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The
Wild West Mayo
(round trip to and from Westport) |
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August
9
May, June & September €635. (US$902 / Stg£438 approx.)
July & August €665. (US$944 / Stg£459 approx.)
Please see booking information)
Tour includes seven nights in good
quality guesthouses and small hotels,
bike hire ( 21 speed Trek T30 ),
guide & luggage van and all
route details.
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The
Mayo Tour is like stepping back 20
years in time to an Ireland before
the Celtic Tiger!. It is the quietest
of our routes in terms of traffic and
offers up a wild windswept landscape
full of changing light. You will
get to visit the largest Stone Age
site in Europe, an ancient cattle field
system and also spend your rest day
on Achill Island with its wonderful
mountains and white sandy beaches as
well as its breathtaking cliff walks.
This is also the country of Grainnuiale,
a famous female pirate in the 16th
Century whose ships attacked fleets
all along the coastline and we visit
one of her fortress houses. Finally
we stop at a wonderful early Christian
monastic site situated in a most peaceful
setting, before heading back to Westport
and the less mystical real world.
You meet up in a hotel close to the rail and bus station,
for a welcome drink from our guide.
Leaving the town on the Castlebar road, after a mile
we turn onto the Western Way walking route. The route
takes us along quiet backroads passing by lakes and bogland
to our lunch stop After lunch there is some nice lakeside
cycling around Lough Conn and then onto Lough Cullin,
which brings us to our Hotel in Foxford.
We continue by the shores of Lough Conn to the historical
village of Killala where the French landed in 1798 spreading
the French revolution to Irish revolutionaries.
Heading West on the coast road with wonderful views looking
out over the Atlantic, we come to Ceide Fields site of
an ancient 5000-year-old cattle field system. It is the
largest stone age site in Europe and there is an excellent
interpretive centre here, which outlines the history
of the site. Continuing on from the centre there is a
dramatic cycle across open bogland with more wonderful
coastal views all the way to the town of Belmullet.
There are two main options for the day, one of which
is to cycle out on the isolated peninsula beyond Belmullet
and take a fishing boat from Blacksod Point across the
Bay to Doogort on Achill Island. From here it is a short
cycle to the village of Keel where we spend the next
two nights. The other equally attractive option is to
cycle around the Atlantic Coast through a wild barren
landscape , past freshly cut fields of peat, to the village
of Mulranney and from there cycle onto Achill Island.
There are several dramatic cycling routes around Achill
the most impressive being the Atlantic Drive, with its
wonderful coastal views and beautiful landscape.. You
can also head to Keem bay for a swim on its white sandy
beach . For those feeling energetic you could climb to
the top of the nearby cliffs some of the highest in Europe,
where you are rewarded with the most breathtaking views
of the week.
Leaving the Island via the bridge at Achill sound,
we continue along the Clew Bay coast road and visit
a 16th Century Tower House, one of the chain of forts
built by Grainnuaile, a female pirate who controlled
this whole region. We then visit a small but beautifully
situated early Christian monastic site, before heading
to Newport for lunch. In the afternoon we return to
Westport for a final night on the town together.
After a final breakfast you start your journey
back home.
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