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Achill Island, co.Mayo

2/10/2017

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Co.Mayo never fails to suprise. And this time was no different, we headed to Achill Island . Achill Island is the largest island of the coast of Ireland, but can be reached by a bridge connecting the mainland with Achill Sound.
The Island is marked by rugged mountains, peat bogs and tall sea cliffs, and how can we forget, blue flag beaches.

Our final destination on the Island was Keem Strand, a secluded beach at the very western tip of Achill.

So when we arrived at Achill Island, we rolled across the bridge into Achill Sound. We entered the tourist office and post office to get some further stamps in our Wild Atlantic Way passport. After the village , we turned left onto the L1405.
First stop, Wild Atlantic Waypoint "An cheibh bheag" or Cloghmore pier at Kildavnet.

From the pier, you are able to take a ferry to Clare island. There is also Grace O'Malley's castle, a 15th century tower house. It is believed that the famous pirate queen Grace O'Malley established the castle while she reigned the waters during the 16th century.
The tower is 12m in height and has 3 storeys. You can enter the tower, and that allowed us to take a break, admire the bay and use the opportunity for taking some pictures

Carrying on, we headed around the headland where we were welcomed with views towards Clare Island.

The sea was rough, the waves were amazing and crashed against the rocks with all their power.

Further down the road, we reached Ashleam Bay which is flanked by White Cliffs. This is another waypoint "Cuan na hAisleime". From the vantage point, you have some sharp hairpin bends which bring you closer towards the pebble beach where the waves were crashing onto the shore.
Carrying on our journey, we reached the main road again where we turned towards Keel .

One thing we noticed is how many sheep roam freely along the roads on Achill Island, even in the village of Keel, sheep were wandering along the roads. Keel was very quiet as we drove through it, probably because it was early February, but it looks like a summer destination where the population probably expands 10 folded as it is flanked by an amazing beach which invites you to participate in the many watersports on offer.

In order to reach Keem strand, you have to follow the spectacular clifftop road which leaves Keel. The views across the Atlantic Ocean are amazing and we were lucky, getting close to Keem Bay, the sun decided to break through the clouds and give us an amazing display of colours , from the azure blue of the water to the white sand of Keem Strand. The bay is horseshoe shaped and is flanked on either side by cliffs. This bay was used for a booming fishing industry and the local boats "Currach" were used in the fishing industry. The waters around Achill Island are frequented by Basking sharks and it was these sharks which were once caught between the 1950's and 1980's.
And Keem strand was the end of our Achill adventure. Achill Island is an amazing spot, from the crashing waves onto the shore to the white blue flag beaches, but it is Keem Strand where you can look out over the vast expanse of water, enjoy the amazing display of colours and believe you are the only person on Achill Island. Again probably because it was February, looking at the amount of carpark space, Keem Strand is a popular spot during the summer months.

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Co. Mayo

8/7/2016

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As part of our Wild Atlantic Way pages we wanted to create on www.outdoorfitnesssligo.com , we decided to take a day trip to co.Mayo, targeting the north coast from Ballina to Belmullet.
And we decided to stop at all the Wild Atlantic Way Discovery points . First stop, Killala Quays. it was still early in the morning, so it was quiet in killala.
From Killala, we followed the coastal road towards Lackan Strand. Lackan Strand is another Discovery Point along the Wild Atlantic Way. Lackan strand looks out onto the Atlantic offering breathtaking views as far as Sligo and Donegal.

Next on route was Downpatrick Head. Downpatrick Head used and still is an important pilgrim destination. St Patrick founded a church here, ruins can still be seen within the landscape.
The very spectacular sea-stack is called Dún Briste. Many birds can be seen breeding along the rocks of this stack.
There are also multiple blowholes, the largest one being Poll Na Seantainne which on a stormy day is spectacular.

Afterwards, we headed towards the Ceide Fields in Ballycastle. Here, you can enjoy the views towards dramatic cliffs along the Co.Mayo coast.
The Ceide Fields visitor centre is worthwhile a visit. They are the oldest known field systems in the world.
The remains of the stone walls, houses,.. are buried under the huge layer of peat.

After the Ceide Fields, we headed towards our next discovery point, Benwee Head. Benwee Head is the ideal location for walking as you have waymarked walks along the cliff edges with spectacular views of the Wild Atlantic ocean.

After having stretched our legs, we headed towards Belmullet where we had to cover our next 5 Discovery points. After a stop in Belmullet's Post office, where we got our Wild Atlantic Way passport stamped, we headed towards blacksod.
On the way to Blacksod, you pass another discovery point called Elly Beach , a fine beach with the clearest waters suitable for swimming and watersports.

From here, it is a short drive to Blacksod lighthouse which was built in 1862. In June 1944, a decision was made to go ahead with the D-Day landings based on a detailed weather report from Blacksod Bay. The lighthouse itself is spectacular as it is built from massive granite blocks.

Afterwards, it was back direction Belmullet in order to visit Falmore. Here , you find a granite boulder sculpture that was created as part of the sculpture trail in Co.Mayo. The views toward Achill Island are impressive.
Heading back towards Belmullet, we visited Annagh Head. Here, we found ourselves surrounded by sheep, which in our view must be the happiest sheep on the planet due to the fact that they have some of the most amazing views towards the Atlantic Ocean and not a soul in the vicinity.

Afterwards, we headed towards Doonamoe Blowhole, another discovery point. Here you will find another sculpture which is called 'Thin Places' . It is two shrines dedicated to those Lost at Sea.

Our last stop of the day was Ceann iorrais, an amazing location for walks and watching sealife. And right in front of us was a tiny seal who just came to say goodbye when we said goodbye to co.May after enjoying an amazing daytrip along the Wild Atlantic Way

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Authors

We are Peter & Dolores De Bie. We love the great outdoors, discovering new parts of the world and writing about our adventures along the Wild Atlantic Way and further afield

Destination Sligo & Wild Atlantic Way Blog

Achill Island, co.Mayo

Co. Mayo

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Destination Sligo & Wild Atlantic Way Blog

Achill Island, co.Mayo

Co. Mayo

Authors

Archives

Categories

Contact us﻿

Our websites Q﻿R code﻿

Where are our visitors from?

Contact us

Our websites QR code