Day Four

Roscoe to Westport
Another dull day, and wet too. I followed the single lane road out of Roscoe to trace the edge of Lough Fee back to the main road. The early part of the walk was beautiful. Vistas of scraggy, weathered hills slopping down to lakes wreathed in spectral mist; I was alone in a mostly empty and noiseless landscape, the only noise the otherworldly cry of the curlew. This is also what I had come west to find: mystic Connemara.

However, the final stretch before the main road ran through bog. Bog. After three days of staring at the mostly brown-hued bogs of Connemara, I can say that I was easily distracted by other things along this part of the route.

When I reached the main road, I decided to walk into Leenane. This part of the route is on the main Clifden/Westport road, but it is just a secondary road, and I didn’t see much traffic. The views of the Harbour were still very pretty, even if the road was hard on my feet.

After two hours of walking I reached Leenane, had a small bite to eat, and hitched into Westport, where I was fortunate enough to catch an evening bus back to Galway.

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Details

Getting There

Air: There are regular flights from most major British, European and North American airports to Dublin (four hours from Galway), and – to a lesser extent – Shannon (one-and-a-half hours from Galway). There are no direct flights from Britain, Continental Europe or North America to Galway.

Bus: Ireland’s national bus carrier, Bus Eireann, runs an hourly service between Dublin and Galway from early morning until early evening. The trip takes three-and-a-half hours, and costs about IR£10 return. Buses leave Dublin from Busaras and arrive at Ceannt Station in Galway, from where they also depart for the return journey. There is a special shuttle bus that connects Busaras with Dublin Airport.

Two private carriers – Nestors and CityLink – also run buses between Dublin and Galway. Their prices tend to be the same as Bus Eireann, and their schedules much less comprehensive, but they do tend to make the trip with about fifteen minutes to spare on their state-owned competitor.

Train: Trains between Dublin and Galway are much less frequent that the bus service, and are also more expensive (about IR£20 return), but are more comfortable and complete the journey in two-and-a-half hours. All trains for Galway depart Dublin from Heuston Station. They arrive in Ceannt Station, from which they depart for the return journey.

What to Bring

This is Ireland, folks: carry wet gear -- all the time. Ignore what the weather forecast says, and do not be deceived by divine, sunny mornings. It will more than likely rain before evening. The chances of it raining increase proportionally for each item of wet gear you do not bring.

Apart from this, bring what you usually bring on a short walk: boots, pack, tent if you feel like exposing yourself to the Irish night. There are plenty of B+B’s and Youth Hostels to crash in if you do not have a tent.

You can pick up everything else you need in one of the towns along the route. Galway and Clifden are good for provisioning.

Things to do when not walking

The pub still dominates Irish nightlife. A decent pub, with good Guinness and a traditional music session, can be the most relaxing way to unwind after a day in the hills or bogs. If you want more modern nightlife, hit Galway, though the clubs there are not as good as the clubs in Dublin or Cork. However, it does have the best selection of pubs in the West of Ireland, and a lot of very nice restaurants.

If you need something to read while you are walking, I would suggest checking out Charlie Byrne’s, the best secondhand bookstore in Ireland. If you are after music, check out Mulligan’s which has an extensive selection of Irish, Jazz, Blues, Ambient, Classical, World and, of course, Pop music. Both are on the same street in Galway, Middle Street.

Geography

Galway is the second largest county in Ireland. The eastern part of the county is dominated by flat farming land, dotted with extensive patches of bog. Connemara, in the west of the county, extends south from county Mayo to Galway Bay. It has a more rugged landscape, dominated by the Twelve Pins and the Maamturks; many of the mountains are covered in a thin layer of blanket bog.

Numerous lakes lie somnolently among the hills and mountains. The largest is Lough Corrib (43 km/27 miles long). In contrast, Galway’s coast is a wild, weathered shore, scarred by many inlets and dotted with islands.