During your stay at The Ballyliffin Lodge Hotel & Spa, Donegal there are a wide variety of activities within the area to accommodate all visitors
View Things to do in Donegal in a larger map
Golf
The world famous Ballyliffin Golf Club is within 2km of the Ballyliffin Lodge Hotel & Spa. Two outstanding links courses set in natural terrain and incredible dunes presents an enjoyable challenge to every golfer. There is also a driving range recently opened beside the Golf Course which is open daily to visitors.
Childrens Play Park
A safe and eco-friendly children's park has just opened within walking distance of the hotel. Overlooking the beach and built within the sand-dunes, the play park is open 7 days a week for all ages, guaranteed to keep the kids and adults entertained. Open Daily. Free admission. Parking available.
Beach Walk Way
A beautiful walk way has been created over the past 2 years to allow people to enjoy a scenic walk through the dunes at Pollin Beach. The walkway offers easy walking for all ages with unbeatable views of the Atlantic Ocean, The Golf Courses and the Pollin Beach. Strongly recommended for all visitors to the area and perfect for an early morning jog.
Painting/Photography
With the spectacular panoramic views of Malin Head and the Inishowen coastline from the hotel itself it is no wonder that the area is a favourite with artists. The golden sands of Pollan Bay and the Atlantic coast is within 1km.
Walking
For the experienced hill walker the village of Ballyliffin is sheltered by awe inspiring mountains. Bulbin, Raghtin Mor, Binion and Slive Sneacht Close to the village you can enjoy the popular walk to Glenlevin and the Pol an Cas waterfalls a popular day out for the family with picnic/bbq facilities.
Shopping: Shopping in Carndonagh, Buncrana and Derry is only a short drive away from Ballyliffin with buses regualrly passing through. All have a blend of modern and traditinal shopping options as well as many coffee shops, restaurants and bars. Derry offers all the biggest names in high street and designer fashions with two large shopping Malls in the centre of town called Foyleside and Richmond Centre.
Doagh island Famine Village and Santa’s Lapland:During the summer you can have a guided tour through houses and outdoor centres depicting the Penel Times and the famine years in Ireland. During the months of November and December the village becomes Lapland with Santa arriving. The luxurious Four Star Ballyliffin Lodge Hotel & Spa in Co. Donegal has put together a special Lapland Christmas offer at only €120 per room per night for 2 Adults and 2 Children Sharing midweek and €140 weekend. Offer includes breakfast.
We will also have a supervised play area from 6-9pm every week night to allow parents the opportunity to relax in our Rock Crystal Spa or dine in peace in Mamie Pats or our Holly Tree Restaurant.
Clonmany Family Festival : The First week in August each year hosts one of the most popular festivals in Donegal featuring Open Air Concerts, Crafts & Arts Exhibitions, Song Writing & Pub Talent Competitions, Fun Fairs, Market Sales.
Other activities/attractions available in the area:
- The McGlinchey Summer School (June), capturing the history of Inishowen - www.mcglinchey.ie
- Cairn Visitors Centre, Greencastle Co. Donegal - July- September www.thecairncentre.com 00353 74 93 81104
- Charles Macklin Autumn School (Oct), a festival of drama.
- Horseriding, Malin Town (10km from the Ballyliffin Lodge Hotel)
- Angling Inishowen Boating, Culdaff (12km)
- Fort Dunree Military Museum, Buncrana (15km)
- Inishowen Maritime Museum & Planetarium, Greencastle (20km)
Yachting: There is an excellent sheltered harbour and marina, with a well-marked channel, which can cater for 400 yachts of varying sizes at the village of Fahan, which is on your Port side if arriving by sea from the mouth of Lough Swilly and just along the coast from the town of Buncrana. All along the coastline of Lough Foyle from the harbour at Greencastle there are good facilities for either launching, anchoring or tying up any size of yacht. (A southerly wind can prove tricky and you need to be careful). Plans are currently afoot for marinas at Moville and Bunagee near Culdaff.
Diving: The Inishowen peninsula is surrounded by many wrecks, including some of the following: One near Portaleen, one between Culdaff Head and Glengad Head, 18 near Inishtrahull Island including, in 1918, a World War 1 German sub. U.B. 109 and a Greek cargo ship, the Argo Delos, which in 1960, was heading for Cuba.
There are 9 wrecks near Inishowen Head, and in Kinnagoe Bay there is the famous La Trinidad Valencera of the Spanish Armada, which foundered in 1588. In Lough Swilly there lies The Laurentic, which was carrying a fortune in gold to repay British War Debts.
Near Malin Head there are over 30 wrecks quite near the coastline due to both World Wars and a treacherous coastline. There is now a fully equipped diving school based at Malin Town.
Fishing: Here is a region approximately 26 x 26 miles criss-crossed with a spider’s web of rivers and lakes for the fresh-water angler after a salmon or trout to Beach-Casting for flounder, dabs, plaice and occasional sole, bass and sea trout and Dogfish and spurdog in autumn.
There are also 12 piers and innumerable locations for rock fishing. Details on all fishing locations and where to gather suitable fresh bait can be got on Inishowen Tourism’s web site at: www.visitinishowen.com Licences can be purchased at the Inishowen Tourism office in Carndonagh.
Bird watching: The Inishowen peninsula is renowned the world over for this activity, especially places such as Burt, Inch, Trawbreaga Bay, Loughs Swilly and Foyle and Banba’s Crown. Such is the variety and depth of detail on this subject that Inishowen Tourism recommends a visit to their web site at: www.visitinishowen.com where the most comprehensive information available can be accessed.
Aurora Borealis: With Ireland’s most northerly point at Latitude 55.23.05 degrees North and Longitude 007.22.29 degrees West there is almost no darkness during June/July and there have been numerous sightings of this phenomenon. Indeed over the winter of 2003 following a fierce electrical storm on the surface of the sun, the area was treated to such a spectacular display that over half of the sky was illuminated for weeks.
Long summer days: At the north of the peninsula on June 21st sunrise is at 3:47 am and sunset is at 22:15 giving a maximum of 19 hours and 27 minutes of daylight.
Tour guides: If you want to get to the real heart of Inishowen’s beauty, history, highways and byways, there are a number of fully-qualified and CERT approved tour guides who will be only too happy to supply and in-depth accompanied tour of the area. The hotel can supply details of these guides on application.
Theatre: The “Cairn Theatre” in Greencastle presents a show entitled “Shades of Ireland” daily during the summer. This theatre also carries a wide programme of music, drama, dance and fun. Musical lessons can be arranged.
Arts & Crafts: In Buncrana there is a workshop and shop where precious and semi-precious stones from the Raised Beach at Banba’s Crown, a world-famous geological rarity, are cut, polished and mounted onto rings, bracelets, necklaces etc. Special works can be commissioned.
Pottery: The town of Moville hosts a purpose-built pottery workshop where the words “mass-production” are frowned upon and the skill of the hand is the order of the day. The potter can still be watched “throwing” the clay for the creation of the next unique item.
Bogwood sculptures: Thousands of years ago Inishowen would have been covered in trees and it is while cutting peat in our many bogs that thousand-year old pieces bogwood have been uncovered.
Between the villages of Culdaff and Glenely there is a gallery where you can view and purchase a sculpted piece of this ancient material.
Painting:
With the scenery that is on offer in Inishowen it is no wonder that many artists have taken up a brush to put on canvas the beauty surrounding them?
Just outside Malin Town on the road to Malin Head look out for signs pointing to an art gallery where beautiful pieces of local artwork are on view and available to purchase.
In the village of Carrowmenagh, which is on the “Inishowen 100” there is the Ard Rua art studio where you can browse and/or purchase work by a local artist.
Summer gatherings:
Over the last two years in different locations in Inishowen there have been summer gatherings that have brought together people from all walks of life that wish to contribute to the expansion of an Eco-Friendly way of living locally. At this gathering you can see houses bring built from straw and mud, windmill generated power, basket weaving and many ways of conserving energy.
Foyle Ferry ( Donegal - Limavady)
The biggest boost to tourism in Inishowen in many years has come from the introduction of the Foyle Ferry, which travels back and forth from Magilligan Point under the shadow of Beniveneagh, near Limavady to Greencastle. This ferry has opened up convenient and fast access to Inishowen to visitors coming from Ballycastle and the Causeway Coast including the world-famous Giant’s Causeway.
It has also been a boost to everyday travellers and visitors alike including golfers who now have a closely linked series of courses at Royal Portrush, Portstewart, Castlerock and onwards to our six courses and of course, vice-versa.
This ferry has now been followed by it’s sister ship which plies between Buncrana, on the west coast of Inishowen and Rathmullan on the Fanad peninsula. Close by is the town of Ramelton, both of which are closely associated with the famous historical event: “The Flight of the Earls” when a large number of Ireland’s nobles sailed for France, Spain & Portugal and have since created dynasties in those countries.
This location is a wonderful starting point to tour the Fanad peninsula, and there is work ongoing on a bridge, which will, in the future, link this area with the Gaeltacht or Irish-Speaking areas of Donegal.
