Amongst the most popular places to visit in Donegal and indeed in the whole of Ireland and in particular the 2,500km Wild Atlantic Way that stretches from Donegal's border with Derry right down to Kinsale in Cork, Slieve League's impressive sloping sea cliffs are inspiring.

The impressive cliffs and uninterrupted Atlantic views of Slieve League are located approximately one hour's drive west of Donegal Town in the south west of Ireland's most northerly county, Donegal.

On my previous visit to these cliffs that rise to about 600 metres off the Atlantic Ocean the weather was bright and golden with beautiful light striking the facets of grey rock and green grass.

On this occasion, summer 2021, it was warm but overcast so there was no direct, golden sunshine light. Still, at least the Atlantic weather was sympathetic to our photographic pursuits and there was plenty of colour as you can see in this image.

Summer in Ireland, it's a fine season - warm winds, long days and occasionally a heat that envelops everything. It isn't the first thing people think of when they think of Ireland; usually changeable conditions and rain is what comes to mind, not the 31C-plus temperatures that the island has seen in July 2021.

In most years there is a balance, warm days and mild nights; rain followed by sunshine and so on. This year we have had a cold and wet start to spring and summer, but the second half of July 2021 has made up for a lot of that with record breaking temperatures across the northern half of Ireland.

From a scenic drive through the Wicklow Mountains on a fine, summer's day.

The long and open road looks almost plonked down across the sloping, almost treeless landscape of the Irish countryside only 40 minutes from Dublin City.

This road, closed due to snow in winter and melting under scorching sun in the summer, is a fine example of the scenic drives in Ireland.

Join Panoramic Ireland for a photography tour/workshop/experience in the scenic Irish countryside in 2021, 2022 and beyond.

A lot has been written about scenic drives in Ireland, there is the Wild Atlantic Way as well as the Causeway Coastal Route to name two routes but the whole country is scenic.

For instance, County Kerry's Dingle Peninsula is a scenic drive worth making, read more here.

Panoramic Ireland is no stranger to photographing autumnal scenes with the colour and majesty of nature as we head beyond the autumnal equinox, see here for more posts from Ireland's lovely countryside.

Here, in a rural part of the Emerald Isle, a narrow grass-covered laneway heads along the edge of green fields bounded by brightly coloured trees and shrubs bearing in this case the yellows of autumn.

A fine scene don't you think? Have you been to Ireland in autumn?

This week I have also been photographing some iconic bands, including 1980s megastars a-ha who have started their world tour in Ireland - see more here.

The scenic road isn't always the one with world-famous views, vistas of the ocean or snaking upwards through the mountains.

Often it's the road that takes you further, exploring a countryside that you want to travel deeper into.

Here, the straight lines and smooth tarmac undulates across the barren, treeless landscape of County Antrim, miles from the UNESCO World Heritage Site the Giant's Causeway, the Dark Hedges made famous by Game of Thrones and the fine views from the Antrim Coast Road.

It's no secret that Ireland is a scenic place, very often visitors are drawn to the big open landscapes, the famous places such as the Cliffs of Moher, Dingle or the Giant's Causeway.

But there are many fine places to be found in other parts of the Emerald Isle.

On my travels around the back roads of Ireland, I was looking for an old graveyard beside a river.

Sometimes, as here in this image the journey is as scenic as the destination.

On our way to a photography workshop in the west of Ireland, heavy rain arrived - contrary to the forecast for the day, so we stopped to photograph what was only one of many scenic roads on our Wild Atlantic Way drive.

This section of narrow, twisty road was perfect as it was lined with trees and radiated fresh green colour on the overcast day.

This brings into focus, excuse the pun, what to do when the weather forecast doesn't go to plan - be ready to adapt.

One of my favourite Irish locations is no longer a secret place, my own County Antrim's Dark Hedges.

Known to us locally as Bregagh Road the Dark Hedges have seen a lot of visitors in recent years due to the influx of Game of Thrones fans from around the world.

This avenue of beech trees has become arguably Ireland's most photographed road, I've written about it before here on Panoramic Ireland of course but this is one of my favourites from 2006, long before this scenic road became famous and had hardly any visitors.

Join me on a photography tour of the Antrim Coast, a place I know well, to learn how to make better travel photographs here at the Dark Hedges and along the amazing Causeway Coast.

The past few weeks have been busy here at panoramicireland.com as I traverse the length and breadth of Ireland.