Connecti


Pair up two popular road trips for an Irish escape that combines sea views and city sights, writes Cathy Toogood


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ook forward, not down, Cathy. Use your arms,” shouts surf instructor Zuhé Coronil, who is determined to help get me on my feet. I take a deep breath, paddle, push up and wobble – but for at least half a second, I manage to stand up. Zuhé whoops before I crash inelegantly into the water. I emerge grinning, ready to go again and eager to keep my balance for longer. I wade back out and wait for what Zuhé tells me is a “green wave” (a wave that’s not broken yet), which is the best type to surf on, he promises. When I’d turned up at Sligo’s National


Surf Centre in the village of Strandhill, I have to admit the last thing I felt like doing was squeezing myself into a wetsuit for a lesson, having spent the day exploring


vast and rugged County Donegal at the tip of the Wild Atlantic Way. Ireland’s fourth-largest county doesn’t get as many visitors as it deserves – but as one of the least-visited areas along the Wild Atlantic Way, clients will often have its empty beaches and coastal walking trails to themselves, while cosy pubs such as The Rusty Mackerel, where I warmed up after walking atop the Slieve League Cliffs, offer a hearty welcome. The lush landscapes – from those


rugged cliffs to the Glencar Waterfall that inspired poet William Butler Yeats – looked smoulderingly good even while shrouded in drizzle and mist. I, on the other hand, was slightly soggy and bedraggled, but my lesson with Zuhé’s Atlantic Surf School still left me feeling re-energised and ready to explore.²


Writer Cathy Toogood balances on a surfboard at Strandhill, County Sligo PICTURE: Diana Jarvis


17 JULY 2025 travelweekly.co.uk


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