Westport to Achill and back on the Great Western Greenway

Cycle comfortably and with variety along a former railway line to Achill Island. The way back offers the best views of the 365 islets in the bay of Westport (Clew Bay). Great view of the bay and delicious food in Mulranny at McLoughlins.

Finally, another greenway, the Bealach Glas Greenway. It's a beautiful ride, either past or through the sheep, and I highly recommend it. Unfortunately, we had to abandon the route shortly before our destination due to heavy rain—who would have thought it? Northern Ireland is getting closer.

If you're ever in Westport and like to ride a bike, be sure to make time for the Greenway. A real joy, what a great day today was! And otherwise I'm not inclined to superlatives.

The Great Western Greenway from Achill to Westport is 49km, running along the Eastern and Northern stretches of Clew Bay in Co. Mayo. It's a beautiful greenway, the longest off-road walking&cycling trail in Ireland. You can hire bikes / e-bikes from either end of the greenway at Achill Sound or Westport. There's also the option to arrange for a shuttle, so you could cycle one way. 100% recommend!

Two of the best sections of Great Western Greenway. You can skip Westport- Newport as one that mostly leading you beside busy road and focus on other two that offering amazing views and beautiful landscapes. You will thank me later.

With a strong tailwind, but also a lot of rain, we headed back from Achill Island to mainland Ireland and on to Westport today. After raining on and off during the night, it promptly started raining again as we were packing up our tents. A brief break in the rain, we set off, and after 2 km, it rained again, continuing with short breaks until almost 4 p.m. After that, the weather improved, and the sun even made a brief appearance. We had already cycled a large part of the way up in moderate weather, and our hopes of seeing more today were dashed. The weather was even worse. It was pleasantly warm, so much of the route was a real cycle path, making it a wonderful place to ride. Thanks to the tailwind, we arrived at the campsite our friends had booked quite early, and dinner in the campsite restaurant was also delicious!

As the daily rain was due to hit my stage from 1 p.m., I set off after an early breakfast. On the Greenway, I cycled unhindered and safely away from the roads to my destination for the day in Westport. The campsite is beautifully situated next to Westport House. I chose a slightly elevated position so that the water can drain off better. Otherwise, today it was between 12 and 16 degrees C with a stormy wind, of course from the front 😅💨💨💨🚴🏽‍♂️. As I still had a lot of time, I went for a walk around the park and to Lidl. I found Cabanossi and even pretzels 🥨 and am now looking forward to a good dinner with Swabian elements. The pasta is also part of it, of course 😋. A couple (also touring cyclists) from NL, whom I already met at Camping Strandhill, are keeping me company. So today's short trip was another day of regeneration. Oh, and I haven't needed the rain gear yet 😢.