The blowhole appeared before anything else did

We had barely left the car park when we saw the fencing and viewing platform. I didn’t know there was a blowhole here. We came for the sea stack. But there it was: a hole in the ground, the Atlantic slowly churning inside, waves folding in far below. No big eruption. Just water doing something strange and quiet in a field.

We spent a good few minutes just watching the water move inside it. There’s something hypnotic about it — the way the waves push in and recede, over and over, with nowhere to go.

Turns out there are only two blowholes in Ireland. We found one by accident.

The platform is better than it needs to be

The viewing area was well set up. Good fencing, a shelter underneath that gets you out of the wind. It was drizzling when we were there and the ground was slippery, so we took it slow. The walk from the car park is short, which I was glad about. Wet grass near a cliff edge has a way of making you pay attention.

The sea stack hides until it doesn’t

We walked toward the cliff edge to find the sea stack.

You can’t see it until you’re almost at the edge. The headland hides it completely. I knew it was there, I’d seen photos, and it still caught me off guard when it came into view against the sky. A big column of rock standing alone in the sea. It’s called Dún Briste. It broke off from the mainland in 1393. People were apparently living on top of it at the time.

There’s no way up anymore. Whatever was up there, structures, soil, any trace of those farmers, has been cut off for over 600 years.

Getting there

About thirty minutes from the hotel, somewhere near Ballina. Easy enough to drive. The kind of road where you’re not sure you’re going the right way, and then the car park appears.

I went for the sea stack. The blowhole is what stayed with me.

Getting to Downpatrick Head

• Put Downpatrick Head into your GPS. The head is about 6km north of the Ballycastle village.
• Coming from Crossmolina, don’t look for signs to the head. Find the Wild Atlantic Way North marker in the centre of Ballycastle and turn there.
• From Ballina: about 30 mins. From Westport: about an hour. From Sligo: take the N4, N59, then R314 — roughly 90 minutes.
• Car park is free. The sea stack is about a 10-minute walk from it.
• The car park sits close to the water. Sea spray can salt your car a bit, just so you know.