Wandering Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way: From Banba's Crown to World's End

By Paul Clements

Following the spirit of the world’s longest coastal driving route, Paul Clements sets out to discover the real west of Ireland. Along the way he encounters memorable characters living on the Atlantic edge and presents a unique portrait of their lives. We meet the last man standing on a remote Galway island, listen to the banter at Puck Fair, and hear from a descendant of the original sixteenth-century wild Atlantic woman. Tagging along on his meandering journey is the swashbuckling presence of the Celtic sea god, Manannán Mac Lir.

For his first travel book in 1991, Paul hitchhiked the same route. Now retracing his steps along the Wild Atlantic Way – this time by car and bike, on horseback and on foot – he looks at how Ireland has changed and realises everyone still has a story to tell. Laced with wry humour and endless curiosity, this is a distinctive mix of travel writing, social history and nature.

Also by this author: ‘The Height of Nonsense: The Ultimate Irish Road Trip’

Praise for this author: “Stacks of free copies should be sent to all our tourist desks abroad.” – The Irish Times. “For sheer pleasure, nothing I read beat Paul Clements’ ‘The Height of Nonsense’.” – The Observer. “A compulsive, educational, laugh-out-loud read.” – Sunday Independent. "A fascinating journey around the hidden corners of Ireland." – BBC Radio

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Collins Press
• Release date: Mar 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781848895355

Paul Clements

A journalist, writer, and broadcaster, Paul Clements is the author of five travel books and a biography of Richard Hayward, adapted for BBC television. He knew Jan Morris personally for thirty years, edited a collection of tributes to her on her 80th birthday, and spent four months at Oxford University where he wrote the first critical study of her work, published by University of Wales Press (1998). A former BBC assistant editor, he is a recipient of the Reuter Journalist’s Fellowship Programme, a Fellow of Green Templeton College, Oxford, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and a member of the Royal Society of Literature. He lives with his wife and son in Belfast.