Ireland Guide
Introduction to Ireland
Among the romantic preconceptions visitors bring to Ireland, it is their expectations of the landscape that are most likely to be fulfilled and indeed surpassed. An uncommon geological richness and the warming effect of the North Atlantic produce an astonishing diversity of terrain on this small island, accompanied overhead by an ever-changing canvas of wind-blown cloud effects. Ancient, crumpled mountains tumble into the ocean at the fringes of the land, which is splashed throughout with green, misty lakes and primeval bogland. In the east, the lonely, beautiful granite of the Wicklow Hills sits in utter contrast to the horse-grazing plain of the Curragh just a few dozen kilometres away, and in Connemara on the west coast, the ancient poets' "many-coloured land", you can walk from beach to mountain to fen, from seaweed-strewn inlet to lily-covered lough, in a matter of hours. Coupled with the unhurried nature of rural living, this scenic array encourages leisurely investigation, especially on foot or by bicycle.