Arranmore: An Introvert’s Paradise

When I first started planning my trip to Ireland my main objective was to unwind. I had been under ridiculous stress for 18 months straight, so all I wanted to do was find a place I could curl up with a good book and escape.

I spent hours, and I do mean hours, combing through properties on Airbnb. I had a picture in my mind of what I was looking for, and convinced myself it existed if I just looked hard enough. I wanted an entire cottage overlooking the Atlantic all to myself.

And I found it, sort of, on Arranmore.

(The reason I haven’t done a suggested Itinerary around Ireland is that my entire trip was planned around the dates I could book on Arranmore)

Arranmore is an island off the West coast of County Donegal with a population of around 500. The island is accessed from the Irish mainland via Ferry from Burtonport.

The 15 minute crossing took me passed even smaller islands, like Inishcoo, with picturesque little whitewashed cottages nestled into the harsh rocky landscape only a stone’s throw from the surf.

Leabgarrow is the village on the leeward side of the island, it hosts the ferry port, 3 pubs and the Post office (with Post Master Danny).

During my stay I visited one of the pubs once a day, as they were my only source of wifi. Plus, since my lovely Airbnb host Fiona had wisely advised me to purchase my groceries in Burtonport, my daily outings to a pub were my only contributions to the island’s economy.

I disembarked the ferry and followed the directions Fiona had given me to the Lighthouse. She had warned me it was isolated, that the last half mile of road was pretty rough, to take it slow around the car sized pot holes and to watch out for the sheep. She needn’t have worried, once I crested the windward side of the island I coasted to a stop and just kept uttering variations on … Wow. I was dumbstruck by the beauty.

The Arranmore Cliffs stretched out to my left and the Wild Atlantic Way took on a whole new meaning. It was stunning. Every day I would walk out to these cliffs and just watch and listen to the power of the waves beating against the island.

Still in awe of the view, I drove on and the first glimpse I caught of my new home had me giggling like a school girl. I was staying in a Lighthouse.

Okay, not the actual Lighthouse, but the Lighthouse Keeper’s Cabin right next door. How utterly ridiculous, yet whimsical and magical all at the same time. I had the Lighthouse, and the entire West side of Arranmore all to myself. And there was a storm coming.

I’m the sort of person who heads to the beach when a storm is coming, but runs the other direction when it’s sunny, and crowded. I love storms. Storm watching is my version of a beach vacation.

I stayed 4 days and 3 nights at the Lighthouse on Arranmore and it was remarkable. With nothing but the free roaming punk-rock coloured sheep and the wind for company it was this Introvert’s Paradise.

The Cabin can sleep 6, there were 3 bedrooms, and 5 beds – I could have slept in a new one every night. So perhaps it was overkill for little old me – but I loved every minute of it.

The joy of being on the coast during a storm is if you don’t like the weather, wait, different weather will blow through in any minute. I had brilliant sunshine, wind so strong I struggled to walk into it, lashing rain and stormy skies. The wind against the cliffs was so strong the waterfalls were being blown back up, sea-foam was flying by the kitchen window in gusts of 110kph and the rain was battering the windows in the sitting-room so hard it drown-out the music I had on. It was amazing.

I spent a lot of time recharging, curled up on the sofa in front of the fire, under a wool blanket with a cup of tea in hand and my book.

When the rain stopped I would go for walks – there are trails across the island and it’s a popular spot for hikers on day trips. Any land on the island that isn’t solid rock is a peat bog, and you can see where it has been harvested, and in places is still being harvested today.

But with the exception of an intrepid hiker who literally tipped his hat to me and kept walking, the only other person I saw on “my” side of the island was the sheep farmer who drove up once while I was on a walk. The farmer asked if I was having a look at the view – Yes, I said, it’s breathtaking. ‘If youse say so – have a good day now,‘ and he was off. I do say so, I really, really do.

And you better believe I’m going back, because I’m not Milton and I will not have my Paradise Lost.

There’s something about Lighthouses, and the way the light sweeps across the dark horizon that’s both mesmerizing and profound. We build them on the very edge of the Earth, in the most dangerous places as an act of human solidarity, in recognition that we need to save and protect each other in the face of Mother Nature. The lonely Lighthouse Keeper may be a thing of the past, but given the chance to glimpse their way of life and watch that lifesaving beam take it. Where else can you do such a thing?

If you’d like to check out the Lighthouse Dwelling for yourself please pay Fiona’s Airbnb site a visit:https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/3146425?s=51