The River Erriff drops over Aasleagh Falls into Killary Harbour, Ireland’s only fjord, and most people stop here for one of two reasons: the salmon, or the film. Jim Sheridan shot the climactic fight in The Field (1990) at the falls, and Sir David Attenborough once stood here to film the life cycle of the eel. If you’ve only half an hour, it’s the falls and the short path to the base, and nothing else in the valley competes.
The Erriff is a spate river, running roughly 33 km from the Partry Mountains down to the sea, with the Devil’s Mother to the south and Ben Gorm to the north. That word, spate, is the key to the falls: come after a couple of days of rain and they roar; in a dry summer they shrink to a modest step over the rock. The valley is a working sheep-farming landscape, listed as a County Geological Site for its glacial shape and part of the Mweelrea/Sheeffry/Erriff Complex Special Area of Conservation.
One honest caveat: apart from the falls, most of the valley is private farmland, so this is largely drive-through scenery rather than a place to wander at will. Coming from Leenane, the only parking at the falls is a single-car accessibility space at the start of the trail before the bridge, so it fills fast.
Fishing the Erriff
The Erriff is one of Ireland’s most respected salmon and sea-trout fisheries, run by the State as nine beats, with most beats limited to two rods to keep the pressure off the fish. Fly-fishing is the norm. You need a State Salmon and Sea Trout licence and an Erriff Fishery permit, and beats book up well ahead in the season. The river is a National Salmonid Index Catchment, and Inland Fisheries Ireland runs a research station with fish-counting and trapping facilities right at Aasleagh Falls, by the mouth on Killary Harbour.
Walking
Aasleagh Falls is the start of one section of the Western Way, the long-distance route that heads up the river valley and on across Mayo. A short, often muddy path drops to the base of the falls; bring boots if you mean to do more than look from the bridge.
The drive
The straightforward way to see the valley is the N59 between Westport and Leenane, which runs alongside the Erriff with bog and mountain on either side; it takes under 45 minutes with a few stops. The road is narrow and twisting in places, so allow extra time and give way on the tight bends.
A working valley
This is still farmed country. Hill farms like the McDonnell family’s, part of the Irish Uplands Forum, run sheep on the slopes and occasionally open for heritage farm visits, which are the best way to understand how people actually live and work in a landscape like this.
Time a visit for after a few days of rain, take the single lay-by coming from Leenane, and give the falls and the riverside path half an hour. In a dry spell, keep your expectations of the falls modest and come for the drive instead.