Things to do in Inishowen

What to do

Any weather Best on a dry day

Choose one side for a shorter visit

From Buncrana, start with the shore path or make Fort Dunree the main visit. Both are beside Lough Swilly, so keep this day on the western shore. Glenevin near Clonmany can provide a shorter northern outing, with a marked path beside the stream to the waterfall. Doagh Famine Village is another choice for a stay around Ballyliffin.

From Moville or Greencastle, begin with the Lough Foyle side and the Maritime Museum and Planetarium. Culdaff provides a beach outing on the northeastern coast. Give Malin Head a separate northern outing if time allows. Give a beach, museum or headland time of its own. For a day from Moville or Greencastle, the maritime museum and Culdaff make enough stops without adding every place on the peninsula's driving circuit.

What to do in Inishowen in the rain

The maritime museum at Greencastle is the clearest indoor family choice, with planetarium shows as well as exhibits on maritime life. Fort Dunree offers another museum on the Lough Swilly side. Choose Greencastle for an eastern stay or Dunree for a Lough Swilly stay. Check operators' sites before you go for museum visits, planetarium shows, transport and local bathing conditions. Spend time at the nearer museum instead of driving across the peninsula to visit both.

Doagh Famine Village includes buildings, but it is an outdoor museum with moves between them. Allow for time outside between the cottages; the visit still needs suitable clothing for rain. Grianán of Aileach and the northern headland are exposed, so poor visibility can remove much of the reason for making those trips. Keep them for suitable conditions and spend the wet day looking around the museum. Leave the headlands for a separate outing when you can enjoy the coast.

Inishowen with children

For younger children, Glenevin's fairy doors and streamside path provide something specific to follow. Leave time to follow the stream, look for fairy doors and stop for a picnic. Save other northern coastal stops for a separate outing. Culdaff has a children's play area beside its beach visitor facilities. Either place gives a family time outdoors without a mountain climb. Spend longer at the waterfall or beach rather than driving around the whole peninsula between short stops.

School-age children and teenagers may prefer the maritime displays and a suitable planetarium show, or Fort Dunree's military history. Choose a show that interests the children, with time for the museum too. Doagh offers a different history visit through cottages and recreated settings, so choose it when that way of telling local stories suits the group. Malin Head can be a short visitor-area stop, but further coastal walking should be chosen for the conditions and the group's ability.

Walking, transport and what to cut

The Buncrana Shore Path is described in the official walking guide as a one-way route to Stragill Strand. Allow time to walk back from the point you reach. Turn around earlier for a shorter outing, leaving enough time to enjoy the shore on the way back. Glenevin is a distinct marked valley walk, while Grianán is a hilltop monument. Choose Buncrana for a longer shore walk, Glenevin for the stream and waterfall, or Grianán for the monument and hilltop views. Each gives you something different to see outdoors.

For rural sights, plan the transport to the actual visitor site and back. A bus to Buncrana or Moville gets you to the town. Arrange the extra journey to the rural sight as well as the return. If the available transfer limits the day, cut the distant extra stop. Visitors staying in southern Donegal should use a separate Inishowen stay when the peninsula is a priority. Adding Malin Head after Slieve League creates a driving plan with little time left for either place.