Wild Mountain Way - Adrian N. Gallagher

Donegal, which is situated in the extreme northwest of the island of Ireland, can rightly claim to be the most beautiful and unspoilt county in Ireland. It enjoys a long, rugged and indented coastline facing into the North Atlantic, while inland mountains rise up along its length.

Wild Mountain Way tells the story of a unique four hundred kilometre journey on foot from one extremity of the county to the other - from Malin Head in the north to Glen Head in the southwest - that was undertaken by the author during the Summer of 2019 and involved some 20,000 metres of climbing – many times more than is required to climb Mount Everest!

The narrative of this twenty-three-day hike brings out his love of this singular landscape and he uses his knowledge of local history, the local Gaelic (Irish) language, as well as his life experiences, to introduce the area to the reader as a wonderful resource that is hidden in plain sight. In word and picture we explore hidden places as we journey with the author on what, for the most part, was a solo odyssey. We may end up, like him, loving this landscape but fearing that it and the way of life of those presently dependant on it, may soon be no more, as so-called “development” intrudes.

As a nature reservoir, it too can be likened to the Amazon and like the latter area, the author feels that it too is deserving of protection, so that this and future generations can continue to gain benefit from it.