Great Western Greenway

The Great Western Greenway (Irish: Bealach Mór an Iarthair) is a greenway rail trail in County Mayo, Ireland. It is 42 kilometres (26 miles) long and begins in Westport and ends in Achill, passing through the towns of Newport and Mulranny as it runs along the coast of Clew Bay.^[1] It is an off-road trail intended for use by cyclists and walkers.^[2] It follows the route of the former Achill extension of the Westport railway line, which was constructed in the 1890s and closed in 1937.^[3] An estimated 300 people cycle and walk the trail each day, which was constructed at a cost of €3 million.^[4] The first section, from Newport to Mulranny, was opened in April 2010.^[5] It was named as the 2011 Irish winner of the European Destinations of Excellence award.^[6] The full route was opened by Taoiseach Enda Kenny, T. D. and Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring, T. D., on 29 July 2011.^[4]

Although most of the Greenway is off-road, there is a 3-kilometre (2-mile) section at Kilbride where cyclists and walkers must share space with cars on the N59 road and local representatives have raised concerns about public safety on this stretch.^[7] Similar concerns have been raised about a 2-kilometre (1-mile) section on the road between Newport and Burrishoole.^[7] There are plans to install a segregated cycle and pedestrian lane in 2012, at a cost of €2 million.^[7] In addition, funding totalling €1.8 million has been made available to extend the greenway to Castlebar and Croagh Patrick.^[8]

References

External links

• http://www.greenway.ie/
• Tracks and Trails: Great Western Greenway

See also

• Western Way

Long-distance trails in the Republic of Ireland National Waymarked Trails Ballyhoura Way Barrow Way Bealach na Gaeltachta, Dún na nGall Beara Way Blackwater Way Bluestack Way Burren Way Cavan Way Croagh Patrick Heritage Trail Dingle Way Dublin Mountains Way East Clare Way East Munster Way Grand Canal Way Hymany Way Kerry Way Lough Derg Way Mid Clare Way Miners Way and Historical Trail Monaghan Way Multeen Way Nore Valley Way North Kerry Way Offaly Way Royal Canal Way Sheep's Head Way Slieve Bloom Way Slieve Felim Way Sligo Way South Leinster Way Suck Valley Way Táin Way Tipperary Heritage Way Western Way Westmeath Way Wicklow Way Pilgrim Paths Cosán na Naomh Lough Derg Saint Kevin's Way Greenways Boyne Greenway Dublin-Galway Greenway Great Southern Trail Great Western Greenway Other Bangor Trail Malin to Mizen