Cycling the Great Western Greenway, Westport to Achill
The Great Western Greenway gives you 42 traffic-free kilometres around Clew Bay, from Westport through Newport and Mulranny to Achill. How to ride it and where to sleep.
The Great Western Greenway runs for roughly 42 traffic-free kilometres from Westport to Achill, following the old railway line around the north shore of Clew Bay through Newport and Mulranny. It is the ride that kicked off Ireland's greenway boom, and it remains one of the best cycling days in the country for anyone from a lycra club run to a family with a trailer.
What the Great Western Greenway is
The Great Western Greenway follows the trackbed of the Westport to Achill railway, a line that closed in 1937 and lay quiet for seventy years before being reborn as a cycling and walking route. Railway engineers hated hills, which is the whole secret of the thing, because the gradients stay gentle the entire way even as the route climbs along the flank of the bay. The surface is smooth and well maintained, the route is fully separated from traffic apart from a handful of road crossings, and it is signed clearly in both directions. Newport arrives first out of Westport, its seven-arch viaduct now carrying bikes instead of trains above the river. Mulranny follows, draped along its causeway and beach, before the final run to Achill Sound, where the bridge carries you onto Ireland's largest island.
The railway itself lasted barely forty years, built in the 1890s to serve a coast that never had the traffic to sustain it, and the greenway that replaced it succeeded where the trains failed by bringing the world to Clew Bay rather than carrying Mayo away from it. History rides alongside you the whole way. Rockfleet Castle, the tower house most associated with the pirate queen Grace O'Malley, stands by an inlet a short detour off the Newport to Mulranny section, and the ruined friary at Burrishoole sits by the water nearby. Both reward leaning the bike against a wall for twenty minutes, which is exactly the sort of stop the greenway was built for.
Riding it in sections or in one go
Riding the greenway in one go takes a steady cyclist three to four hours of pedalling, though with coffee in Newport and lunch in Mulranny it fills a day very happily. The route breaks into three natural sections, Westport to Newport at roughly 11km, Newport to Mulranny at roughly 18km, and Mulranny to Achill at roughly 13km, and each works as an out-and-back on its own. If you are doing the full distance one-way, ride Westport towards Achill, since the prevailing wind off the Atlantic more often helps than hinders in that direction and the scenery builds to its climax rather than starting with it. Families and casual riders usually pick a single section, and there is no shame in it, the greenway rewards a slow middle far more than a fast total.
Each section has its own character. Westport to Newport is the gentle warm-up, rolling through farmland with the bay appearing and disappearing on your left, and it doubles as the easiest family outing on the route. Newport to Mulranny is the longest and quietest stretch, threading between the Nephin Beg foothills and the shore past Rockfleet, where you can ride twenty minutes without meeting a soul outside July. Mulranny to Achill is the showpiece, and plenty of riders do it twice in a day without a word of complaint. Splitting the route over two easy days with a night in Newport or Mulranny turns a good day out into a proper small tour.
Sleep at either end, Westport town or out on Achill itself
Plan the ride
Great Western Greenway essentials at a glance
The short version to settle over breakfast, whichever end of the bay you wake up on.
- Roughly 42km, Westport to Achill, traffic-free the whole way
- Three natural sections via Newport and Mulranny
- Ride Westport towards Achill, the wind is more often behind you
- Bike and e-bike hire with shuttles at all four points
- Mulranny to Achill is the scenic high point over Clew Bay
Bike hire and shuttles in Westport, Newport, Mulranny and Achill
Bike hire operators work from all four points on the route, Westport, Newport, Mulranny and Achill, and between them they solve the only real logistical puzzle of a one-way ride, which is getting back. Most hire companies run shuttle services that drop riders at one end and collect them at the other, or let you leave the bike at the far end, so you can ride the full 42km without ever retracing a metre. Hybrids, e-bikes, kids' bikes, trailers and tag-alongs are all standard stock, and e-bikes in particular have transformed who rides the full route, since a headwind out of Mulranny stops being a worry when the motor hums in behind you. Book bikes and shuttles ahead in July and August, because fine weekends clear the fleets out, and tell the operator your plan so they can time the pickup. Helmets and a rain layer come standard advice, this is still Mayo.
Walkers use the route too, and the greenway makes a fine two or three day walking trip for anyone who prefers boots to a saddle, with Newport and Mulranny spacing the overnights naturally. Cyclists should ring a bell early and pass wide, walkers should keep dogs close, and everyone gets along fine, because the route is generous enough that it rarely feels crowded outside the busiest August weekends.
Mulranny to Achill, the scenic high point
The Mulranny to Achill section is the stretch everyone remembers, roughly 13km where the old railway line rides high along the hillside with Clew Bay and its islands spread out below and the Nephin Beg mountains rising inland. Croagh Patrick holds the horizon across the water for most of it, a fine sight from a saddle, and anyone it tempts can read up on climbing Croagh Patrick and add a day to the trip. Mulranny itself deserves more than a pass-through, with its causeway, beach and the salt marsh below the village, and the descent from there to Achill Sound is as effortless as cycling in Ireland gets. If you only have half a day for the whole greenway, spend it here, out from Mulranny and back, and you will have had the best of it.
Owners along the route will sort early breakfasts and bike storage
Browse Mayo B&BsWhere to stay, Westport, Newport, Mulranny or Keel
Westport is the liveliest base on the route, a proper town with the best food and music in Mayo, and it suits anyone who wants evenings as good as the days. Newport works for a quieter night one section up the line, while Mulranny puts you at the door of the best section with the beach below the village. Out on Achill, Keel is the pick, set behind its long strand near the middle of the island with pubs and food in walking distance. A night at each end beats a there-and-back day, ride out of Westport, sleep on Achill, and let the shuttle or a second day's riding bring you home. The B&Bs in Mayo along the greenway are well used to cyclists, and booking direct with the owner makes the practical asks easy, somewhere dry for the bikes, an early breakfast, a packed lunch for the saddlebag.
Achill Sound, where the greenway meets the island, is worth considering too if Keel is booked out, since it keeps you beside the bridge with shops and food on hand for the ride back. In high summer the whole corridor from Westport to Keel fills quickly, and the difference between a good trip and a great one is often booked in March rather than July. Contacting owners directly means real answers about bike sheds, luggage transfers and which nights the local pub has music, the details no booking platform ever gets right.
Keem Bay, Slievemore and when to go
Achill rewards a full day beyond the end of the greenway, and the two essentials are Keem Bay and the deserted village at Slievemore. Keem sits at the very western tip of the island, a horseshoe of sand below steep green cliffs at the end of a cliff-edge road, and it is regularly ranked among the best beaches in Ireland. The deserted village at Slievemore, dozens of roofless stone cottages in lines along the mountainside, is the island's most haunting spot and asks for an unhurried hour. Both sit beyond the greenway proper on island roads that carry real traffic, so families often park the bikes at Keel and switch to four wheels for the western end, while confident riders will find the climb over to Keem one of the great road ascents in the west. Keel's strand is also one of the west's dependable surf beaches, and anyone tempted by a lesson can plan around where to stay for surfing in Ireland. May, June and September are the sweet months for the ride, with long daylight and quieter trails, while July and August bring the buzz and the need to book everything ahead. The Great Western Greenway earns a place on any Irish itinerary, and with a Mayo owner's breakfast at one end and Keem Bay at the other, it earns two nights more than it ever earns a rush.
The Great Western Greenway earns a place on any Irish itinerary, and with a Mayo owner's breakfast at one end and Keem Bay at the other, it earns two nights more than it ever earns a rush.
Frequently asked
Great Western Greenway, common questions
How long does the full route take?
A steady rider covers the 42km in three to four hours of pedalling, but nobody should plan it that way. With a coffee in Newport, lunch in Mulranny and photo stops over Clew Bay, the full route is a very good five to six hour day. On an e-bike the pedalling time drops but the stops, rightly, do not.
Is the greenway suitable for kids?
Very. It is traffic-free the whole way, the railway gradients are gentle, and the surface suits any bike. Younger children manage single sections comfortably, with Westport to Newport the usual family pick, while the full 42km suits older kids who cycle regularly. Trailers and kids' bikes are widely available from the hire companies.
Can you do it one-way?
Yes, and most people should. The bike hire companies run shuttles that drop you at one end and collect you, or hire out bikes you can leave at the far end. Riding Westport to Achill one-way with a shuttle back is the classic day, and it keeps the prevailing wind behind you.
Can you hire an e-bike?
Easily. E-bikes are available from hire operators in Westport, Newport, Mulranny and on Achill, and they have opened the full route to riders who would never take on 42km unassisted. Book ahead in July and August, e-bike fleets are the first to sell out.
Which section is best if you only have half a day?
Mulranny to Achill. It is roughly 13km of the best scenery on the route, high above Clew Bay with the islands scattered below, and hiring in Mulranny or at Achill Sound makes it an easy out-and-back. Westport to Newport is the pick if you are based in town without a car.
Where should you stay on Achill?
Keel is the best base on the island, sitting behind its long Blue Flag strand roughly in the middle of Achill, with food and pubs in walking distance. From Keel you are well placed for Keem Bay, the deserted village at Slievemore and the road back to the greenway at Achill Sound.
Mayo, no fees
Find your greenway B&B, book direct
Owner-run beds in Westport, Newport, Mulranny and out on Achill, with bike storage, early breakfasts and nobody taking a cut in the middle.