County Donegal, across the border from Derry in the Republic of Ireland, is close enough to make a natural extension to a Causeway Coast/Derry trip, with dramatic coastline and genuinely deep history.
Near Derry
Grianan of Aileach, about 10km west of Derry, is an ancient stone fort dating from roughly 2000 BC, restored in the 1870s after being largely destroyed in 1101 - tradition holds St Patrick preached here around 450 AD. The fort’s 3.6m-thick walls offer panoramic views over Lough Swilly, the Inishowen Peninsula, and Lough Foyle.
The Inishowen Peninsula
Named for Eoghan (Owen), son of the 5th-century High King Niall - “Inishowen” meaning “the island of Owen.” The Inishowen 100 is a signposted, roughly 100-mile scenic driving route around the peninsula.
Key stops include: Burt Castle and Inch Castle, both 15th-16th century O’Doherty clan strongholds lost to the English after Sir Cahir O’Doherty’s failed 1608 rebellion; St Mura’s Cross at Fahan, an early Irish stone cross marking the traditional resting place of St Mura (d. 645), first abbot of a monastery founded here by St Columb in the 6th century, alongside a memorial to 68 victims of the 1917 sinking of the SS Laurentic off Malin Head (see this site’s own dedicated Laurentic guide); Rathmullan, from where the 1607 “Flight of the Earls” - Hugh O’Neill and other Gaelic leaders fleeing English rule - marked the effective end of independent Gaelic Ireland; Buncrana, with a local tradition connecting it to Wolfe Tone’s 1798 capture; and Malin Head, Ireland’s most northerly point, near Kinnagoe Bay, where a Spanish Armada ship (La Trinidad Valencera) wrecked in 1588 - its recovered artefacts are now housed in Derry’s Tower Museum.
Carndonagh’s Donagh Cross, dating to around the 7th century, is one of Ireland’s oldest and most significant early Christian stone crosses.
Greencastle, near the mouth of Lough Foyle, takes its name from a castle built in 1305 by Sir Richard de Burgo - an event tied to Derry’s own civic coat of arms, which commemorates a later de Burgo family dispute. The village’s Maritime Museum and Planetarium (one of only three planetariums in Ireland) covers the area’s fishing and navigational history.
Glenveagh National Park
North of Letterkenny, Glenveagh covers around 10,000 hectares of glens and mountains, with Glenveagh Castle and its gardens as a centrepiece - generally open between St Patrick’s Day and early November.
Practical Notes
This is genuinely cross-border travel - Donegal is in the Republic of Ireland, so bring appropriate ID/documentation and be aware of currency (euro, not pound sterling) once across the border.
