Islands

A delightful booklet, called simply "Donegal Islands", has been produced on six islands off Donegal, available from the Tourist Office in Letterkenny. It covers Tory, Inishbofin, Gola, Roy, Arranmore and Inishfree. It has maps and full details of ferry services and the particular features of each island. Note that for most islands, ferry times depend on tide and weather.

These are my own favourites:

Tory Island, for:The Boat rideDerek Hill's hut, open sometimes -- or the King of Tory, Patsy Dan, has the keyThe HotelWalk from one end of the Island to the otherVisit the Church for the stained glass windowsThe Art GalleryAncient sites associated with St Columba

Gola: wonderful pink granite island.

Inishtrahull -- for Gneiss, at 1700 million years old, the oldest rock in Ireland. You will need to ask a fisherman from Malin to take you over.

Inch Island: accessible by car at low tide from Burnfoot, on the road to Buncrana on Inishowen Peninsula, northeast of Letterkenny.

Inishbofin: The island where Kingsley Porter, the eccentric Harvard professor who owned Glenveagh Castle during the thirties, had a cottage and is thought to have committed suicide by jumping off the cliffs.

Arranmore:

Tory Island from Falcarraigh Beach