Burnfoot, Bun na hAbhann, Co. Donegal

Bun na hAbhann · Co. Donegal

The first village inside Donegal off the Derry road, on land pulled out of Lough Swilly, with the great fort of Aileach on the hill above.

Burnfoot is the first village you hit inside Donegal if you come off the Derry road and point yourself at Inishowen. It is a working commuter village - a strip along the N13/R238 corridor, a few shops, a couple of pubs, a big modern factory on the edge - rather than a place that sells itself to visitors. Most people drive through it on the way to somewhere with a beach. That is honest, and it is also why the things around Burnfoot are quieter than they ought to be.

The name is a small history lesson. "Burn" is the Scots word for a stream, carried over by Plantation settlers, so Burnfoot is the foot of the burn; the Irish, Bun na hAbhann, says exactly the same. The flat farmland around the village is younger than the name. In the 19th century a shallow arm of Lough Swilly stretching from Burnfoot through Burt to Bridgend was embanked and drained, and that reclaimed ground now grows Grianan Farm, one of the biggest farms in the country. There was a plan to cut a canal from the sea near Derry so Burnfoot could reach Londonderry port; the engineer Sir John Rennie the Younger priced it, and it never happened.

What you actually come for sits just outside the village. On the hill above Burt is Grianan of Aileach, a restored stone ringfort with one of the great views in the north - Lough Swilly on one side, Lough Foyle on the other, Inishowen rolling away to the north. At the foot of that hill is Burt Church, a circular 1960s chapel built deliberately in the shape of the fort, voted Ireland's building of the century. Burnfoot is the village you pass through to reach both, and the village that hurling-mad Burt draws its players from.

Population

413 (2022)

Founded

Plantation-era crossroads; railway village from 1864

Coords

55.0586° N, 7.4050° W

01 / 08

At a glance.

Three things every local will eventually mention. Read these and you've already understood more than most day-trippers do.

01 The name

Bun na hAbhann - the foot of the river, in a Scots tongue.

The English name is a Scots-Ulster word: "burn" for a small river, so "foot of the burn". The Irish, Bun na hAbhann, says the same thing. Plantation settlers and the river that runs down to the lough both left their mark on what the place is called.

Stories & lore → 02 The land

Flat farmland that used to be sea.

Much of the ground between Burnfoot, Burt and Bridgend was reclaimed from a shallow arm of Lough Swilly in the 19th century. It now carries Grianan Farm, one of the largest farms in Ireland. A canal to Derry was drawn up and abandoned on cost.

Stories & lore → 03 The hill

Grianan of Aileach watching over the whole thing.

Two kilometres up the road, the stone ringfort of Aileach sits at 250m with Loughs Swilly and Foyle laid out below. Burt Church at the foot of the hill is built in its image. Burnfoot is the village you pass through to reach both.

Walks & outings →

02 / 08

The pubs.

None of these are themed Irish pubs, because they don't need to be. A few that earn the trip:

The Foot Inn

Old village local

Village bar

Burnfoot's own pub, opened in 1928 when it was the Star Hotel. A straightforward Inishowen village bar on the main road - a pint, the racing or the match on, and a local crowd. Not a destination, but the genuine article and the one that has been here longest.

McIntyre's 19th Bar

Roadside local at Elaghbeg

Bar

Out at Elaghbeg on the edge of Burnfoot. A second local option if the Foot Inn is quiet or shut. Plain and unfussy. Check it is open before you make a special trip.

03 / 08

Where to eat.

Place	Type	€	Local note
Harry's Bar & Restaurant	Bar & restaurant, Bridgend (5 min)	€€€	Not in Burnfoot proper - it is a couple of minutes up the road in Bridgend - but it is the one place in this corner worth driving for. Run by Donal Doherty, son of the original Harry, cooking almost entirely from Inishowen produce: fish off the Greencastle boats, vegetables from their own gardens. It has been a serious kitchen for years and pulls a crowd out of Derry. Book at the weekend.

04 / 08

Stories & lore.

The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.

19th-century reclamation

Land out of the lough

For a long time the ground between Burnfoot, Burt and Bridgend was not ground at all - it was a shallow, tidal arm of Lough Swilly. In the 19th century it was embanked and drained, turning sea into some of the flattest, richest farmland in Donegal. That reclaimed land now carries Grianan Farm, one of the largest farms in Ireland. There had also been a scheme to cut a canal from the sea near Derry to Burnfoot, so the village could reach Londonderry port; the engineer Sir John Rennie the Younger costed it and the plan was dropped. The fields you drive past on the flat are the result of the part that did get built.

A royal fort on the hill

Grianan of Aileach

Above Burt, a couple of kilometres from Burnfoot, the stone ringfort of Grianan of Aileach stands at around 250m. It was a seat of the Northern Ui Neill and is one of the most complete ring-forts in the country, heavily restored in the 1870s. From the wall-walk you look down on Lough Swilly to the west and Lough Foyle to the east at the same time, with Inishowen spread out north. There is free roadside parking near the top. It is the single best reason to turn off the main road here.

St Aengus', 1967 - building of the century

Burt Church

At the foot of the Aileach hill stands one of the most admired modern buildings in Ireland. St Aengus' Church, the "Burt Chapel", was designed by the Derry architect Liam McCormick and built between 1964 and 1967, its circular plan a deliberate echo of the ancient fort on the hill above. It won the RIAI Triennial Gold Medal in 1971 and, in a national poll at the turn of the century, was voted Ireland's building of the century. It carries work by the sculptor Oisin Kelly. You can see it from the road; it rewards stopping for.

16 county titles in a row

Burt and the hurling

Burnfoot sits in the parish that feeds Burt GAA, and Burt are not a normal small-village club. In a county where Gaelic football is everything, Burt are the hurling stronghold of Inishowen - winners of sixteen Donegal Senior Hurling Championships in a row from 1991 to 2006, a run honoured years later with a civic reception. They have gone on winning Ulster honours since. If you wonder why a village this size has the playing fields it does, this is the answer: it is a hurling place in a football county.

05 / 08

Things to do outside.

Wear waterproofs. Bring a sandwich. Tell someone where you're going if it's the mountain.

Grianan of Aileach A steady climb up the road and on foot to the ringfort at roughly 250m. The reward is the double view - Swilly one side, Foyle the other, Inishowen to the north. Free roadside parking near the summit, so you can drive most of it and walk the last stretch if the legs object. Take a clear day; the whole point is the view.

4 km returndistance

1 hourtime

Inch Wildfowl Reserve loop Level walking on the reclaimed shore of Inch, a few minutes from Burnfoot, around the wildfowl reserve where the Swilly estuary widens. Geese, swans and curlew in the cold months; flat and easy underfoot, suitable for most. Bring binoculars and a flask. Free parking at the reserve entrance.

8 kmdistance

2 hourstime

06 / 08

When to go.

There is no bad time. There are different times.

Spring

Mar-May

Clear bright days are when Grianan of Aileach earns its name - you want to see both loughs, and that needs visibility. The reclaimed flats green up. Good walking weather without the summer traffic heading for the beaches.

◉ Go

Summer

Jun-Aug

Long evenings and the best odds of a clear view from the fort. Burnfoot itself stays quiet while the cars stream past for the Inishowen beaches. Book Harry's at the weekend.

◉ Go

Autumn

Sep-Oct

The wildfowl start to return to Inch, and the light on the loughs from the fort is at its best. A strong, underrated month here.

◉ Go

Winter

Nov-Feb

Short days and weather coming off the loughs can shut down the view entirely - and the view is the reason to stop. Inch is excellent for wintering geese and swans if you wrap up. Pick your day.

◐ Mind yourself

07 / 08

What to skip.

Honestly? Don't bother.

If a local was sitting beside you, this is the bit where they'd lean in.

Treating Burnfoot itself as the destination

It is a working commuter and factory village, not a postcard. The good stuff - the fort, the church, Inch, Harry's - is all just outside it. Use Burnfoot as the turn-off, not the stop.

Grianan of Aileach on a clouded-in day

The entire reason to climb the hill is the double view of Lough Swilly and Lough Foyle. With low cloud you get a fine fort and a wall of grey. Save it for clear weather.

Expecting a big choice of places to eat or drink

This is a small village - a couple of bars and the road to Harry's in Bridgend. Don't arrive hungry late at night expecting options. Buncrana and Derry both have more, and both are close.

Getting there.

By car

Derry to Burnfoot is about 15 minutes via the A2/N13 across the border. Letterkenny is around 25 minutes southwest on the N13 via Bridgend. Buncrana is about 20 minutes north on the R238.

By bus

Local Link Donegal and Bus Eireann services along the Derry-Buncrana corridor stop at Burnfoot. Derry city, with its full bus hub, is about 15 minutes away.

By train

No railway now. Burnfoot had a station on the Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway from 1864 until the line closed in 1948. The nearest working trains are at Derry's Waterside station.

By air

City of Derry Airport is about 20 minutes away. Belfast International is roughly 90 minutes. Dublin Airport is around 3 hours.