Discover Ulster

For a trip to Ulster, you can focus on nature by visiting specific places in County Donegal. Fanad Head is one of County Donegal’s three Signature Discovery Points on the Wild Atlantic Way. Glenveagh National Park is another key landscape and nature conservation area. These places can help you plan your trip around a specific nature theme before you look for hotels in Ulster.

Fanad Head and its conservation designations

Fanad Head is home to a wide variety of flora and fauna. It is also designated as a Special Area of Conservation and a Special Protection Area; it has been proposed as a Natural Heritage Area. This means it has two designations and one proposed status. This distinction keeps the classification precise rather than treating all three designations as a single, uniform conservation status. Its designation as a Signature Discovery Point and its conservation designations offer different points of reference: they place Fanad Head on the Wild Atlantic Way and also identify several conservation designations. If you need precise information on protected-area boundaries or management, check with the relevant authority; current visitor services may change.

Glenveagh: landscape and protected species

Glenveagh National Park in County Donegal is home to rare and protected habitats and species in a wild, rugged landscape. The focus here is on the connection between a national park landscape and the protection of species and habitats.

For choosing a destination, these offer two distinct nature themes: Fanad Head combines diverse flora and fauna with several conservation designations; Glenveagh is known for rare and protected habitats and species in a rugged park landscape. If you are looking for hotels in Ulster, you can first decide which of these themes better suits your travel interests.

Ireland as the wider travel context

In the wider travel destination of Ireland, Brú na Bóinne offers an archaeological focus. It is Ireland’s richest archaeological landscape; its prehistoric passage tombs contain the largest collection of megalithic art in Western Europe. The Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre is the starting point for all visits to Newgrange and Knowth; visitors are taken from there to the monuments by shuttle bus.

Another kind of landscape in the wider travel destination of Ireland can be found at Killarney National Park: it covers 10,000 hectares of mountains, lakes, woodland and waterfalls, and is designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The Rock of Cashel also offers an example of medieval architecture in the wider travel destination of Ireland: the group of buildings comprises a round tower, a high cross, a Romanesque chapel and a Gothic cathedral. Cormac’s Chapel contains the only surviving Romanesque frescoes in Ireland.

Sceilg Mhichíl, also known as Skellig Michael, is also part of the wider travel destination of Ireland. The early medieval monastic site on an island was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1996. Three landing points are connected by steps to the main monastic remains.

Explore more destinations: County Cavan, County Donegal, County Monaghan, Munster, Leinster, Connacht

Back to the wider travel overview: Ireland.