So it seems 2020 is quickly becoming the year of the staycation! It was my 32nd birthday recently and I fancied a little adventure somewhere new and not too far away for some celebrations. I’ve always heard incredible things about Achill Island in County Mayo; and after seeing a friend’s photographs of a recent Keem Bay wild camping trip, it seemed like the perfect spot on the island!

It was around a four and a half hour drive to Keem Bay from where we live; passing through County Down, Armagh, Fermanagh, Leitrim, Sligo and finally County Mayo. The drive is an experience in itself. I loved crossing the bridge to Achill Island and the cliffs just suddenly shoot up out of nowhere; beautifully sculpted by the relentless wind and waves of the Wild Atlantic Way. If you look closely at the second photograph above you’ll see the (slightly nail biting) final cliff edge part of our drive down to the bay!

We wasted no time, cracking open a few beers and getting set up straight away. It wasn’t long before the sea air had us hungry for an early dinner. It turns out this was a sensible decision, as the storm clouds moved in quite quickly afterwards.

Before we knew it, we were battening down the hatches for the night. We’d kept a close eye on the forecast and knew we would be ok, but the clouds were still quite intimidating. We were fully prepared to dash back to the car during the night if we had to, but we made it through to the morning. The wind was something else during the night; it was quite difficult to differentiate between it, the rain and the sound of the sea. It was an epic sound.

We brought a Decathlon three person, pop up tent with us and it did so well during the wild night. It shook in the wind at points, but didn’t move an inch on the cliff or let a drop of rain in either. We were so cosy during the night too!

We made the most of the calmer conditions in the morning and explored the beach. I squeezed in another quick sketch too, this time focusing on the beautiful colours on the island.

We had planned on heading home straight afterwards, but the sun made an unexpected appearance. We of course had to stay a little longer and have a dip in the sea. We ended up not getting home until quite a bit later than planned, but it was absolutely worth it for this little patch of paradise.

I popped home to the Causeway Coast over the weekend. It was my first trip back since the pandemic took hold and it was great to feel north coast air again; nothing blows the cobwebs away quite like it!

This part of the coastline is usually a lot less crowded than the more well known tourist spots, so it’s been top of the north coast visit list during these strange times. We set off early from Dunseverick car park to cut down as much contact as possible with anyone else adventuring. We explored the beautiful area around the ruins of Dunseverick Castle before setting off east along the cliff path towards White Park Bay.

I adore this part of the coast. It’s so vibrant and varied with castles, cliffs, caves, streams, wild flowers and beaches all in the space of a few miles.

The cliff views are spectacular, but I particularly love part of the trail which drops down to sea level. It begins with a little bridge crossing over a waterfall, which creates a cliff side rock pool (great for a dip!) before travelling down to the sea. The sound of the sea is incredible here and the waves are stunning too. They errupt from little tunnels between the rocks in an almost volcanic way; a great nod to the volcanic heritage of the coastline!

The next part of the path is gloriously green and full of all sorts of weird and wonderful shapes. There’s something very prehistoric about it; I always expect to see dinosaurs roaming around.

White Park Bay isn’t far away at this point; a lovely climb up a trail and we see it through one of my favourite caves, which is the inspiration behind one of my Causeway Coast themed illustrations!

Just around the corner, between us and White Park Bay is the beautiful Portbradden. I’m incredibly jealous of the people who live there!

Beyond there, it takes a bit of a clamber to make it over to White Park Bay and it has to be perfectly timed with the tide moving out. It’s worth it though; there’s something really magical and mythical about this part of the coast. Game of Thrones was filmed in the area and it’s easy to imagine dragons living in the deep caves that pop up along the cliffs. I’m yet to be brave enough to venture the whole way into one of the caves. They go back at least 50 feet!

Unfortunately at the final hurdle I accidentally walked right through a crystal clear rock pool wearing my trainers. It was quite refreshing I must say. However, I soon realised soaked, sandy trainers would make the hike back quite difficult.

It just meant we had to sit on the beach a little longer for the trainers to dry off in the sun.

I seized the opportunity to photograph some more of my coastal illustrations. The puffins below are very much inspired by the puffins on Rathlin Island in the distance; another gorgeous spot on the Causeway Coast definitely worth visiting.

Check out the full range over on my SHOP. — Check out the full range over on my **SHOP**.

My trainers didn’t dry much in the end, so I walked barefoot for as much of the journey back as possible. I had slightly bloody heels by the end, but it was worth it and all part of the adventure. I’m always surprised if I don’t end up with some sort of injury to be honest.

The walk totalled at 7.6 miles in both directions, so not far at all and the early start was great for avoiding people. However, we didn’t take into account that the route would get busier as the day went on. I’d definitely recommend finishing the walk well before lunch time if you can, as it’s difficult to socially distance on cliffs!

Ageing a year on Achill Island

Vitamin Sea- Dunseverick Castle to White Park Bay