Shropshire Star

The best driving roads in the world: Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way

Jack Evans heads to Ireland in a Mini in search of the world’s best driving roads

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The best driving roads in the world: Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way

The Wild Atlantic Way in Ireland is a lengthy route that winds through some of the country’s most dramatic and awe-inspiring scenery. There’s more than 1,500 miles of roads on offer, but we’d be travelling a shorter section from the western town of Westport south to Omey Island.

The car? That would be Mini’s latest Cooper S Countryman – fitted with an innovative roof-top tent designed for just such an occasion.

(PA)
(PA)

The first section of the route began saw us travel south towards Killadangan. Immediately, the road streaks close to the sea, giving clear views of the coast. The Countryman is an ideal touring car, as its high ride height gives a better look at the areas to the side and front – and this trait would be good for those with children who want to be able to see the scenery for themselves too.

From Killadangan, the drive continues south. We stopped off at Carrowniskey – a picture-perfect shingle beach that attracts surfers, kiteboarders and paddleboarders too. We were joined by a classic Mini while we stopped and admired the view – a visitor from the nearby International Mini Meeting that was taking place at the same time.

With dirt and pebbles being thrown from the Mini’s tyres, we set off once more. Travelling towards Glenkeen, the scenery changes dramatically from sweeping beaches to valleys and lakes – all framed by the winding tarmac. Those who want a challenging, involving drive should look no further than this route as it has all the key things you could want – all manner of tight, twisting corners as well as arrow-straight sections tied together with well-sighted sweeping bends. It’s real Mini territory, too, and the Countryman was just as happy at darting around hairpins as it was across the undulating road surfaces.

The next part of the route took us towards Leenane and its sizeable inlets. Thankfully, the roads weren’t too busy which allowed us to take our time, taking in all that the area had to offer. Our trio of Minis attracted a lot of attention, though many people were too taken aback by the scenery to pay attention to our passing convoy.

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(PA)

The Wild Atlantic Way offers pretty much every type of road that the avid driver could want – though where we were heading did away with tarmac.

Omey Island is situated near Claddaghduff, and is only accessible via a beach crossing. However, this crossing is heavily tide dependent and could provide a challenge that even our four-wheel-drive Countrymans would struggle to handle. Thankfully, as we arrived it was clear that the tide was out – leaving a clear beach crossing.

(PA)
(PA)

Crossing on to the island was strange experience – it felt as if the tide could come rushing in at any moment. Of course, it lacked the drama of the route’s mountains nor the twists of some of its more technical sections, but it certainly felt special in its own way – and is something that we’d highly recommend trying out.

With the three cars sat abreast on the sand, it proved to be a fitting end to our experience of Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way – and one we’d rush back to do all over again.

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