watchingthedaisies

Tory Island Walks

“Walking is a man’s best medicine.”

                                             Hippocrates

Tory Island Walks

Walking through West Town An Baile Thiar, I felt incredibly happy to note that Tory remains unspoiled.

I really love the traditional style of the buildings and their colourful paintwork.

Continuing past the club house, which is legendary for its musical entertainment, I headed for the western tip of the island.

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My intention was to reach the lighthouse built between 1828 and 1832. It no longer boasts a lighthouse keeper, and has been automated since April 1990.

Would you believe that one else chose to walk these roads on such a beautiful afternoon?

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These stunning sea cliffs on the north side of the island, are home to the largest puffin colony in Donegal, as well as razorbills, guillemots, kittiwakes, storm petrels…

Tory is designated a Special Protection Area for birds under the European Union Birds Directive.

It is not advisable to stand near the edge of the cliffs as there may be loose or crumbling rock. The views (from a safe distance) are amazing.

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Walkers are asked to stay on roads and tracks, as the grassy areas are home to the endangered corncrake, and should not be disturbed.

There are a number of seats along these paths; I was able enjoy the spectacular scenery seated on this beautiful, red bench which was well earthed with rocks to avoid being blown into the mighty Atlantic!

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Returning to my lodgings at the end of the afternoon, I was greeted by a legion of wild rabbits who scurried into these holes, a little camera shy.

Later, I watched the last ferry leave for the mainland, thankful that I had chosen to stay overnight.

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In next Friday’s post, I will share photographs of artist Derek Hill’s Tory Island escape, and his mentoring of the island’s painters.

If you enjoyed this post, you might also like:

The Wild Atlantic Way-Tory Island

Derek Hill and Tory Island’s Artists

Tory Island and Saint Colm Cille

Tory Island Walks -The Legend of Balor of the Evil Eye

Brigid P. Gallagher is a retired natural medicines therapist, passionate organic gardener and author of “Watching the Daisies- Life lessons on the Importance of Slow,” a holistic memoir dedicated to the art of mindfulness and healing from debilitating illness.

 

 

 

86 comments

  3. Yikes, Brigid! I wouldn’t get too close to the edge of the cliffs either! What a stunning, uplifting scenery and no wonder you were happy to stay overnight. 😀😀Ahh…I love puffins and saw some in the wild on the Scottish islands, an absolute delight and one of the highlights! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful trip with us. Wishing you a lovely weekend! ❤️

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    • Thank you Annika. I was only on Tory for 28 hours but it was so inspiring. I did get vertigo the second day when I tried to capture an awesome cliff on my camera. Had to settle for a part of it. I am glad you saw puffins. These glimpses of Nature stay with you forever. Happy weekend 🌼

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  8. Wow Brigid, the wild rugged beauty of the place has inspired your prose to heights of lyricism and I can well see why! It is as haunting and magical as I imagined it to be.

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  18. What a beautiful place to visit. I see someone else has copyrighted “stunning” in the comments so I’ll go for “breathtaking” if that’s OK. Some years ago I encountered a herd of rabbits all heading home for Sunday lunch after a collective hop somewhere. A really wonderful sight. Like you, too fast to get the camera into gear but something that stays in the memory. I’ve often gone back to the same place but have never seen another “migration”.

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  25. I may never get to see these sights “in person” so I am especially grateful to be able to take a virtual walk with you. Thanks for sharing your incredible photos — both breathtaking AND stunning.
    xx,
    mgh
    (Madelyn Griffith-Haynie – ADDandSoMuchMORE dot com)
    ADD/EFD Coach Training Field founder; ADD Coaching co-founder
    “It takes a village to educate a world!”

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  30. So you’ve answered my question regarding the red bench and weights! What gorgeous photos and views…wow! I can see why you chose to stay overnight and really have some time to enjoy all of the scenery!! What a wonderful trip and I too love the colorful paintwork on the buildings. xo

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