Postcards From The Edge

On the Wild Atlantic Way, Kissa Castañeda discovers 50 shades of green and a burgeoning food scene along the western coast of Ireland

- Kissa Castaneda

THE FIRST THING I DID WAS CHECK the weather for the week: dry, partially cloudy with sunny spells. We are off to a good start, I thought. This was Ireland after all, where the threat of rain is part and parcel of daily life and also the reason behind the country’s unbelievably verdant landscape, earning it the nickname: the Emerald Isle.

It must have been a case of Irish luck that spring showers would hold off for the duration of my three-day road trip through the Wild Atlantic Way in April. Starting from Kinsale in County Cork and running to the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal, the Wild Atlantic Way is a 2,500km stretch of road on the west coast of Ireland traversing countless pristine beaches, and fields of green. It is a mainstay in any list of the world’s best scenic coastal drives, with natural treasures such as the Cliffs of Moher certainly making it worth clocking up those miles.

Beautiful, rugged scenery aside, I came with another agenda: to discover Irish food and the culinary revolution taking hold on the western seaboard. Dotted with small family-run farms and home-grown restaurants that respectfully transform the fruits of the sea and land, the Wild Atlantic Way is a culinary road trip placing an emphasis on sustainability and traceability with an authentically Irish approach.

SCENIC ROUTE