Overview
The Irish Times once called the walk out to Glen Head ‘possibly the nicest coastal walk in Ireland’, and it is hard to argue on a clear day. The headland guards the western mouth of the Glencolmcille valley in County Donegal, where the Atlantic has cut the quartzite into arches, stacks and deep ravines. The walk takes in a Napoleonic watchtower, the shattered ridge of Sturrall, and a valley floor scattered with monuments from the Neolithic through to the Napoleonic Wars, preserved in large part by how remote and poor this corner stayed for so long.
The coastal walk
The walk starts at Beefan, about 1.5 km from Glencolmcille village, and climbs to the stone signal tower on the head, one of a chain built around 1800, under Major-General Sir Charles Ross, to watch for a French landing. From the tower the path runs on toward the Sturrall, a jagged sea-arête of quartzite dropping to undercut arches and surf-washed stacks. There are no made paths here, just cropped grass and rock.
The route continues along the shore to the village of Port – roughly 5 km with 220 m of climbing, about three hours at an easy pace. Near the end you pass a memorial to the crew of the Sydney, a ship lost off this coast in 1870. It is rated easy to moderate, but that undersells the exposure: several stretches run close to unfenced cliff edges, no place to be in a strong wind or when the ground is greasy. Fine for older children; not one for toddlers.
Colmcille and the Turas
The valley below the head takes its name from St Colmcille (Columba), born in Donegal around AD 521, who founded the monastery on Iona and did as much as anyone to carry Christianity into northern Britain. His link to this valley is set down in Manus O’Donnell’s 16th-century Life of Colum Cille.
Every year on his feast day, 9 June, the Turas Glencolmcille sees pilgrims walk fifteen penitential stations around the valley. The stations mix early Christian devotion with far older sites; the first is a reworked megalithic tomb, Christian ritual laid straight over Neolithic stone.
One station sits in Baile na nDeamhan, the Village of the Demons. The story goes that demons St Patrick had driven off Croagh Patrick fled here, cloaking the glen in mist and turning the river to fire, until Colmcille and a band of saints hurled a spear into the fog and drove them into the sea, where they became red, one-eyed fish. It is the kind of tale that still clings to this landscape.
Practical information
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Opening | Open all year; full Turas pilgrimage on 9 June |
| Entry | Free |
| Walk | About 3 hours (5 km, 220 m ascent) |
| Accessibility | Not suitable for wheelchairs; long cross-country sections |
| Dogs | Limited – much of the route crosses working farmland |
| Children | Better for older children (12+) given the cliff edges |
| Parking | In Glencolmcille village, near the Fire Station / Ionad Siúil |
Getting there and local amenities
The trailhead is off the L5055 through Glencolmcille, with parking in the village near the Fire Station / Ionad Siúil. Without a car, Local Link Donegal route 293 runs between Donegal Town and Glencolmcille; get off at Cashel National School, a short walk from the Beefan start.
Glencolmcille is a Gaeltacht village and home to Oideas Gael, the Irish-language and culture centre. You will find a petrol station, shop and post office, and pubs like Roarty’s and Biddy’s where a fiddle session is never far off, a good place to thaw out after the wind on the head. Time your visit for early June and you catch the Turas itself; come in the shoulder seasons and you will likely have the cliffs to yourself.