Wild Atlantic Way: diary of a wheelchair user

A wild Atlantic trip

This year, a family wedding brought us to the iconic County Clare fishing village of Doolin. So, we packed the car and our reliable Aran jumpers (that keep you warm no matter what) and headed west. We checked into Hotel Doolin, where we enjoyed reserved disability parking and a ground-floor accessible room fitted with a sturdy shower chair and lowered wardrobe rails for Mick to hang up his suit (you’d be surprised at how many hotels forget about this detail, along with full-length mirrors!).

At leisure in Liscannor

We enjoyed some wheelchair-accessible excursions, including a quick drive to Liscannor to visit our favourite pit stop, The Rockshop. This family-owned gem of a geological gift shop is known for its calming retail space, tearooms with accessible toilets and the skeletal remains of a now-extinct native Irish brown bear (an ode to our past wildlife predators!).

If you’re interested in maritime history, Liscannor is also the birthplace of John Philip Holland, who designed and built the first submarine used by the US Navy.

Aran Island adventures

We stopped by Fanore Beach to check out a new viewing platform and drove through the Burren, but our most anticipated experience was a day trip to Inis Oírr, the smallest of the three Aran Islands in Galway Bay.

We booked our tickets with Doolin Ferries in advance and emailed the company with details of Mick’s chair dimensions to ensure the gangway would be wide enough. Gangway width can vary on day return trips, so it’s important for both crew and wheelchair users to keep communication lines open.

Tide times will also influence gangway accessibility (angle tilt), so the crew double-checked the tide charts in advance to confirm it was all systems go.

Holiday on wheels

To keep up with Mick’s clip-on electrical motor when exploring new terrain, I rent e-bikes whenever I can. We found Rothaí Inis Oírr Bike Hire right beside the pier, with a range of bikes to help us explore this beautiful island.

A stay at Teach Susie

Next up on our Wild Atlantic Way bucket list was a much-anticipated stay at Teach Susie at Portnoo, County Donegal. This modern, wheelchair-accessible self-catering family home boasts a range of assistive equipment, as well as catering for both manual and motorised wheelchair users. From the bedroom to the bathroom to the kitchen, accessible design is at the heart of this holiday home, which sleeps up to ten people – perfect for family, friends or both!

Beach fun

Ireland is an island, but beach access isn’t as good as it should be, with many families shut out from enjoying a day at the beach. Narin Beach, however, raises the standards with a Changing Places facility and two types of beach wheelchairs, providing more possibilities for inclusive beach days. Portnoo Pier is a perfect spot for some accessible wave-watching while the viewpoint overlooking the beach has a wheelchair-accessible telescope.

Catching waves

You can’t go to Donegal without surfing, so we advanced-booked a lesson with Ireland’s only adaptive surf charity, Liquid Therapy, to enjoy the waves as a family. Based in Rossnowlagh, the Liquid Therapy team has a range of adaptive surfboards, beach chairs and wetsuit gear, and trained instructors Darragh, Fran and Patrick helped Mick catch some waves with me and Mum.

We took a quick drive to Bundoran afterwards to catch the sunset at the accessible Rougey Cliff Walk, then finished the day with dinner at the nearby restaurant, The Selkie, in Tullaghan, County Leitrim. The perfect end to a busy day!

Discovering Arranmore Island

On a rainy day during our stay, we took a quick ferry trip to Arranmore Island, driving around taking in the views of the lighthouse, turf fields, grazing sheep and St Crone’s Church by the sea. For lunch, we swung by the accessible café Bolgam Beag, a community-run centre that served up a great scampi, chips and salad combo. We also drove to our favourite accessible spot, Ahoy Café in Killybegs, for toasted crab sandwiches and fish tacos.

Gorgeous Glenveagh

To end our amazing stay, we had to visit Glenveagh National Park, where we pre-booked two e-bikes for Mum and me to keep up with Mick. The bikes were rented onsite from local company GrassRoutes Bike Hire, which is also expanding its inclusive fleet of wheels from “ability bikes” to a Mountain Trike e-push chair.

Breathtaking scenery greeted us as we explored around Lough Beagh, spotting some native red deer on the flanks of the Derryveagh Mountains as we cycled past old oaks, rowans and holly (bring your binoculars). After our cycle, we had a much-needed feed at the accessible Fara Óg’s Bar & Restaurant. Donegal may be known for its rugged landscapes, but that doesn’t always equate to inaccessibility. From our experience, for tourists like us, it leads the way in progressive wheelchair-accessible tourism.

Follow the adventures of Leona and Mick @TheStruggleIsWheel.