Galway/Mayo advice

Sept Shamrocker

Hi

got 6 days in Galway Mayo in Sept. to tour...start-finish in Galway town.

Would someone advise if the better way to go about a route that will include Westport / Clifden / Inishmore and many points in between, is 'better' clockwise or counter-clockwise?

Any suggestions for routes that arent necessarily found in books?

Conqueror

To get to Inishmore, you'll need to get the ferry from Rossaveel. To get there, you can travel from the University College Hospital in Galway, going south on Seamus Quirke /Bishop O'Donnell Road, turn right onto Kingston Road, and continue straight out of the city along the south Connemara coast through Barna, Furbo, Spiddal, before continuing north-west to Rossaveel (alternatively, there is a ferry from Galway city itself).

Then, from Rossaveel, you can cycle north-west to Costello, then north up to Maam Cross. (Alternatively, you can cycle along the N59 from Galway, though this is being a national route has heavier volumes of traffic and is mentioned in almost every guidebook on the west of Ireland)

From there, you can continue west along the N59 towards Clifden, then north-east to Westport through Letterfrack and Leenaun.

Getting back to Galway from Westport, you can travel down Altamount Street, continuing south-eastwards out of the town through Mace and Kiltarsaughan before linking up with the N84 which travels to Ballinrobe. After this, you can continue south-east to Headford, then south to Galway. I will admit that I don't know the route from Westport to galway as well as the N59but I hope I've helped you.


Finally, I should warn you about travelling through Leenaun at the moment. As you might have heard yesterday or today, the bridges on the Clifden side of Leenaun were swept away by flash floods yesterday evening. Unfortately for this tourist-dependent village, one of these bridges is on the N59, effectively cutting off the two sides from each other. Galway County Council are planning to erect a temporary bridge, but I don't know when this will be done, and how it will effect your tour in September. If the N59 is still blocked in this way, you may have to avoid going westward from Maam Cross if you really want to go to Westport, instead going north to Maam, then northwest to Leenaun.

To answer your question about which way is best, it doesn't really matter, as long as more bridges don't collapse!

Hope this really long reply helps you out.

Sept Shamrocker

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0720/breaking2.htm


Thanks dude. I see what you mean!

So does anyone have an opinion on the best direction out of Galway? north toward Cong and c/clock it, or clockwise it west toward Clifden?

Cheers

Sept Shamrocker

So I just wanted to say I've come and returned from our 6 day tour through Connemara and it was spectacular. Now Im spoiled for any of my local rides in Toronto.

We managed a little over 400 kms, taking us from Galway west through Inishmor, up to Wesport and down thru the lakes, back to Galway.

The Killary / Delphi valley was a real hi-light. Sky Road amazing too. Loved Westport and Clifden.....well, pretty much all of it. If I was Irish, Id be there all the time!

(FYI...Ireland's getting Pri$$$ey!)

Ghost Rider

I reckon the coast road out of Galway is more scenic, but that could just be me. The traffic along that coast road can be very heavy for a few miles out, but it does thin out after, say, Spiddal. You'll also be more exposed to the elements, but then - that could be half the reason you're going...!

A couple of years ago, I cycled from Sligo town along the coast (Skreen, Enniscrone etc.) into Mayo (Ballina, Mulranny, Westport etc.) then inland through Connemara (Leenane, Clifden, Spiddal) to Galway city. Amazing trip. Lovely part of the world for cycling.