The town
Milford (Irish: Baile na nGallóglach, ‘town of the gallowglasses’) is a service town of around 1,100 people at the head of Mulroy Bay in north-west County Donegal. The gallowglasses were the heavily armed Gaelic-Norse mercenaries who fought for the northern chieftains, and their name still sits on the town and on its one real ruin. Milford itself came much later: it was laid out in the 18th century by the Clement family and named for a mill on Maggie’s Burn.
It works better as a base than a destination. There’s a post office, four supermarkets, three pubs, a health centre and a library, and the Gallowglass Community Centre, which opened in September 2023; the county’s Tirconaill Tribune is published here too. None of that is the reason to turn off the main road. What runs around the bay is.
The Mulroy Drive
If you have an afternoon, give it to the Mulroy Drive. It’s a 35km coastal loop linking Kerrykeel, Milford and Fanad Head, laid out with a run of marked viewpoints, each with an interpretive panel on the landscape and its history. The road follows the edge of Mulroy Bay and carries you out toward Fanad Head and its lighthouse, the Atlantic widening as you go. Take it slowly; the stopping is the point, not the driving.
The viewpoint car parks are free and unstaffed. That’s grand for most of the year, but the popular ones fill on summer weekends, so an early start helps.
Moross Castle
Moross Castle is the oldest thing here, and it ties straight back to the town’s name: it was built in 1532 by Turlogh Mac Suibhne, whose MacSweeney family were gallowglasses themselves. The castle is a tower house set on a rocky island, reached by a 45m causeway. Only the south-west corner still stands, two storeys of it, bound with a coarse mortar mixed from sea sand; a low mural passage, about 1.4m high, runs inside the ground-floor wall. It’s open access and free to visit. Wear sturdy footwear for the uneven stone, and bring a layer against the wind off the bay.
Walking and the water
For a stretch of the legs in the town itself, the Milford Slí na Sláinte is a signed 3.7km route. It starts at the Diamond at the top of the town, drops down Main Street, crosses Maggie’s Burn and heads out along the Ramelton road. On the water, the sheltered inlets of Mulroy Bay suit kayaking, and an operator based in nearby Kerrykeel runs guided paddling tours. The tidal flats are good for birdwatching, particularly on the wader and seabird migrations.
Beaches nearby
Four beaches are within an easy drive: Portsalon and Rathmullan on the Fanad peninsula, and Downings and Tramore to the west. Portsalon, out toward Fanad Head, is the pick of them.
Getting there and staying
Milford is about 30km from Donegal town on the N56, and a short drive from Letterkenny, the county’s biggest town. A car is the only real way to work the peninsula. The town itself has a scattering of family-run B&Bs and guesthouses within walking distance of the square; for hotels you’re better off looking to Letterkenny. Book ahead for July, when the whole coast is busy.
One last thing, and it matters more than any opening time: the causeway out to Moross Castle goes under at high tide, with no way across but to wait it out. Check the tide before you walk over.