Following the spirit of the world’s longest coastal driving route, Paul Clements sets out on a meandering journey to discover the real west of Ireland. He travels from Banba’s Crown, the farthest-flung northerly point in Ireland, to World’s End in Kinsale, one of the metal gates embedded into the walls that originally enclosed the old town.

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 whose veins run thick with the blood of a warrior queen.

Twenty-five years ago Paul hitchhiked the same route. 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. He discovers that, although gossip and chatter on street corners has shifted to café culture and social media, 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, while tagging along is the swashbuckling presence of the Celtic sea god, Manannán mac Lir.  

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