This magnificent four-day drive storms up Ireland’s windswept Atlantic coast, where the weather is wild and spirits are high. You’ll begin at the tip of County Limerick before driving north through four counties – Clare, Galway, Mayo and Sligo – taking in awesome, ocean-dominated landscapes, from the otherworldly barren earth to the empty, thundering beaches of Sligo. Towns are brightly coloured enclaves, where life is celebrated in music and festivals. Finally, alongside the world’s hardiest surfers, you get the chance to immerse yourself – literally – in Ireland’s west-coast culture.

The highlights

1. The Burren Coast

Step back in time at Bunratty Folk Park and banquet like a king at Bunratty Castle. Then drive west to the haunting Burren region, where dazzling wildflowers bloom in the crevices of a stark, limestone plateau. Hit the sea at the vertiginous Cliffs of Moher, then pause at the sulphur-spa town of Lisdoonvarna. The Matchmaking Festival in September and October attracts worldwide fascination.

2. Galway

Possibly Ireland’s most charming city, Galway is cosmopolitan enough to have its own Latin Quarter (around Quay Street), but you’ll find traditional banter and fiddles in the bars. Its big events (July’s Galway Races and September’s Oyster Festival) are exhilarating. Stay at The Great Southern (00 353 91 564041, www.gshotels.com), a revamped railway hotel in the city centre. Doubles from £100.

3. Connemara

Continue north, past Connemara’s amber-seaweed-strewn beaches and thrillingly desolate black bogs, to charming Roundstone Port. View the fishing boats over crayfish chowder at the Roundstone House Hotel (00 353 953 5864). Its award-winning music sessions may inspire you to pick up a hand-crafted bodhrán at the village workshop.

4. Westport

Cross the border into Mayo by Kylemore Abbey’s much-photographed limestone turrets. Cruise alongside the craggy Atlantic-battered Partry Mountains to smart Westport, where charming primrose- and salmon-painted cafés await. Stay at the harbourside Atlantic Coast Hotel (00 353 982 9000, www.atlanticcoasthotel.com), a converted mill. Doubles from £80.

5. Sligo

A steaming seaweed bath in an Edwardian bathhouse is an unmissable experience at Kilcullen’s in Enniscrone. Stay at Sligo town’s oceanfront SAS Radisson (00 353 71 914 0008, www.radissonsas.com). Doubles from £110. Then cruise the county’s surfing beaches – Irish longboarders have been plunging into the Atlantic at Rossnowlagh since the 1960s.

For more information on touring Ireland, call 0800 039 7000 or visit www.tourismireland.com.

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