Overview
Stranorlar was once the hub of the County Donegal Railway, the largest narrow-gauge network in Ireland, and the town still keeps time by it: the last train left on 6 February 1960 and the station became a bus depot, but the old station clock was restored for the millennium and now stands in a tower by the former pedestrian entrance. Paired with Ballybofey across the River Finn, Stranorlar (Irish: Srath an Urláir) is the eastern half of a working twin town at the western end of the Finn Valley in County Donegal – more market town than tourist stop, with the woods and the river as the reason to pull in.
Drumboe Woods
The one thing to do here is walk Drumboe Woods, which follow the River Finn through mature broadleaf forest on the edge of town. Coillte manages the paths; they’re easy going as far as the river, then rougher and rootier on the pull up to the ruins of Elizabethan Drumboe Castle and a folly known locally as “The Steeple”. Edmund and Emily Hayes laid the woods out in the 1850s and 60s, and the giant redwood they planted at the centre still stands – the finest single thing on the walk. Dogs are welcome on a lead.
The woods carry a darker history too. In March 1923, during the Civil War, four Anti-Treaty IRA prisoners – Charlie Daly, Daniel Enright, Timothy O’Sullivan and Seán Larkin – were held in Drumboe Castle and executed here. A memorial near St John’s Church marks the spot, and a commemoration march has been held every March since 1924.
A walk round the twin towns
For a gentler, town-based route, the Twin Towns Heritage Trail is a 4.8 km waymarked loop across Stranorlar and Ballybofey, taking in the old railway station, the Butter Market and the Balor Arts Centre, with QR codes at each of its 20 stops that pull up the stories on your phone. It takes an hour or two at an easy pace, and the map is free to download.
A longer prospect is the proposed Ballybofey–Stranorlar–Donegal Town Greenway, which would turn a former railway corridor into a walking and cycling route through the Barnesmore Gap to Donegal Town. It’s still at the planning stage, so don’t plan a trip around it yet.
Arts and the Frances Browne festival
Stranorlar has made a name as a small literary town. Since 2021 the Frances Browne Literary Festival has drawn writers and readers here each October – named for Frances Browne, the blind poet and novelist who came from the town – with lectures, performances and a poetry competition run in English, Irish and Ulster Scots. Past guests include Annemarie Ní Churreáin and Nessa O’Mahony. In the streets, the Jim Lynch mural on Church Lane, unveiled in April 2024, remembers a late community activist and has become a favourite photo stop; across the river, the Balor Arts Centre in Ballybofey carries the year-round programme of theatre, music and exhibitions.
Fishing and golf
The River Finn is the draw for anglers, with runs of Atlantic salmon and brown trout that peak in spring and early summer; permits come through the local associations, and there are quiet picnic spots by the old bridge. Golfers have the Ballybofey & Stranorlar Golf Club, an 18-hole parkland course laid out by P.C. Carr in 1957, measuring 5,237 m to a par of 68, with the Bluestack Mountains behind it.
Practical information
Getting there
Stranorlar sits at the junction of the N13 and N15, easily reached from Derry, Sligo and Letterkenny. Bus Éireann Route 64 links it to Derry and Galway by way of Donegal Town, Ballyshannon, Bundoran and Sligo, and TFI Local Link routes (264, 288, 290, 988) serve the surrounding villages. There’s no train: the nearest station is in Derry, about 45 minutes away by bus.
Visitor information, parking and access
The Visitor Information Point at The Base Enterprise Centre on Railway Road has free maps, trail guides and event listings, and staff can help with fishing permits and route planning (+353 74 919 0909). On-street parking in the town centre is free. The streets and the Finn promenade are paved and level; the main Drumboe path is gently graded, but the last climb to the castle ruins is uneven and rooty.
Nearby
- Ballybofey – Directly across the Finn, with the Balor Arts Centre and the western end of the heritage trail.
- The Bluestack Mountains – Marked hill walks and long views over the valley, a short drive west.
- Assaroe – Abbey ruins and waterfalls south towards Ballyshannon.
If you can only stop for an hour, park free in the centre and walk into Drumboe from the bus depot: the riverside path and the redwood are the best of Stranorlar, and they’re ten minutes from the car.