Where Malin Head actually is
Malin Head is the northernmost point of the island of Ireland, at the tip of the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal. Note the geography, because it confuses almost every American visitor: this is the Republic, north of most of Northern Ireland.
The viewing point is Banba's Crown, marked by a squat 1805 signal tower and a set of concrete Eire signs laid out during the Second World War to tell pilots which country they were over. The Force Awakens filmed here, which is why the car park is now considerably larger than it was.
The Inishowen 100
The peninsula loop is signposted as the Inishowen 100. It is roughly 160 kilometres and Google will tell you three hours. Give it a full day.
The road is fine, the distances are short, and the reason it takes all day is that you stop constantly. Start and finish in Buncrana or come in from Derry, which is only 25 minutes from the southern end.
- Grianan of Aileach
- A ring fort on a hilltop above the neck of the peninsula, with a 360 degree view over two loughs. Ten minutes off the route and the best possible opening.
- Five Finger Strand
- Vast dunes and an empty beach near Malin village. Swim only if you know what you are doing, the currents are serious.
- Banba's Crown
- The northern tip. Park, walk out to Hell's Hole, and expect wind that will rearrange your face.
- Kinnagoe Bay
- A steep descent to a curved sand bay where a Spanish Armada ship went down. Almost always empty.
The bit nobody tells you: Derry is the gateway
Inishowen is 25 minutes from Derry city and about two hours from Belfast. If you are doing Northern Ireland and the Causeway, adding Inishowen costs you very little and it is a far wilder coastline than Antrim.
Bring your passport and be aware you will cross an invisible border more than once. Check that your rental car insurance covers both jurisdictions, because a surprising number do not by default.
Weather, and the honest warning
This is the most exposed corner of Ireland. We have been at Banba's Crown in June in horizontal rain and in February in still sunshine. Neither was predictable the day before.
Do not plan a sunset here and treat it as guaranteed. Plan the loop, and take whatever the light gives you at the top.
Where to eat and stop along the way
Ballyliffin is the practical lunch stop on the north coast, and it is also where the links course sits if there is a golfer in the car. Moville and Greencastle on the eastern side do good seafood and look across to Magilligan.
Farren's Bar at Malin Head bills itself as the most northerly pub in Ireland and is exactly as small and as friendly as that suggests.