Great Western Greenway

The last passenger train to Achill ran in 1937. The Midland Great Western Railway had pushed its Achill extension across north Mayo in the 1890s to carry seasonal harvest labourers to England and to serve the Atlantic fishing economy; when both trades faded, so did the line. Between April 2010 and July 2011 the abandoned trackbed reopened in stages as the Great Western Greenway, 42 km of off-road cycling and walking trail along the north shore of Clew Bay, from Westport through Newport and Mulranny to Achill Island. It remains the longest dedicated greenway in Ireland, and it was named the country's EDEN winner in 2011 for the regeneration of physical sites.

The landscape is the point. Clew Bay is the wide drowned-drumlin Atlantic inlet that Mayo's tourism reputation has always drawn on. Croagh Patrick stands on the southern shore, Achill closes the western end, and Westport's Georgian streets anchor the east. The trail runs flat on tarmac and gravel across the bay's northern edge, through fishing villages and old cottage clusters, across open bog, and it keeps you off the N59 road entirely.

The numbers behind it hold up. A 2013 study counted an average of 471 cycle trips per day, generating roughly €1.1 million annually for the local economy on a €5.7 million construction outlay. And in October 2024, Europe's first dedicated children's disability cycling hub opened at Mulranny, halfway along the trail.

Plan for April to early November. Outside that window most of the bike-hire operators close, and the open coastal sections take the full force of the Mayo weather. May, June and September are the best of it: sharp Atlantic light, long daylight, and enough riders on the trail to feel social without ever feeling crowded. The family-cycling trade peaks in July and August, when accommodation in Westport and Mulranny sells out. If you must come then, reserve months ahead. The Westport Cycling and Walking Festival usually runs in September (check 2026 dates). Winter riding is possible for the hardier; expect strong winds on the open Mulranny-Achill section and short daylight. The accessible-cycling hub at Mulranny operates seasonally, so confirm dates before building a trip around it.

The train does most of the work. Iarnród Éireann runs Dublin Heuston to Westport in about 3.5 hours, with 4 daily services Mon-Sat and 3 on Sundays, and the Greenway trailhead is a 1 km walk from Westport station through the town. For the far end, Bus Éireann route 440 connects Westport to Achill Sound via Newport and Mulranny, which makes a one-way trip entirely workable: cycle out, bus back. Bike hire operates from Westport, Newport, Mulranny and Achill (Greenway.ie lists the regional hubs), and most operators offer a luggage-transfer service, so a point-to-point ride needs nothing more than a single overnight bag. Coming by air, the Aircoach service from Dublin Airport stops at Westport; Knock Airport is the closest regional airport.

Base yourself along the middle of the trail, not only at the ends. Westport has the deepest accommodation stock, from the Westport Plaza Hotel at the mid-range conference end to the long-running Old Mill Holiday Hostel for backpackers. Newport, the smallest of the three towns, is the most atmospheric; its destination address is Newport House, a Georgian country house with a salmon-fishing tradition (confirm it still operates). In Mulranny the Mulranny Park Hotel is the main option, with several B&Bs along the bay. Achill, at the western end, is a destination in its own right and earns a separate two-night stay if you have the time. For a trip built around the Greenway itself, split two nights between Newport and Mulranny. That puts the rural sections of the trail outside your door, with no long transfers.

Two economies feed this coast: the Atlantic fisheries and the upland sheep farms of the Nephin Beg range. In Westport, An Port Mór on Bridge Street is the long-running fine-dining room for Atlantic seafood, while Sage Restaurant on High Street covers the everyday mid-range. The Tavern Bar in Murrisk, just south of the Greenway start near Croagh Patrick, sets the pub-grub standard after a climb. Stop in Newport at Kelly's Butchers, makers of the Newport black-and-white pudding and still a working butcher's shop. In Mulranny, Nevin's Newfield Inn handles the casual evening meal and the Mulranny Park Hotel dining room the formal one. Out at Achill, Calvey's Restaurant in Keel is the lamb specialist. On Saturday mornings the Westport market sells regional cheese and baked goods, plus local fish.

Ride it end to end over two days, with a night at Mulranny. That is what the trail was built for. The gradients suit any reasonable adult cyclist, and the engineering had parents-with-kids and accessible cycling in mind from the start. Birdwatchers should go slowly: the trail crosses several sections of restored bog landscape and salt-marsh that are excellent for slow ornithology. Break at Newport for the seven-arch railway viaduct and St Patrick's Church, which holds a Harry Clarke stained-glass window, and again at Mulranny, where an 1889 causeway runs out across Trawoughter Bay to a Blue Flag beach backed by machair dune grassland. The Old Irish Goat Centre in the village keeps a herd of the rare native breed and a small craft shop.

Give Croagh Patrick its own day; the Reek, climbed from Murrisk, is the country's most-climbed pilgrimage mountain. At the western end, the Atlantic Drive loop and the deserted village at Slievemore can stretch Achill into a two-day excursion of its own. The accessible-cycling hub at Mulranny, opened in October 2024, offers tricycles and other adapted cycles for visitors with disability needs (check current operating hours and booking process before relying on it). Walkers who want height rather than shoreline should take the Letterkeen Loop, 12 km through the Altaconey valley into the foothills of the Nephin Beg range, roughly four and a half hours with steep pulls. Two short detours off the Newport to Mulranny stretch repay the effort: Burrishoole Abbey, a Dominican friary founded in 1469 and now a national monument, and Rockfleet Castle, one of Grace O'Malley's tower houses.

North of the Greenway the country empties into Wild Nephin National Park. The Ballycroy Visitor Centre is the easiest way in, with an exhibition, a café and the Tóchar Daithí Bán trail, a 2 km wheelchair-accessible boardwalk loop of roughly 45 minutes with Achill on the skyline. The Claggan Mountain Coastal Trail, a second 2 km boardwalk above Bellacragher Bay, is the place to watch for otters and seals. All of it lies inside the gold-tier Mayo Dark Sky Park, whose three official viewing points are Ballycroy, Claggan and the stone Brogan Carroll Bothy at Letterkeen, left open around the clock as shelter; clear autumn and winter nights are what you want. Back at the eastern end, the Clew Bay Heritage Centre on Westport Quay covers the O'Malleys, the working port and Croagh Patrick in a couple of hands-on rooms. Check current hours; several of these sites reduce opening in winter.

• Language: English; Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking) at the Achill end
• Currency: euro
• Plug: UK/Irish type G three-pin
• Money: Cards accepted in bike-hire shops and hotels; cash useful for cafés and the smaller pubs
• Mobile coverage: good in towns, patchy on the open Mulranny-to-Achill stretch
• Weather: Bring a wind/rain layer year-round; the open coastal section is exposed