Wild Atlantic Way Cycling Connemara

Cycling through Connemara on the Wild Atlantic Way from Galway to Westport, takes cyclists through Connemara, a region of awe-inspiring and unspoilt natural beauty. Irish playwright Oscar Wilde described it best when he called Connemara 'a savage beauty'.

This Wild Atlantic Way cycling Connemara tour will introduce you to both metropolitan and rural Ireland, visiting lively Galway city and Westport, as well as taking you along coastal roads across rural peninsulas. Connemara's patchwork of lakes, windswept bogs and rugged mountains, gives travellers a sense of splendid isolation. The raw beauty, sweeping vistas and constantly changing moods of the Connemara landscape have captured the hearts and minds of generations of artists, writers and musicians.

From Galway, you will be following the Atlantic coastline on the Wild Atlantic Way, where you are likely to see the traditional sailing boats of Connemara: the Gleoiteog and Pucan, more commonly known as 'Galway Hookers'. In times gone by the larger boats were used to transport turf from the peat bogs of Connemara to the Aran Islands and County Clare.

An impressive stop on the way is Kylemore Abbey; located in one of Ireland's most unique landscapes/ The abbey had very humble beginnings as a hunting and fishing lodge; in 1871 it was bought by Mitchell Henry and development of Kylemore Castle and walled gardens began. In 1920 it was purchased by Benedictine Nuns and converted to the abbey you see today, after they fled Ypres in Belgium during World War I. As you approach Westport you will enjoy views of Croagh Patrick, Ireland's 'Holy Mountain' and a traditional place of pilgrimage.

With short cycling days on the Cycling Connemara tour, you will have time to explore some of the historic and cultural highlights of the tour, such as Clifden Castle, Killary Fjord and Westport town to mention just a few.