Donegal Trip and Ahoy Café in Killibegs
I have been slow to update my blog lately due to being busy - lots of candle orders, always a good thing! Also I've been trying to chill out a little and not be so hard on myself when it comes to my internal 'to do list'. Not as easy as it sounds but my recent short trip to Donegal was so relaxing it helped wind me down quite a bit.
If you've read previous blog posts or know me in real life, you know that Donegal is one of my absolute favourite places to visit. It has incredible scenery and friendly people and it always gives me such a sense of peace to slow down and take in the beauty of nature there. There is something about the mountains and wide stretch of sky that seems to put things in perspective for me.
This was a short visit but so nice, spending time with my friend Sue is always a pleasure. She is that person who knows me better than anyone - we could be drinking wine and dancing our socks off in the kitchen, or just sitting companionably reading together and it always feels just right.
We had pretty crazy weather when I was there, it went from torrential rain and wind to sunny in the blink of an eye and I was afraid we wouldn't get to go swimming but in between the rain showers we decided to brave it and it was so worth it!
We went to St.John's Point beach the second day - this is a stunning sheltered inlet at the end of a peninsula - the drive itself is worth the trip, you are surrounded by sea and soft greens and it is just breathtaking on a good day.
We brought a picnic and a flask of tea and huddled by the rocks as it was pretty cold but it was still delicious :)
Swimming was amazing - maybe it's to do with the bracing (to put it mildly!) water but I always feel great coming out of the water. It's so clean and once you acclimatize to the sea, you just don't want to get out. When you do get out finally, you feel tingly and alive, it's such a gorgeous feeling.
We were pretty lazy about cooking which was nice for me although Sue made the most fabulous continental breakfast one morning.
On one of our beach days we also went to Ahoy Café in Killibegs.
If you've read previous blog posts or know me in real life, you know that Donegal is one of my absolute favourite places to visit. It has incredible scenery and friendly people and it always gives me such a sense of peace to slow down and take in the beauty of nature there. There is something about the mountains and wide stretch of sky that seems to put things in perspective for me.
This was a short visit but so nice, spending time with my friend Sue is always a pleasure. She is that person who knows me better than anyone - we could be drinking wine and dancing our socks off in the kitchen, or just sitting companionably reading together and it always feels just right.
We had pretty crazy weather when I was there, it went from torrential rain and wind to sunny in the blink of an eye and I was afraid we wouldn't get to go swimming but in between the rain showers we decided to brave it and it was so worth it!
We went to St.John's Point beach the second day - this is a stunning sheltered inlet at the end of a peninsula - the drive itself is worth the trip, you are surrounded by sea and soft greens and it is just breathtaking on a good day.
We brought a picnic and a flask of tea and huddled by the rocks as it was pretty cold but it was still delicious :)
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| Picnic Selfie! |
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| Boat at St. John's Point |
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| St. John's Point |
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| Some Beach Companions :) |
Another day we went to Fintra beach, again it was a horrible day and we had to sit in the car looking out at the torrential rain for 10 minutes before the sun broke through - we jumped out and got on our swim gear as quickly as possible and just ran with towels over the dunes down to the beach. There was hardly a soul there but the great thing about Fintra is that there is almost always a lifeguard on duty. We checked that it was ok to swim and headed in to the water. It actually felt almost warm and the sun appeared intermittently so, again, it was a gorgeous experience.
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| Fintra Beach |
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| Continental Breakfast chez Sue |
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| Cheese and Fruit |
Killibegs is a working port and not such a pretty place to visit although I do love to look at the boats and it has lots of nice beaches in the surrounding area. I've eaten in lots of nice places in Donegal but Ahoy was new to me and I had to write a little bit about it because I like to recommend places that are good to eat.
It was really gorgeous, creamy and sweet but I just didn't really have room for it so had to give up. I'd recommend taking a wee break before having dessert :)
I hadn't intended doing a review as I was in holiday mode so didn't take too many photos or notes but it was a really nice experience. The staff are lovely and the food was fabulous and reasonably priced.
It's a popular spot and we had to sit outside for a little bit whilst we waited for a table to become free inside. There is a seating area outside with a few tables and on a good day it would be great to sit there and look out at the harbour.
Sue had a crab burger - I don't eat sea food but she said it was fab. My choice was a pitta with falafel and this was delicious, there was a little tzatziki style sauce with it and a small salad and it was really good.
I can also totally recommend the chunky chips as I was helping myself to Sue's portion :)
I was really impressed with the approach to allergies also - Izzy has multiple food allergies and eating out can be a bit fraught so I always really appreciate when it is taken seriously. I asked if Izzy could have just a portion of bacon and sausages and the owner offered to make them fresh so that there would be no contamination issues. This was very reassuring for me and it was done in such a pleasant way, I felt at ease straight away. It might sound like a small thing but any allergy parent understands how difficult and scary it can be when restaurant staff don't seem to understand or take seriously how dangerous food allergies can be.
Despite being totally full after my falafel I foolishly decided to order dessert. My choice was the cheesecake. These change regularly so you can just ask what is on for the day. Mine was a flake cheesecake and it came in the cutest jar. I loved this idea, thought it was so pretty and a little bit different.
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| Cheesecake Ahoy Café |
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| Cheesecake in a Jar |
It was really gorgeous, creamy and sweet but I just didn't really have room for it so had to give up. I'd recommend taking a wee break before having dessert :)
Coffee was perfect too and the service was friendly and nice. There were books to browse through about Killibegs and the history of the building which was interesting and there is wifi too so it would be a nice place to just relax over coffee.
Unfortunately, our trip came to an end all too soon but I'll be heading that way again as soon as I can.
Here's a previous post about Donegal - Donegal and a Birthday
And my 7 Days of Nature post which features 2 Donegal pics.
That looks like a lovely day-out with friends. Also love the black and white photo! :)
I really want to go on a trip it looks like you had a great time haha! i am too skint to go on any trips haha
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It is great that they accommodated your allergies and glad that Donegal gave you the respite you needed.
Oh you are brave to go in the water!! That cheesecake in a jar looks yummy xx
I've only ever been to Donegal once, about 13 years ago but gosh what a hoot we had! Looks like you had a great break away :)