A delightful night in Donegal in the Shandon Hotel and Spa

We’d been looking forward to travelling to Co Donegal for several weeks especially with Covid restrictions starting to disappear in the rear view mirror. It’s one of our favourite ‘Staycation’ counties.

My wife is a top class driver, but a low class passenger and I admit that I can be a bit lackadaisical when it comes to some things, like making sure there’s plenty of diesel in the tank before setting off.

So it wasn’t an altogether pleasurable drive to Dunfanaghy, despite the incredible scenery that Donegal offers, because I’d convinced myself that the next petrol station would be cheaper than the one we were approaching. And so with just 10 more miles worth of fuel showing on the dashboard display, I finally had to bite the bullet and fill up.

And for the next ten miles I had to listen to an explanation as to why I was so stupid that I ended up paying 10p a litre more than if I’d filled up at Bridgend like any sensible motorist would have done.

For both of us, it was a case of love at first sight when we arrived at the Shandon Hotel because the views were spectacular and we’d been given a room with a sea view over Sheephaven Bay.

The facilities at the hotel are excellent, and there is a lobby, bar, swimming pool, thermal spa, relaxation room and outdoor Canadian hot-tub that all make the most of the stunning scenery surrounding the hotel. But I had forgotten to bring any swimwear so I couldn’t make the most of everything the hotel had to offer.

Diane has a very serious allergy to prawns; she carries an epipen and there’s always an element of anxiety over dining in a restaurant we aren’t familiar with, especially one with lots of seafood items on the menu. So she always informs the receptionist about the allergy when we arrive at a hotel and plan to eat there.

She was assured that a note would be given to the kitchen staff. And when we arrived at the restaurant hours later, we found that the person showing us to our table had been made aware of it, as had the waiter who served us, who reassured Diane that the catering and waiting staff would “make sure you are looked after”.

That made a huge difference to the dining experience as Diane felt she was in safe hands.

I think a lot can be said about a hotel by the efficiency of its staff and the staff here could not have been more friendly or helpful. So it wasn’t a surprise to learn that The Shandon is ranked number 12 in TripAdvisor’s top hotels in Ireland.

The food was delicious and we sat on to enjoy that night’s entertainment, listening to an excellent duo singing well-known songs in a jazzy style. The atmosphere was great, and a crowd of young people occasionally joined the duo in song and craic. They were in very high spirits when we decided to go to our bedroom.

Two of them weren’t in such high spirits when we met them on the way to breakfast the next morning though they insisted they’d enjoyed every minute of the night before.

Like ourselves, they had never stayed in the Shandon Hotel and Spa before, but wished they could be there for longer.

The consolation was that we could still spend time in the area after checking out. Dunfanaghy is packed with beauty spots, including a beach where the corncrake can still be heard. So we visited a few of these before setting off on the journey home.

Diane has learned, admittedly from experience, that it’s not a good idea to let me drive along a rural road that gets progressively thinner, to a point where there’s a grass path along the middle of it. As often as not, it’s proven to be a road to nowhere.

We - sorry I - missed a turn on the drive home and we began rising through the low cloud and grass appeared between the wheels of the car. As Diane was prediciting that this would surely come to a dead end and we’d have “a handlin’” if we encountered oncoming traffic on the way back, we ran out of road.

But any annoyance was blown away by the view. We’d arrived at Horn Head, and even against the dark skies that threatened heavy rain, the views from here were incredible..

We later learned that had we left the car and gone just a little higher on foot, we’d have enjoyed a more panoramic and even more superb view that included Tory Island.

However, we won’t have too long to wait to rectify that - we’ve already decided to go back to the Shandon Hotel for my birthday next month. And to finish the climb to the top of Horn Head - this time using diesel bought in Bridgend.