Quiet beauty

The remote setting of Achill Island, off Ireland's west coast, is a backdrop for stunning cliffs, rolling peat bogs and grazing sheep.

[Photos: Kari J. Bodnarchuk] Looming nearly 200 feet above the surrounding plain is the Rock of Cashel, once a major church site with an attached castle. Some of the ruins date to the 12th century.

Walkers on Achill Island get a feeling for how remote it is, off the coast of western Ireland.

As is the case in many remote places in Ireland, Achill Island does not have a bank. This mobile bank sits by the road near the village of Keel, waiting for customers.

ACHILL ISLAND, Ireland - Dangling off Ireland's west coast and connected to the mainland by a narrow swing bridge lies Achill Island, the most westerly island of Europe. Even on a map of Ireland, Achill (ACK-ill) appears small, and I never would have discovered this tucked-away spot if Irish friends had not insisted that I point my rental car west and make the four-hour drive from Dublin.

"It will be a grand time," one told me.

"The highlight of your trip, for sure," said another.

They were right.

After 10 days exploring Ireland from east to west, I drove to County Mayo and then headed across Achill Island's 113-year-old bridge. The island proved to be stunning and windswept. Small, yes, but with crystal lakes, sheep-dotted valleys, quartzite-capped mountains and dramatic cliffs, including the tallest ones in Europe. They rise 2,000 feet above the Atlantic.

Achill measures 15 miles wide and 11 miles from north to south. It is shaped like an inverted L. Two-thirds of the island is almost treeless and is blanketed in peat bogs, made of spongy moss and sundew. Visit during March or April and you'll see locals cutting peat from the bogs by machine or, occasionally, by hand.

Along the island's 80-mile coastline, there are five Blue Flag beaches, a designation given to exceptionally pristine beaches in Europe. Also hugging the coast is a majority of Achill's 3,500 residents, who live in 23 charming villages.

Achill's remote location and exposure to the Atlantic Ocean's weather have not only shaped the island's physical beauty and influenced human development, but they also have helped preserve the cultural traditions and ways of life.

Villages in Upper Achill are Gaeltacht, Irish-speaking areas, and the pace is invitingly slow. Mobile banks visit the island several days a week for 15-minute to two-hour stops in villages, and the mobile library rolls through once a week. There's one ATM. Public e-mail service is available, at the Crumpaun IT Centre in the village of Keel, in a building that was once a primary school.

But e-mail service will most likely be the last thing on your mind when you visit. There is plenty to keep a visitor busy: You can explore Atlantic Drive, one of the most scenic roads in Ireland; sip Guinness in a pub; cozy up to a turf fire; or explore the area on foot or by bike, car or kayak.

The list of outdoor pursuits includes surfing, swimming, windsurfing, canoeing, hiking, biking, rock climbing, rappelling, scuba diving and fishing - brown trout from the lakes, blue and porbeagle shark from the sea.

Off-season, Achill is relaxed and, if the weather rolls in, moody and beautifully dramatic. You may have the hiking trails and lodges virtually to yourself. Many of the restaurants and guest houses remain open. On St. Patrick's Day, pipe bands march through the villages in Dooagh, Pollagh, Keel and Dookinella.

But the island really comes alive in the summer. Celebrations begin in early July with a nine-day seafood festival (in Gaelic, Cailin Acla), when all the pubs and restaurants serve a different catch, plucked straight from local waters, each night.

This festival coincides with one of the island's biggest events, the Achill Yawl Sailing Festival. Twenty races take place from early July through the third week in August. Visitors can make arrangements with captains to hop on board.

The island also hosts an Irish music, dance and language event, Scoil Acla, the first two weeks in August. There are also two weeks of writing workshops and an artists weekend.

Painters Charles Lamb and Derek Hill drew inspiration from Achill's stunning land- and seascapes. And Irish artist Desmond Turner owns a house on the island and has taught classes at his local painting school for 35 summers.

One main road, the R319, cuts through the island from Achill Sound, the first village you reach after arriving. The R319 rolls across open bog land and through the seaside villages of Keel and Dooagh, where Don Allum, the first man to row across the Atlantic Ocean in both directions, landed in 1987.

If you can stomach the twisty, cliff-side drive to Keem, there is a fine, if moderately difficult, hike to take. The walk is flanked by cliffs and a crumbling old coast guard station on one side and the Croaghaun Cliffs, the tallest sea cliffs of Europe at 2,000 feet, and Croaghaun Mountain on the other.

Between, you'll find peat bogs, sheep in the valley and the ruins of a stone house where Capt. Charles Boycott (from whom we get the term "boycott") lived when his servants shunned and deserted him. The book A Bilingual Guide to Walking in Achill is available at Achill Tourism in Cashel and outlines 14 circular walks.

Bicyclists and motorists can navigate one of the most stunning routes on Ireland's west coast: Atlantic Drive, found at the southeastern tip of the island beyond Achill Sound. The drive passes sheer cliffs; sprawling landscapes with bogs, rocks and a house with a thatched roof (named A Step Back in Time); plus gorgeous seaside homes, B&Bs and views across the bay to Connemara's rolling coastline. There are also promontory forts dating to the Iron Age.

Achill's physical features are always changing. Vacation homes, lodges and visitors services have been developed over the past five years as an increasing number of travelers have discovered the island. To the visitor, Achill still feels like an undiscovered gem that's removed from the mainland and, in some ways, even the 21st century.

- Kari Bodnarchuk is a freelance writer who lives in Boston.

GETTING THERE: Continental, Delta and American Airlines offer flights, with connections, from Tampa International Airport to the Shannon and Dublin airports. Aer Lingus flies from Baltimore-Washington International and New York airports. The best way to reach Achill is by car; the drive is about four hours from Dublin and three hours from Shannon.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Achill Tourism, Cashel, Achill Island; call 353 098 47353; info@achilltourism.com http://www.achilltourism.com/ Good maps include the Ordnance Survey of Ireland Map for Mayo, No. 30, and the Achill Island Map and Guide; both are available locally.

WEATHER: The region is buffeted by strong Atlantic Ocean winds but rarely sees snow or frost. It also experiences relatively low rainfall (40 to 60 inches per year), but that rain can drop over the course of 250 days.

TO DO THERE: Tomas Mac Lochlainn, a local archaeologist and European mountain leader, gives customized archaeological, historical and cultural hill-walking tours, plus teaches rock climbing, mountaineering, surfing, kayaking, and map and compass use. Call 353 098 45085.

Achill Island Scuba Dive Centre, Purteen Harbour, Keel, offers boat trips around walls, caves and wrecks for about $13 to $16. Full rental gear costs an additional $37, including first air fill. Shore dives and courses are also available. Contact: 353 087 2349884; info@achilldivecentre.com http://www.achilldivecentre.com/

Achill Tours offers two-hour tours of notable sites in English and three other languages. Tours depart from Keel village. Contact: 353 098 43301; www.geocities.com/rlavelle2000  

STAYING THERE: Achill has several hostels for budget accommodations (about $8 per night), three campgrounds (about $7 per night), cozy B&Bs (averaging $21 per person for a bed with en suite bathroom, based on double occupancy, or $28 for a single).

It also has historic and renovated hotels (ranging from $28 to $40), and guest houses, which are often your best bet because they have some of the most comfortable rooms and most reasonable prices (about $30 per night).

Handy directories are Bed & Breakfast, Ireland 2003 and Be Our Guest, Hotels & Guesthouses Illustrated Guide (both available for free by calling toll-free 1-800-223-6470 in the United States, or go to http://www.irelandhotels.com/ None of the following accommodations has a street address, but it is virtually impossible to miss them. Villages are often a few houses and shops.

Gray's Guest House, Dugort; 353 098 43244/43315. Rooms are about $33-$40 for a single, $56-$70 double. It's cozy, with a friendly proprietor, 15 comfortable en suite rooms with electric blankets, three lounges (one with a turf fire and TV), enclosed garden, tasty dinners.

Rich View Hostel, Newtown, Keel; 353 098 43462. Rooms are about $9 for a dorm bed, $12 for private room. Overlooks the Minaun Heights and its sheer cliffs into the bay. Ten dormitory beds and five private rooms.

Achill Sound Hotel, Achill Sound; 353 098 45138; http://www.achillislandhotel.com Rooms are about $50 per person. Possibly the best hotel on the island, this fifth-generation family-run establishment sits on the water. It has 26 rooms (pine decor) with private bathrooms and central heating, plus a cozy restaurant and bar.

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