Connemara & Western Way Walking Holiday — 8 Days

Arrive in Oughterard, the angling town on the western shore of Lough Corrib where the Western Way begins. It is under an hour from Galway by bus — your pre-departure pack has the details, and we can arrange a private transfer if you'd rather.

Your route notes, maps and GPS files are waiting for you. The Owenriff river runs through the middle of town, there are good pubs for dinner, and you sleep here for two nights, so unpack properly.

The Western Way leaves Oughterard heading north-west along the quiet Glann road, with Lough Corrib on your right — wooded islands scattered across the water and the hills of Joyce Country rising ahead. Stone walls, old lakeside farms, herons in the shallows. It is unhurried walking and a gentle start to the week.

You walk as far as Curraun, where we collect you and bring you back to Oughterard for a second night.

Trail note (November 2026): beyond Curraun, a 2km boardwalk section of the Western Way beneath Lackavrea has been closed for safety since 2024, with no waymarked diversion. Rather than send you across open bog on an unmarked detour, we finish the day at Curraun. If the section reopens before your trip, we'll put the full trail back into your route notes.

Distance: about 13km. Ascent: ~150m.

After breakfast we drive you to Maam in the Joyce Country valley, where the trail picks up again. A quiet minor road climbs gradually west toward Mám Éan, the pass through the Maamturk Mountains that pilgrims have crossed for well over a thousand years. At the top there is a tiny chapel, a holy well, stations of the cross and a statue of St Patrick, who is said to have blessed Connemara from this spot — and a view that opens straight down into the Inagh Valley.

The descent brings you into the valley with the Twelve Bens rising sheer on the far side. Tonight you stay at Lough Inagh Lodge, a Victorian fishing lodge on the lakeshore, or similar.

Trail note: short repair works are under way on the path at Mám Éan; your route notes carry any local diversion.

Distance: about 17km (21km if you prefer to start from Maam Cross). Ascent: ~400m.

The Western Way runs north along the western slopes of the Maamturks, the length of Glen Inagh, with the lough below and the Twelve Bens across the water. Then the trail curls around the northern end of the mountains toward Killary Harbour, Ireland's fjord, finishing along an old coach road into Leenaun at its head. Mussel rafts on the water, Mweelrea across the fjord, and Gaynor's — the pub from the film The Field — for the evening.

Trail note (November 2026): the Western Way footbridge at Tullyconor, on the approach to Killary, is currently closed. Your route notes and GPS track follow the open route into Leenaun.

Distance: about 17km. Ascent: ~250m.

A day off your feet — or not. Leenaun is a good place to do very little: a fjord view from the window, a long lunch, a look around the Sheep and Wool Centre. If you want to walk, the options are good:

• The Famine Road from Rosroe — a short taxi ride to the mouth of the fjord, then about 7km along the southern shore at water level.
• Leenaun Hill — a short, steep climb behind the village for a view down the full length of Killary.
• A boat trip on Killary — cruises run along the fjord in season.

Second night in Leenaun.

Today you walk out of Connemara and into County Mayo. Leave Leenaun around the head of the fjord to Aasleagh Falls, where the Erriff tumbles into Killary, then head east up the Erriff valley before climbing into open hill country, with the Sheeffry Hills — the "hills of the ghosts" — to the west. The high point, at about 475m, is the biggest climb of the week, with views back over Killary and ahead to Croagh Patrick. A long descent brings you down to Drummin, a scattered village with a church and a pub, where we collect you and take you to Westport for two nights.

Trail note (November 2026): the Western Way's riverside section from Aasleagh to Houston's Bridge is closed after heavy rainfall; your route notes and GPS track follow an open route around it. The first stretch out of Leenaun follows the N59 — keep to the verge and take care.

Distance: about 22km. Ascent: ~650m.

A morning transfer back to Drummin. The trail follows a quiet road for a few kilometres, then turns north across bog and forest tracks toward Croagh Patrick, Ireland's holy mountain, whose quartzite cone dominates the whole day. You cross its eastern shoulder and drop to the shore of Clew Bay, scattered with small green islands, before following the coast into Westport. Matt Molloy's for music tonight.

Trail note: roadworks near Westport mean some local diversions on the final stretch — follow the signage.

Distance: about 24km. Ascent: ~450m.

Your walking holiday ends after breakfast in Westport. The town is well connected, with direct trains to Dublin and buses to Galway — the times are in your pre-departure pack. Ireland West Airport Knock is under an hour away.