well as explanations on radar and weather conditions and also access to the outlying lighthouse across a small suspension bridge.

How do I get there?

Ryanair (0871 246 0000; www.ryanair.com) serves a wide range of west-coast airports, from City of Derry (in Northern Ireland, but on the brink of Co Donegal) and Knock (serving Co Mayo) to Kerry in the south-west. The biggest airport , though, is Shannon, which has connections from many UK airports including Manchester, Heathrow, Bristol and Stansted, on a range of airlines. Meantime in the far south, the city of Cork offers ferry links to Swansea while its international airport provides direct services to Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Newcastle, Bristol, Cardiff and more. Cork itself is well worth a stopover. Set on an island between two channels of the River Lee, this is an immensely pretty city of grey stone and painted waterside building. It dates from the 7th century and in particular flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries – with a more recent boost as the European Capital of Culture in 2005.

With elegant architecture, attractive quaysides, markets and narrow alleyways it is a relaxing and intriguing place to explore on foot. This is the Irish Republic's second city, so it's no surprise that there is an ever-expanding number of restaurants and a lively pub scene – with Beamish and Murphy's both brewed in the city.

Where can I find out more?

Tourism Ireland covers the length and breadth of the island, 0800 039 7000; www.discoverireland.com.