The Great Western Greenway offers the walker a chance for some car-free human interaction with fine scenery, writes JOHN G O'DWYER
THERE ARE people who believe the great outdoors is best enjoyed in solitude but don’t count me in their number – I prefer trails pregnant with the possibility for human interaction.
And so it was with some sense of loss I became accustomed to rambling Ireland’s wilderness areas with Wordsworth’s words rattling in my brain. “I wandered lonely as a cloud” certainly seemed an apt description for those few who, during our frenetically self-absorbed Celtic Tiger years, bothered with outdoor recreation. Ebullient bankers and developers we had in abundance but outdoor enthusiasts then seemed out-of-step with the spirit of the age.
So, when, in the misty light of an autumnal morning I set out from Mulranny to tackle the Great Western Greenway, I brought along my walkman. The dual-purpose Greenway is the latest addition to Ireland’s growing list of outdoor trails and saunters easily along the route of the abandoned Newport/Mulranny railway.
It is billed as not only a fine walking trail, but also the longest off-road cycleway in Ireland.
The first thing I noticed is that it isn’t a greenway at all but a “blackway”. Having always abhorred tarmac walking, I was dismayed to realise the route was entirely a hard surface. Persisting, however, I was soon enjoying myself immensely for this was certainly far from being a busy bitumen highway but was rather a pleasant auto-free route on what seemed mostly like compacted gravel.
There was no danger here of being ditched by a joyrider or stonewalled by a truck. Instead the landscape was being experienced in its true proportions by people travelling under their own steam, with time for camaraderie and conversation en route.
Footing east, I banqueted on sublime views over multi-islanded Clew Bay to Clare Island – resting like an improbably huge ship at anchor in the western ocean.
To the south was an eye-grabbing mountain – and not just any old mountain – for timeless and surreal beneath a wide western sky was the perfect marquee silhouette of Croagh Patrick.
And I didn’t need my walkman for not only were the views richly evocative, there was also company in abundance.
The Greenway certainly chimed with our more austere times for it was alive with joggers, trekkers, strollers, dog walkers and cyclists ranging from the highly casual to the deeply committed. As I passed above Tiernaur a group of families cycled by with a cheery wave and tiny tots attached in bike trailers.
SOON AFTER, at the halfway point, I chanced upon a cyclist with a flat wheel. This seemed like an insurmountable problem until a genial farmer happened along and demonstrated that local landowners are fully onside with the Greenway by offering the stranded biker a lift to the village.
The nature of the vista changed beyond halfway. Coastal views become intermittent and were replaced with wild vistas to the Nephin Mountains. Lakes came and went to my left as the route descended towards Burrishoole.
Here, on a wonderfully extravagant eight span bridge, I joined a cycling group gazing in silent contemplation over the austerity of Lough Furnace towards the north Mayo uplands – one of Ireland’s great wilderness areas.
Next a minor road led directly to the busy N59. In the past most trails would end abruptly here, depositing users into a stream of traffic – but not so the Greenway. Instead, a pleasant trail led me behind some houses and then along a roadside footpath to the centre of Newport. Here I reflected that Mayo has been given a superb geographic hand but in the past has not played it fully. Judging by the wonderfully innovative Greenway, however, the local aspiration to make Mayo Ireland’s walking capital is well on track to be fully realised.
Great Western Greenway
Getting thereFrom Westport take the N59 to Newport. Continue through the town to the Mulranny road going past Kelly's petrol station. The Greenway starts just beyond on the left and there are plenty of parking opportunities in the area.
TimeAllow about five hours to complete the route.
SuitabilityThe terrain on the Greenway contains nothing you would really call a hill and is unchallenging. Nevertheless, the length of the route may prove tedious for some. So it may be a good idea to have a driver available who can be called for a pickup at one of several road junctions if weariness sets in.
MapYou won't need one but the appropriate Ordnance Survey sheets are 30 and 31.
Accommodation/foodNevins Newfield Inn 098-36959 is about 20 minutes walk from near the midpoint of the Greeenway and offers food all day. Otherwise details of hospitality options are available from Westport Tourist Information Office, James Street, Westport, 098-25711 or Newport Community Tourist Office, 098-41895.