The Great Western Greenway sets the tone here: 42 km of converted 1890s railway from Westport to Achill Sound, flat, traffic-free and running along the edge of Clew Bay, with Newport sitting midway and the last window Harry Clarke designed in its church. Much of the rest of the list sits either side of that line. Drummin lies at the foot of Croagh Patrick in the Tóchar Valley, close to Brackloon Wood; Ben Gorm rises above Killary Harbour on the Galway border, a steep unmarked ridge that needs navigation skills and a dry spell.
The second cluster is Erris, in the far north-west, and it is a long drive to all of it. Bangor Erris is the quiet crossroads village at one end of the Bangor Trail, roughly 35 km of roadless blanket bog to Newport with two bothies, no shop and often no phone signal. Near Belmullet, Kilgalligan is the base for the four Carrowteige loops, the hardest of which runs to unguarded cliff edges above Broadhaven Bay, and Glosh Tower is a short climb from the road on the Mullet.
For something shorter, the Castlebar Greenway covers 7.3 km of riverside from Lough Lannagh to the free museum at Turlough, and the Tóchar Daithí Bán at Ballycroy is a 2 km gravel and boardwalk loop that takes a wheelchair or a buggy.
Ireland's first greenway, 42 km of converted 1890s railway from Westport to Achill Sound, flat and traffic-free the whole way along Clew Bay.
A quiet crossroads village that works as a base rather than a destination, at one end of the 35 km Bangor Trail and its fishing waters.
Thirty-five kilometres of roadless blanket bog between Bangor Erris and Newport, with two bothies, no shops and frequently no phone signal along the way.
Flat, traffic-free riverside walking for 7.3 km from Lough Lannagh to the free National Museum of Country Life at Turlough.
A small rural village at the foot of Croagh Patrick in the Tóchar Valley, close to Brackloon Wood and on the Cycle 11 route.
23 of 23 shown — tap a pin for the place.
mayo
Ireland’s first greenway follows a converted 1890s railway from Westport to Achill Island along the edge of Clew Bay. The traffic-free route – 42 km to Achill Sound, 49 km with the 2024 Cashel extension – has gentle railway gradients, big Atlantic views and easy access to Blue Flag beaches and coastal villages.
Bangor Erris, mayo
The bedrock here is the oldest in Ireland, but most people come for what sits on top of it: the 35km Bangor Trail across the Nephin Beg mountains, and salmon and sea-trout fishing on the Owenmore and Carrowmore Lake. The village itself is a quiet crossroads – a base, not a destination.
North Mayo, mayo
The Bangor Trail runs about 35 km through roadless blanket bog between Bangor Erris and Newport, following a drovers’ road older than the modern map. There is no shop and no shelter beyond two bothies, and often no phone signal – you ford streams on foot and navigate by waymark post. Praeger called this the loneliest country in Ireland, and little has changed.
Castlebar, mayo
The Castlebar Greenway's essential stretch is the 7.3 km riverside route from Lough Lannagh to the National Museum of Ireland – Country Life at Turlough. It is flat, traffic-free and ends at a free museum in a Victorian demesne. The wider 45 km network beyond it leans on on-road links.
Drummin, mayo
At the foot of Croagh Patrick, the small rural village of Drummin is a quiet gateway to Mayo's wilder side. It sits within the scenic Tóchar Valley, close to the ancient Atlantic oak sanctuary of Brackloon Wood, and serves as a key waypoint on the Cycle 11 route through the Sheeffry Hills.
Dún Chaocháin, mayo
Dún Chaocháin is a stretch of Irish-speaking coast in the far north-west of Mayo, where sea cliffs of ancient schist meet blanket bog. Waymarked loop walks, the Táin Bó Fliodhaise heritage trail and a community co-op that has kept the language and place-names alive are the draw – along with the fact that almost nobody else is here.
Termon Hill, mayo
Glosh Tower stands on the summit of Termon Hill on the Mullet Peninsula, the only one of Mayo's Napoleonic signal towers still largely intact. Built around 1806 to watch for a French invasion, it's a short walk up from the road for a wide view over Blacksod Bay and out to Blackrock Island.
Ashford Castle, mayo
Ireland's School of Falconry, founded in 1999 in the grounds of Ashford Castle near Cong, is the oldest falconry school in the country. On the one-hour Private Hawk Walk you fly a trained Harris hawk free through the castle woods and gardens, with a falconer alongside. It runs by appointment only, from about €80 per person, and is open to anyone aged seven and up.
Cong, galway
Straddling the wild lakes and limestone karsts of western Galway and Mayo, Joyce Country Geopark reveals 700 million years of geological history alongside living Irish-language traditions. Hike rugged mountain passes, cycle traffic-free greenways, and explore heritage villages that have inspired poets, filmmakers and anglers for generations.
Belmullet, mayo
Kilgalligan sits on the edge of Broadhaven Bay in the Erris Gaeltacht, the base for the four Carrowteige loop walks. The toughest climbs to unguarded cliff edges high above the Atlantic, with the sea stacks of the Stags of Broadhaven offshore and a living Irish-language tradition on land.
Newport, mayo
Newport sits midway on the Great Western Greenway, on the shore of Clew Bay. Its church holds the last window Harry Clarke designed, a seven-arch sandstone viaduct crosses the river, and the town is the main gateway to Ireland's only Gold Tier Dark-Sky Park.
Ballycroy Visitor Centre, mayo
The Tóchar Daithí Bán is a gentle loop of just under 2 km – 30 to 40 minutes on gravel and boardwalk – and the one trail in Wild Nephin you can walk in a wheelchair or with a buggy. It climbs to Cleary's Hill for views over the Nephin Beg mountains, Achill Island and Blacksod Bay, and passes a bog dipping pond on the way. It sits inside a Gold-Tier Dark Sky Park, so it's as good after dark as by day.
galway
The Western Way runs 179 km from Oughterard to Ballycastle, crossing the Maumturks at the Mám Éan pilgrimage pass, skirting Killary fjord and Croagh Patrick, and threading the bog country of the Nephins. Most walkers take about seven days; the two-to-three-day Galway leg is the scenic pick.
Leenaun, mayo
Carrowkennedy, mayo
Glenamoy, mayo
Glennacally, mayo
Westport, mayo
Srahrevagh, mayo
Ballina to Killala, mayo
North Mayo Coast, mayo
Castlebar, mayo
Rossport, mayo
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