WILD ATLANTIC WAY & CAUSEWAY COASTAL ROUTE. ON THE WESTERN COAST OF IRELAND (PADPLACES, PP 238, EURO 40.56 and KINDLE 9.99)
The book "Wild Atlantic Way", published by PadPlaces with photographs by Andrea Pistolesi and texts by Cristina Gambaro, is a journey into the beauty of Ireland along one of the most evocative and unique roads in the world.
The magnificent images tell the natural beauty, the villages, the people, the traditions and the secrets that one encounters along the Wild Atlantic Way, 2,500 kilometers of road that traces the entire west coast of Ireland, indented and romantic.
You travel to the remote corners of the West that give magic and beauty to every curve;
you pass through fishing villages, cliffs overlooking the sea and long sandy beaches;
you leave the beaten track and venture onto narrow sheep tracks, mostly crossed by sheep and a few shepherds, or on paths that climb inland.
The evocative images of Andrea Pistolesi, a photographer with a passion for travel and the author of a long series of illustrated books, are accompanied by texts by Cristina Gambaro, author of numerous guides and a great connoisseur of Ireland.
In the 9 chapters the detailed descriptions are interspersed with practical advice, "author addresses" and cards on the "10 things not to be missed" along each stretch of the road traveled.
It starts from the south of the Green Island, precisely from Kinsale, a village of sailing and good food, and travels to Bantry along a stretch of sweet coast and with deep inlets, where the boundary between land and water is uncertain due to the tides.
We then continue towards Killarneny on a journey characterized by spectacular starry skies and protected natural areas.
It crosses the peninsulas of Beara and Iveragh, known as the Ring of Kerry;
Killarney National Park, Ireland's largest and oldest, and the coast's thrilling landscapes, dotted with ancient ruins, forts and monasteries.
The journey continues to Kilrush via the Dingle Peninsula, where Gaelic is spoken and even the road signs are bilingual.
It is the extreme tip of the rugged coastline, a rugged and wild land with the largest number of archaeological sites in Ireland, from Neolithic tombs to early monastic remains.
The coastal road continues up to Galway between landscapes of stone and sand with cliffs that sink into the sea, starting with the famous Cliffs of Moher;
a coast where the beaches alternate with stony stretches and where it is easy to come across seals lying in the sun.
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a land of oysters and edible seaweed, a part of Ireland where you drink whiskey and listen to Celtic music.
The fifth stretch of the Atlantic Way is on the Connemara coast, from Galway to Westport, between white coral beaches, remote paradises to be conquered on foot, moors and rivers to fish for salmon.
The road continues towards Donegal Town between expanses of peat, white beaches loved by surfers and among the places dear to the greatest Irish poet and Nobel Prize Winner for Literature, William Butler Yeats.
From Donegal to Letterkenny is the seventh stretch of the road: it is the wildest and sparsely populated part, with the mountains that seem to rise directly from the waters of the Atlantic, while the small white cottages are lost in the brown bogs.
The penultimate stop is from Letterkenny to Derry via Inishowen:
the peninsula at the end of the world, a land with unique views, with endless stretches of sand and cliffs battered by cold winds.
Where the night sky is sometimes illuminated by the green flashes of the Northern Lights.
The final stretch of road, and the final chapter of the photo book, is a journey from Derry to Belfast, on the Antrim Coast, along one of the most scenic road routes in the world, which alone is worth the trip.
It is also the most popular, made famous by the Game of Thrones television series, shot largely on this coast, the Giant's Causeway, with its 40,000 hexagonal basalt columns and the spectacular and magical landscapes of beaches, green cliffs and mysterious roads.
