This is post six of fourteen on our trip to Northern Ireland and Croatia, minus our mini Game of Thrones tour. Those posts can be found here.

• Intro to Northern Ireland & Croatia
• Recovering from Jetlag in Dublin: Dublin Castle and Trinity College
• Bubblin’ in Dublin: Dublin Eats
• Chasing Scully: Staying at the Hilton Belfast
• The Land of Giants and the Northernmost Point in Ireland
• Hiking Glenveagh National Park
• Singing the Blus in Dublin & Letterkenny
• Heating up in Zadar
• Azure Waters Await at Kornati National Park
• Falling for Picturesque Plitvice
• Let’s Never Split
• The Jewel of the Adriatic: Dubrovnik
• Walking the Wall in Dubrovnik
• A Brief Stop in Bosnia

Mrs. Selfish and I drove from Port Stewart, Northern Ireland to Letterkenny, Ireland where we spent 2 nights at the Radisson Blu Letterkenny.

During our Selfish Year we completed an 8 day drive around the west and south of the Republic of Ireland, missing the north altogether, so we resolved to check out the north western side on this trip. After scouring the internet for things to do on that side of the country, Mrs. Selfish settled on the beautiful Glenveagh National Park.

The park is less than an hour drive away from Letterkenny, and makes for an ideal day trip. Compared to Northern Ireland, where we encountered torrential wind and rain, this side of the island was calm with nothing but blue skies as far as the eye could see.

The park itself is really well maintained and well marked with tons of trails. They don’t even charge for parking, though there is a charge of 3 euros if you want to take a shuttle in between the castle and the car park.

Since the castle was only 4 km (2.4 miles) away, Mrs. Selfish and I figured we’d walk it.

The walk was short, but beautiful. Along the way we encountered a number of Irish tourists, but hardly any foreign tourists. Before long we had reached the castle.

Built in the 1870’s, the castle wasn’t nearly as old as it looked and had quite an eclectic garden – there was even a Balinese statue!

Wait… wha??

Since Mrs. Selfish and I were famished, we ducked into the castle’s café to grab a bite to eat. Unless you pack your own lunch this is basically the only game in town, so be prepared for long lines of irate Irish people.

The spread was decent. We ordered a chicken curry sandwich, a ham and cheese quiche, and a scone with homemade berry jam.

Hunger satiated, we decided to hike the Viewpoint trail, which lies directly behind the castle itself and affords great views of the lake.

All in all a beautiful walk and memorable day! If you’re considering a trip to the Republic of Ireland on the northwestern side I highly recommend the Glenveagh National Park.

Join us tomorrow when I’ll go over our first two stays at Club Carlson, the red-headed stepchild of hotel chains, at the lovely Radisson Blu Dublin and less impressive Radisson Blu Letterkenny.