The West awaits
IF you cycle to work through cluttered streets and congested traffic on drizzly grey days you tend to forget how much fun cycling actually can be.
A cycle along Mayo’s 42km Greenway is a perfect way to remind yourself of the joy of pedalling. Wide open scenery and a breeze just strong enough to cool you but never enough to be a headwind — perfect.
To give it its full name, the Great Western Greenway is a 42km cycling or walking trail along the route of a former railway line which runs from Westport to Achill. And it’s simply fantastic — for cyclists themselves as well as for local pubs, teashops and hotels. A network of these routes all over the country and Ireland’s tourism industry could see its fortunes soar.
Zipping along past hedgerows; bogs; mountainy sheep and inlets — all the while knowing that you have a crisp apple and a bottle of water in your pannier bag for the next rest stop — is the way cycling should be.
Myself and a friend stayed in four-star Knockranny House Hotel which is not only a friendly and luxurious hotel but it’s also only a quick coast on a bike from the start of the Greenway. Once you’re onto the cycling trail it’s virtually car-free except for a few points where the trail joins the main road before heading into Newport. Then it’s back onto the cycling trail again.
A perfect example of the esteem and appreciation the Greenway is held in locally was presented to our cycling party of around a dozen when we whirred through the main street of Newport. A man waiting to cross the street while we passed gave a cheer and shouted out that it was the kind of traffic jam he loved to see. You just don’t get that kind of greeting trundling through city streets.
Whether you’re travelling to Mayo specifically to check out the Greenway or if you’re just hit with the notion to take to your bike when you get there then check out Clew Bay Bike Hire. You can hire a hybrid bike from any of their bases in Westport, Newport, Mulranny or Achill. They also have electrically-assisted bikes, toddler trailers, tag-along bikes, kids’ bikes and a tandem so you’ve no excuse not to get pedalling. The handiest thing we found was their shuttle bus service — they will pick you up when you’re done (or just done-in) — so there’s no need to keep a little energy ‘in the tank’ for the return journey. The bikes were very easy to adjust for height and were in very good nick.
Clew Bay Bike Hire are open each day from 9am-6pm year round — and only close on Christmas and St Stephen’s days (098 37675, www.clewbaybikehire.ie).
Knockranny House Hotel has 97 rooms but manages to feel like a much more intimate-style hotel. The bedrooms are spacious but have good-sized furniture so it doesn’t seem like you’re bunking down in an echoing warehouse And the bathroom – wow. I have actually stayed in mobile homes that were smaller. The beds are luxurious — a real treat to come back to one of these rooms after a day’s cycling.
Sometimes people who eat in fancy or award-winning restaurants delight in recounting the weird and unusual things they were served. Well, here there were no outlandish ingredients or oddball cuts — just normal food, only miles better. Head chef is Seamus Commons and the man is a magician. Apparently the restaurant has spectacular views and elegant settings but I have absolutely no recollection — it was all about the food. I was tempted to lick my plate. Actually I probably could have as everyone else was so busy enjoying their own meal. Google the list of awards La Fougère has won if you care about that kind of thing — if you care about quality food cooked and presented in a top-notch fashion then just go there.
Of course you can’t wash down food that good with any old drink: be sure to check out the cocktails offered by the very dapper (and also award-winning) Owen Hughes. He might even invent a luscious cocktail in your honour.
A spell at a spa never needs justification, but in between slatherings of scented oils and lotions we enjoyed a good dollop of ‘I cycled more than 40km, I deserve this’. Luxurious Spa Salveo is perfect for getting rid of any knots of tension or aches and pains. A dip in the pool with its iridescent tiles before a massage with Kerstin Florian products and I felt I could do day two on the Greenway.
Knockranny House Hotel’s Greenway Getaway includes two nights’ accommodation for two adults and two children (under 10 years) with a hearty breakfast each morning and bicycle and helmet hire for one day with a packed lunch for when you come across that perfect picnic spot out along Clew Bay.
Parents can have access to Spa Salveo’s Vitality Pool and Thermal Suite and even treat themselves to a treatment. The Greenway Getaway package is from €175 per person and children under 10 stay for free.
www.knockrannyhousehotel.ie or call 098 28600.
I reckon that Bill Nye, presenter of a science programme in the US, got it right when he said: “Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be. There’s something wrong with a society that drives a car to work out in a gym.”
This well-planned and beautifully-maintained cycle route could help lure tourists from abroad and encourage more of us to stay at home. And it looks like the powers-that-be have realised this as well: Cork County Council is looking at developing greenways on some of the abandoned rail networks in the south and west of the county and is also considering the potential for further routes in the county, including north Cork. Fingers crossed.
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