You could say that the ferry from Roonagh Quay to Clare Island departs from dock 9 ¾. It is actually a small pier, quite unassuming, but from which you reach an amazing place, so much so that the 25-minute trip that separates the mainland from Clare Island seems too short, a destination so beautiful merits a long and arduous journey like in the novels. Clare Island is the largest of the 365 islands that make up the archipelago of Clew Bay - one for each day of the year according to the legend.
The ancient amphitheatres were built in the form of an incomplete circle, the opening of which was occupied by the stage, the centre of attention and connection point between the two ends of the tiers. Clew Bay inspires this exact same feeling: the city surrounding it, in place of the amphitheatre, holding hands, all eyes turning toward the ocean that winds between the many islands of the basin (365 in fact, just like the days in the year according to legend), as if in a common connection.
The Greenway is the 42 km stretch of path which was formerly the Victorian train track of the Midlands Great Western Railway which has become a recreational phenomenon.The 42 km route is broken up into three journeys: Westport to Newport (11 km); Newport to Mulranny (18 km); and Mulranny to Achill (13 km).
Clew Bay, (Cuan Mó) is the large bay in south Mayo punctuated by Achill Island to the north and towns like Mulranny, Newport, Westport, Murrisk, Lecanvey and Louisburgh, with Clare Island like a giant humpback whale, guarding the bay from the wilds of the Atlantic Ocean.
A heritage town, Westport is architecturally pleasing to walk around, notable buildings include Westport House, designed by German architect Richard Cassels, the Holy Trinity Church and the former Bank of Ireland building on the mall, one of the first branches to be established outside of Dublin. The town is a great base from which to explore South Mayo.
|