Bundoran, in Co Donegal, has its critics, and there's no denying it has eschewed high-end tourism. But, for UNA McCAFFREY, the ocean air makes it an ideal spot for a family break
MY HUSBAND LIKED to joke that Ballyshannon South was our holiday destination this year. I preferred to stick with a vaguer “Donegal” when asked by fancy Dubliners where I planned to spend a week of August.
If they didn’t probe further they were left with images of wild, deserted beaches, mossy mountains, seafood and pints by the fire. But if they did delve deeper they discovered the truth: it was to Bundoran we were whisking our family of two small boys for their first seaside adventure.
Cue much smirking on their part and much explanation and justification on ours, as we rushed to explain how lovely it is, actually, how it has moved on from the bad old days and how the fresh air alone makes the trip worthwhile.
We knew the last bit to be true, having spent short periods in the area in recent years. The moving on and the loveliness were still to be proved, and we had seven days to do it in.
The thing to remember about holidaying with small children – ours are one and three – is that, for the most part, they couldn’t care less about where they are as long as Mammy or Daddy (or preferably both) are nearby at all times. This helped to ease the burden on Bundoran somewhat, as one aspect of the holiday’s success was in the bag before we even left home. Anything more, we reasoned, would be a bonus.
Our circumstances meant the time-honoured tradition of taking a house was the best option, and it was to a bungalow off Tullan Strand Road, metres from the unruly Atlantic waves, that we arrived one damp Sunday evening.
The first thing that hit us when we opened the car door was the aforementioned ocean-fresh air. The lungs expand, a feeling of well-being descends and, suddenly, time off becomes a holiday. Unpacking with one small person running around and another crawling around our ankles diluted the good mood somewhat, but before long we were trying to recapture the feeling with a stroll to the coast itself, at Rougey.
Looking down on the serenely empty Tullan Strand on a mild afternoon, every bit of us suddenly wanted to get closer to the Atlantic and its wild waves and to move farther from the city streets and east coast we had left behind.
The next few days showed us that the best way to experience the breakers close up would be to do as the locals (and the blow-ins) do and take our surfboard in to brave the elements. Bundoran is by now world-famous for its surfing, with this year’s Waveriders movie, featuring local boy Richie Fitzgerald, doing more than its bit to promote the best of the area.
Fitzgerald runs a surf school in the town and, along with a handful of other such establishments, caters for an aspect of the Bundoran tourist business that is often underestimated. At certain times of day the streets throng with young wetsuit-clad men and women, their faces beaten by the weather and their arms bearing surfboards as they head for the water. It isn’t unusual to see cyclists barrelling up the road towards the coast with surfboards tucked under their arms as late as 8pm, to catch those final waves after work as the sun starts to set.
The curious element in all this is that the surf culture, which our family hopes to experience more directly in a few years – surf lessons are available for primary-age kids – seems to exist beside rather than within the more traditional tourist culture in Bundoran. There are few cool cafes or pubs to accommodate the growing new tourist class, while the more traditional families – that is, us – continue to mill through streets lined with garish amusement arcades and tacky souvenir shops.
That said, tackiness has its place, particularly in the eyes of a three-year-old. Happiness was unbridled in our holiday home on the mildly sunny afternoon when we combined a spin around town on the tourist train with the purchase of a bucket and spade and a trip to the beach. And there is a peculiar parental joy in bringing a small boy for his first carnival ride, even if it does end in tears and a demand for immediate extraction from the previously appealing shiny red fire engine.
The real appeal for adults in Bundoran lies in the outdoors. Even if surfing isn’t an option, the Rougey walk from the cliffs at Tullan Strand into the smaller beach in the town proper is a spectacular way to take the sea air at any time of day.
You start with unparalleled views of Donegal Bay on one side and the Dartry Mountains and Benbulbin on the other, moving around to take in the Blue Stacks and, if the weather is clear, a lonely view of Classiebawn Castle at Mullaghmore, the former holiday home of the ill-fated Lord Mountbatten. The real beauty is that it is highly accessible, even with buggies in tow, as is another magnificent coastal walk at the West End of town. Two seaside play parks offer the uncomplicated pleasure of allowing children and parents to enjoy the outside world at the same time.
Put simply, any part of the town where you can see the ocean and the mountains is an agreeable place to be, such is the scale of the view and the shifting beauty of the water, whatever the vantage point.
A few diamonds sparkle in the often grim social scene, too, including Maddens Bridge Bar, which does well to warmly welcome the surf dudes without excluding more traditional customers.
The highlight for this Mammy and Daddy on an evening of rare babysitting came, however, in a nightcap at Brennans Bar, on Main Street. Those who bemoan the creeping loss of Ireland’s traditional pubs will take heart here as they lose themselves in an old-fashioned world of civilised drinking and even more civilised service.
The bar is run by the eternally charming Brennan sisters, Nan and Patricia, who are carrying on a business established by their grandparents in 1900. Named the Criterion at that stage, the bar was expected to maintain “a standard by which something can be judged”, and it resoundingly still does. Glasses are sparkling, wood is gleaming and history is always present in this lovely pub, which is alone worth the visit to Bundoran.
It is perhaps a shame that the town does not quite live up to the Brennans’ standard in its general presentation. With its slot machines and funfair rides, Bundoran seems a touch defiant in eschewing high-end tourism and going instead for the market that has, admittedly, served it well for many generations.
And maybe there is nothing wrong with that, especially if you’re three years old and looking forward to nothing more than your next whipped ice cream and paddle in the ocean, bucket in hand. Bundoran, in this world, is the perfect holiday destination.
Where to stay, where to eat and where to go
Where to stay
Great Northern Hotel. Astoria Road, 071-9841204, greatnorthern hotel.com. This McEniff-owned local icon welcomes teachers’ and prison officers’ conferences in winter and families in summer. Fading in parts, but still boasting the best location in town.
Fitzgeralds. West End, 071-9841336, fitzgeraldshotel.com. Small family-run hotel. A good place to escape the occasionally raucous nightlife of the main drag.
Summer Hill. 064-41170, dreamireland.com. Modern, tidy self-catering apartments close to Bundoran’s supermarkets, impressive cinema complex and indoor children’s play facility.
Where to eat
Fitzgeralds. Details as above. The bistro attached to the hotel can occasionally charge high prices, but at least they’re matched by good quality.
Bridge Bar. West End, 071-9842050, maddensbridge bar.com. Well-made pub grub served by friendly staff in a convivial atmosphere. Traditional music in the evenings and an all-day buzz.
Courthouse Restaurant. Main Street, Kinlough, Co Leitrim, 071-9842391, thecourthouserest.com.
Less than four kilometres from Bundoran, this “Mediterranean” restaurant has earned a reputation that attracts diners from far around. Warm atmosphere, but not an ideal place for small children.
Where to go
Fast becoming the definitive Bundoran experience, surfing is slowly gaining an impressive infrastructure of schools and shops. Try the TurfnSurf school (071-9841091, turfnsurf.ie) or Bundoran Surf Co (071- 9841968, bundoransurfco.com).
Galloping along the white sand as the white horses storm in from the ocean can’t be a bad thing to do on a summer’s afternoon. Try Donegal Equestrian Holidays (Finner Road, 071-9841977, donegal equestrianholidays.com).
The course at Bundoran Golf Club (071-9841302, bundorangolfclub.com), a mixture of inland and links holes that skirt the Great Northern Hotel, has views the envy of many lesser-known clubs.