Secret spots to explore away from the crowds in Donegal

Yvonne Gordon takes a trip off the beaten track to visit Cashelnagor Railway Station

A river flows through a valley in the wilderness of County Donegal surrounded by mountains, hills, and grassland. A hiking path leads us along the water into the distance.

The road becomes narrow as we turn off the main road. The houses thin away, then trees disappear as we navigate the twists and turns. 

Thick hedgerows turn to low furze and the landscape soon opens up, with flat bog either side of the road and views to mountains way off in the distance. Looking along a straight stretch of single-track road ahead, just when I think it is leading to the middle of nowhere, I spot the gable end of the building in the distance. There it is — Cashelnagor Railway Station. My search for a remote self-catering place to stay has led us here, to a restored train station. In Donegal.