Rugged lighthouses

Ireland’s lighthouses are also great places of solitude, assuming you don’t mind sharing them with the birdlife, of course. Many of these structures have been carefully restored and protected from the elements, and you can enjoy the ultimate escape from the world with an overnight stay in a cosy lightkeepers’ cottage or in a cliffside tower. From Blackhead overlooking Belfast Lough to Loop Head on a deserted County Clare headland, or St John's Point in County Down, the perfect base to explore the Mourne Mountains to Fanad Head guarding over Lough Swilly and Mulroy Bay in Donegal, Ireland’s coastal guardians have got you covered if you’re looking for some uninterrupted “me time”.