Instead of visiting the St. Patrick’s Day parades, we did the annual Ballycotton to Ballinrostig cliff walk. It’s the only occasion in the year when the coast is opened up to the public. In clement weather it’s one of the country’s most beautiful hikes, travelling over fields, cliffs and rolling hills with the sea to your left all the while. The walk takes in the beaches of Ballycroneen, Ballybrannigan and Inch. This 19km walk is one to be savoured every step of the way.

The conditions today were perfect. Plenty of sunshine, no winds and crystal clear visibility in all directions. As you can see from some of the shots below, the real winner were the skies: they were incredibly varied and detailed: a photographer’s dream.

The walk from Inch Beach to Ballinrostig is the most challenging part of the journey for the weary traveller. The soup and pint at the end make it all worthwhile.

I took a brief time-lapse movie at the end of the walk. This video details the slowly rolling clouds from Inch Beach. I hope you like it.