Latest news with #DanielStart
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Ireland's underrated spots and secret beaches revealed in breathtaking pictures - including the location for Oscar-winning film
Secret coves, mysterious waterfalls and hidden waterfalls are just a few of the incredible treasures that await tourists in the underrated West of Ireland. A new book, Wild Guide: West Ireland, is unveiling the region's best-kept secrets with stunning photos of beauty spots in Donegal, Galway, Mayo and more. Written by Candida Frith-Macdonald with photos by Daniel Start, the book - available to buy now - is set to help tourists escape Dublin and 'experience unspoilt Ireland'. Candida writes: 'The west of Ireland is so packed with dramatic sites and beautiful beaches that it feels as if it's been a classic "riviera" forever, but early visitors wrote more often about the gentler south coast. She adds: 'The Wild Guide is a celebration of wild and storied places - from cliff-top walks to tangled woods, waterfall pools and deserted islands to intriguing ruins. 'It's also a guide to slow food, warm firesides and welcoming places to stay - from seaweed baths and thatched cottages to wild campsites and music-filled pubs. 'If you travel with a spirit of adventure, taking the boreen [road] less travelled and the time to chat with locals, you will have a richer journey wherever you go.' Scroll down to see a selection of some of West Ireland's prettiest hidden gems... The Guinness Tower in Cong Woods was built by the Guinness family in 1864 and is a 'superb stone tower'. Candida says: 'It is usually open, not often visited and can be climbed for great views' Photographed above is the Leannan River, a 'pretty river pool' in County Donegal. 'Downstream you can also gain access to a a very exciting gorge stretch from the track to the old farm buildings', say Candida It might look like it was 'cut by human hand' but the Wormhole in Kilmurvy (pictured above) is actually a collapsed sea cave. Swim shoes are recommended You might recognise Keem Beach from The Banshees of Inisherin and the beautiful spot at the far tip of Achill is one of Ireland's must-sees. Candida says the 'picturesque bay' is 'best visited in the morning' Pictured above is Downpatrick Head, located in Knockaun, County Mayo. The beautiful spot is described as a 'popular and magnificent headland home to puffins, kittiwakes and cormorants' An 'idyllic sheltered sweep of pale sand backed by cobble dunes', the Golden Strand in Dugort is pictured above. Described as a secret beach, Candida says it's possible to wild camp in the flatter parts Kerin's Hole in Whitehead is a 'deep tidal pool in the rocks' with a ladder to get out. It was renovated through the efforts of local swimmers in 2013 The Tyrone House Ruin in East Galway is a 'wonderful Georgian shell' that inspired the novel The Big House of Inver. Candida describes the track as 'abundant with blackberries' when she visited with photographer Daniel Start Church Island (above) is just 100m across, but its home to the remains of a 12th century monastery with an oratory, graveyard and several beehive huts. It's a good spot for wild swimming Pictured above is Tra Leitreach & Church, the 'most popular beach for swimming' on the island of Inis Oirr. It has 'silver sand' and 'great views', says Candida Loch An Mhonain is a 'dramatic lake, sheltered by sheer mountains with a waterfall tumbling down'. The lake is one of the most accessible of the Brandon Lakes Known as Coral Beach, this beach in East Galway is 'deservedly popular'. Candida says: 'The tawny maerl resembles cake sprinkles, the water has a tropical turquoise hue'
Times
21-05-2025
- Times
Five of the best wild beaches in Scotland
People south of the border refuse to believe it when you tell them that Scotland has better beaches than the Caribbean — but we do. Wild, windswept and often drawing more kelp-munching coos and nosey seals than tourists, Scotland's beaches have a soul-stirring beauty that will stay with you long after you've shaken the sand from your shoes. From Aberdeenshire to the Outer Hebrides, the Hidden Beaches author, Daniel Start, picks out five of the wildest and most enchanting. Uist and Harris are places of pilgrimage for the beach connoisseur. Ribbons of snow-white sand drift down the islands' Atlantic coasts and collect in sweeping bays, while meadows covered in wildflowers provide the perfect backdrop. One of the more remote is Traigh Mheilein, where shallow azure waters and wild camping beckon. From Tarbet take the B887 north to park at Huisinis. Then walk 1½ miles north to swim overlooking Scarp island. The wild coastline along the extreme north tip of the country, from Ullapool to Cape Wrath and along the Sutherland coast to John o' Groats, harbours some of the most beautiful swimming beaches in Britain. Including Port Alltan na Bradhan, a very sheltered sandy bay with a waterfall and rocks for jumping. To reach it, walk 1½ miles north along the coast from Achmelvich, or drive along the B869 and park at the first proper lay-by on the right, then follow the stream down past ruins. Mull has perfect white sand and swimming coves galore, yet few people ever find them. Even more remote is the neighbouring island of Erraid, used as the shore station and stone quarry for the building of the Dubh Artach lighthouse (and as one of the settings in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Kidnapped). Accessible at low tide via a sandy causeway, the island is home to Traigh Gheal, a beautiful cove. From Knockvologan farm, on Mull, follow the track for 500m to cross the Erraid Sound, heading to the right. If you're looking for a really wild beach and don't mind a good hour's walk, head for Camas an Lighe and its 'singing sands' in the north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. From Arivegaig car park you hike past the flats of Kentra Bay and emerge through woodland to find a remote heather and birch-lined beach with grand views to the Small Isles. Singing sands occur when sand grains are completely round and between 0.1 and 0.5mm in diameter. To generate the low frequency sound of about 450Hz they must also contain silica and have the right level of humidity. To make the sands sing, shuffle across them with bare feet. The Sands of Forvie is a national nature reserve with extensive dunes and four miles of foreshore with marram grass, pennywort, crowberry and creeping willow. A village and its church once stood amid these dunes but the entire community was overwhelmed by a sandstorm in 1413, allegedly the result of a curse uttered by three sisters who were put out to sea in a leaky boat. Take the A975 south of Collieston to the car park opposite the river, before the causeway. Follow the mile-long path to the beach, then bear left along the coast to beautiful Hackley Bay. Taken from Hidden Beaches by Daniel Start ( £16.99). Buy from Discount for Times+ members
