4 Best Sights in Belmullet, Connemara and County Mayo

Located in the southern territory of the Mullet Peninsula and covering 110 square km (42½ square miles) of Atlantic bogland and mountainous wilderness, Ballycroy is one of only six national parks in Ireland and utopia for the outdoor adventurer. Marked looped trails offer staggering views across Blacksod Bay and the Achill Islands. Once the sun sets, the area becomes a "dark-sky park," where visitors arrive with flashlights to witness the uninterrupted view of the heavens. The park is equipped with a visitor center and café. To camp, contact the park manager.

Few would believe that the modest, sandstone lighthouse on the southeast tip of the Mullet Peninsula could have had a pivotal role in history, but a weather report issued by the lighthouse keeper on June 3, 1944, convinced General Dwight D. Eisenhower to delay the D-Day invasion of Normandy by 24 hours. This delay saved the Allies from a catastrophic fate. Blacksod Lighthouse dates from 1864 and embraces the full brunt of the Atlantic Ocean's extreme weather.

Past the windswept townland of Gladree and seemingly at the very edge of the world is this magnificent blowhole, drilled vertically through solid rock by the elements to create an epic, natural fountain when the weather is wild and waves pound the shoreline below. Encased in wire and accessed through a triangular stone sculpture, the site has spectacular views across to Eagle Island Lighthouse and the Atlantic Ocean.   

Head onto Bellmullet's Shore Road to discover the Tidal Pool, a feat of engineering and imagination from the 1980s that facilitates an ocean swim without the incumbent risk to life that the Atlantic's strong currents usually pose. Two large concrete basins fill and ebb with the ocean's water at  high tide---one deep, the other shallow---offering hardy sorts an opportunity to swim or just soak in the waters of Blacksod Bay, depending on the tide, and within the confined space of a 20-meter pool. Of course, the ocean still can be hazardous with waves or sudden storms, so take precautions at all times.