OCTOBER FIELD NOTES: Full force of the Atlantic
Out on the cliffs, there's nowhere to hide from the weather — it hits you full force, wind first, then rain, mixed in with salt spray. In last month’s Field Notes I wrote that in October walks take on a completely different character in autumn and we exceeded expectations on that one. We explored part of Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way in the last days of September, and autumn was already unmistakable — not in colour, but in the chill that settled in the moment the sun dropped behind the cliffs and in the crisp morning air.
The road took us from Rossnowlagh Beach up through Donegal, out to the wind-battered cliffs at Slieve League (Sliabh Liag), through the country town of Ardara, on to the seaside town of Portrush — rain never far behind us — and finished, fittingly, at the Giant's Causeway. Slieve League and the Causeway both do the same trick: they make you feel very small. Sea spray drove up the cliff faces and hung in the air, green fields ran right to the edge of the drop, and the smell of peat smoke drifted from the villages we passed through — it took us a while to realise what that distinct woody smell was.
The wildness continued inland, but the scenery changed to gentle green rolling hills, dotted with little hamlets and towns. There were cafes with fantastic coffee and scones worth stopping for in every place we passed through, pubs spilling over with music and Guinness by evening, and people everywhere who seemed to have time for a chat regardless of the weather outside.
Atlantic Way seasonal notes
Wind-battered cliffs at Slieve League, with sea spray carried high up the rock face
Green fields running to the very edge of the drop, right along the coast road
Peat smoke drifting from village chimneys, woodsmoke thick in the evening air
Rain sweeping in off the Atlantic with little warning
Seabirds riding the updrafts along the cliffs
Road Trip in Autumn
A few things we'd do again.
Pack light — a different hotel most nights, and more stairs than lifts, means you'll be grateful for one bag you can actually carry rather than a case you're dragging up three flights.
Keep snacks in the car; coffee stops were not too hard to find, but proper food isn't always where you need it to be, especially once you're off the main roads.
A paper map and a decent guidebook earn their keep too — the best moments of this trip were the unplanned ones, a headland or a viewpoint we'd never have found by following a phone with patchy signal.
And whatever else you pack, make sure it's warm and waterproof enough to get you up a steep hillside and back down again — autumn on this coast doesn't wait for you to find shelter first.
What To Wear This Month
It was the kind of trip where the right layer earns its place fast. The Trail 1/4 Zip Microfleece went on at Rossnowlagh and barely came off — warm enough for the early starts, breathable enough for the walking, and it shrugged off everything the coast threw at it, from cliff-top wind to drizzle that never quite turned to proper rain. The cap turned out to be more useful than expected too, keeping hair out of my eyes on the cliff-top gusts, a new feature.
Shop the full range
From coastal winds to what's coming next — November brings shorter days and muddier ground, and with it, our focus turns to cosy layers and muddy walks. If this month was about standing up to the weather, next month is about settling into it. We'll share more in November Field Notes.