Mayo, Ireland
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Clew Bay Wheeler
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200
XP
1 day
The Great Western Greenway: Westport to Achill
200 XP
The Achill extension of the Midland Great Western Railway was built in the 1890s and closed in 1937, and the trackbed lay there for more than seventy years until it reopened as the Great Western Greenway: 42 kilometres of off-road trail from Westport through Newport and Mulranny to Achill, its first section opened in 2010 and the full route on 29 July 2011. You ride with Clew Bay on one side and Croagh Patrick across the water. At the Westport end stands Westport House, for three centuries the seat of the Brownes, Marquesses of Sligo, and designed by Richard Cassels; the family sold it in 2017 and the house itself is closed, though the estate around it stays open.
Required Activities
1
of 4
Cycle the Great Western Greenway from Westport toward Newport, on a trail 42 km long end to end
2
of 4
Ride into the Westport Estate demesne at the greenway's Westport end — the house is closed, but the grounds are open
3
of 4
Take a break in Newport on the way
4
of 4
Find out why the railway to Achill closed in 1937 and lay unused for more than seventy years
Cycle the Great Western Greenway from Westport toward Newport, on a trail 42 km long end to end
Ride into the Westport Estate demesne at the greenway's Westport end — the house is closed, but the grounds are open
Take a break in Newport on the way
Find out why the railway to Achill closed in 1937 and lay unused for more than seventy years
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XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
200 XP
Potential total
200 XP
Stop 3 of 3 · Westport
7 nights · 8 things to do · Ireland, Connacht
A week-long loop from Ballina: salmon on the Moy and the 1798 French landing, Achill's deserted village and Ireland's first dark sky park, then the Greenway and Croagh Patrick from Westport.
Stop 4 of 6 · Westport and Croagh Patrick
10 nights · 14 things to do · Ireland, Connacht
Ten nights in a loop from Dublin to the west and back: Clonmacnoise on the Shannon, three nights in Connemara for Roundstone, the Sky Road and Killary, then Croagh Patrick and Athlone.
Stop 1 of 7 · Westport and Clew Bay
14 nights · 19 things to do · Ireland, Munster
Two weeks down the Atlantic edge: seven campsites, each with the challenges around it, from Croagh Patrick to the 618 steps of Skellig Michael.
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