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WHERE TO GO |
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It's arguably the west coast that has the most appeal, where the
demonically daunting peninsulas of the northern reaches are immediately
contrasted a little inland by the mystical lakes of the Donegal
highlands. The midwest coastline is just as strangely attractive,
combining vertiginous cliffs, boulder-strewn wastes, and violent
mountains of granite and quartz. In the south, the melodramatic peaks of
the Ring of Kerry fall to lake-pools and seductive seascapes. Less
talked about, but no less rewarding in their way, are the gentle sandy
coves that Cork and Kerry share.
In the north of the island, the principal draw is the weird basalt
geometry of the Giant's Causeway, not far from the lush Glens of Antrim.
To the south of Belfast lies the beautiful walking territory of the
softly contoured Mountains of Mourne, divided by Carlingford Lough from
the myth-drenched Cooley Mountains.
The interior is nowhere as spectacular as the fringes of the island, but
the southern heartlands of pastures and low wooded hills, and the wide
peat bogs of the very centre are the classic landscapes of Ireland. Of
the inland waterways, the most alluring are the island-studded Lough
Erne complex of Fermanagh, and the River Shannon, with its string of
huge lakes.
Some of the country's wildest scenery lies just offshore: the west-coast
Aran Islands are the best known of the islands, but equally compelling
are storm-battered Tory Island, to the far northwest and the savage
Skelligs, off the southwest coast.
For anyone with strictly limited time, one of the best options must be
to combine a visit to Dublin with the mountains and monastic ruins of
County Wicklow. Dublin is an extraordinary combination of youthfulness
and tradition, a modern European capital on a human scale with elegant
Georgian squares and a vibrant cultural life. Belfast vies with Dublin
in the vitality of its nightlife, while the cities of Cork and Galway
have an energy and bustle that makes them a pleasure to visit
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