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Reviews
Wandering Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way: From Banba's Crown to World's End 2016 by Paul Clements
leitheoirrialta's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this book, not just because I've lived in and seen a fair bit of the west of Ireland.
I've read a lot of travel literature and some authors just do not write very well.
Paul Clements does write well, and transmits a genuine interest in the Irish countryside and in the stories of those he meets on the way. An interesting thread throughout the book is the old Celtic God Manannán Mac Lir. Mr Clements also proves very knowledgeable about flora and fauna. I came across many names of flowers and birds in this book that I had never heard of in my life.
As a fellow coffee-addict I understand the author's frequent search for a caffeine boost on his travels, though perhaps the level of detail concerning the type of coffee beans and which coffee-machines the cafés had was just a wee bit superfluous?
As an Irish-speaker I would have liked to learn more about the state of the language on the western seaboard in the early 21st century. The subject was broached, but not in great detail.
But all in all, an interesting book, and a welcome addition to Irish travel literature.
I've read a lot of travel literature and some authors just do not write very well.
Paul Clements does write well, and transmits a genuine interest in the Irish countryside and in the stories of those he meets on the way. An interesting thread throughout the book is the old Celtic God Manannán Mac Lir. Mr Clements also proves very knowledgeable about flora and fauna. I came across many names of flowers and birds in this book that I had never heard of in my life.
As a fellow coffee-addict I understand the author's frequent search for a caffeine boost on his travels, though perhaps the level of detail concerning the type of coffee beans and which coffee-machines the cafés had was just a wee bit superfluous?
As an Irish-speaker I would have liked to learn more about the state of the language on the western seaboard in the early 21st century. The subject was broached, but not in great detail.
But all in all, an interesting book, and a welcome addition to Irish travel literature.
maevejreilly's review against another edition
3.0
Would love to visit the Wild Atlantic Way, but I found his writing style a bit formulaic.
maneatsbooks's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
In the late 90s, Mrs O and myself, unable to agree on where to go on holiday, climbed into my battered black Ford Fiesta and headed off anti-clockwise around Ireland.
We polished off many bottles of wine whilst never remembering to buy a corkscrew, kissed the Blarney Stone, stayed in a B&B run by an 80-year old gun-running granny, saw a fight to elect the new King of the Gypsies in Kinsale, and fell utterly in love with the west coast of Ireland.
I took my time reading Paul Clements' book on his travels along the Wild Atlantic Way - the 2,500km route that passes through nine counties and three provinces, stretching from County Donegal's Inishowen peninsula to Kinsale in County Cork. Paul himself was in no rush, wandering the Way for 9 months, taking in the views, waxing lyrical about the flora and fauna, and always, always stopping for coffee.
His travels, watched over by the great Celtic sea-god Manannán mac Lir, meander across the landscape, always with the sea to his right-hand side. It made me yearn again for Donegal and Connemara, Kerry and Cork - to turn a corner of a clifftop road to see yet another view more breathtaking than he last.
And if there's a convenient pub close by at the end of the day, sure why would you be anywhere else?
A lovely book to take your time with. Lovelier, I'm sure, if you were reading it with the sea on your right-hand side.
We polished off many bottles of wine whilst never remembering to buy a corkscrew, kissed the Blarney Stone, stayed in a B&B run by an 80-year old gun-running granny, saw a fight to elect the new King of the Gypsies in Kinsale, and fell utterly in love with the west coast of Ireland.
I took my time reading Paul Clements' book on his travels along the Wild Atlantic Way - the 2,500km route that passes through nine counties and three provinces, stretching from County Donegal's Inishowen peninsula to Kinsale in County Cork. Paul himself was in no rush, wandering the Way for 9 months, taking in the views, waxing lyrical about the flora and fauna, and always, always stopping for coffee.
His travels, watched over by the great Celtic sea-god Manannán mac Lir, meander across the landscape, always with the sea to his right-hand side. It made me yearn again for Donegal and Connemara, Kerry and Cork - to turn a corner of a clifftop road to see yet another view more breathtaking than he last.
And if there's a convenient pub close by at the end of the day, sure why would you be anywhere else?
A lovely book to take your time with. Lovelier, I'm sure, if you were reading it with the sea on your right-hand side.
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