�ay 2
The force awakens
Punching out of the Atlantic some eight
miles offshore, the Skelligs are more than
a Star Wars location. They’re the ultimate
UNESCO World Heritage Site, a pair of jagged
islands topped by the remains of a monastic
settlement dating back 1,500 years. Pat Joe
Murphy, my boat captain, is a bear of a man
with belly flopping over his belt. He advises
his 12 passengers to pull on oilskins provided
for the crossing. The engine roars to life.
Skellig Michael, the larger of the rocks,
is raw and rugged. The crossing takes the
best part of an hour, slamming over pukey
Atlantic swells. The island, meanwhile, has
no toilets or facilities. (‘Take care as fatalities
have occurred’, a sign warns.)
You need to be fit, bring a backpack and
come prepared for four seasons. But when
you do, you’ll remember it forever. This is
Ireland’s Machu Picchu.
Climbing over 600 steps, the tang of salt
sits on my lips. I stop to admire pink lollipops
of sea thrift and huddles of unfazed puffins.
Finally, I round a corner to see the reveal
— a cluster of corbelled stone huts, crosses
and ruins overlooking some of the wildest
scenery in Western Europe.
For some this is a pilgrimage to pose for
selfies with Jedi cloaks and lightsabers. But
Skellig Michael beats anything you’ll see on
screen. “It feels like New York,” says a woman
beside me. “No matter what anyone tells you
in advance, it’s still not disappointing.”
Coast with the most
If ‘coasteering’ sounds like a made-up
sport, that’s because it is. Squeeze into a
wetsuit, old trainers, helmet and buoyancy
vest, and head off on a wacky coastal
obstacle course that sees you swimming,
climbing, jumping, caving and whooping
your lungs out along the Wild Atlantic Way
(there’s craic beyond the pubs, you know).
From €50 per person (£42). moractive.comWEEKENDER54 natgeotraveller.co.uk