Why this ride
388 km from Gaillimh to Killybegs, about 6 h 07 of riding. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Wild Atlantic Way: Galway to Slieve League
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 388 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 07
- Journey
- One way; return travel is separate
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Galway
Galway is a small city with a big personality, and most of that personality comes out on the street. It sits at the mouth of the River Corrib on the west coast of Ireland, with Galway Bay opening to the Atlantic and the hills of Connemara beginning just beyond the suburbs. It is known as the city of the tribes, after the fourteen merchant families who ran it in the Middle Ages, and a few of their house names, like Lynch and Blake, are still common in the area. The Spanish Arch beside the river is a reminder of the trade with Spain that brought wine and prosperity here.
Read the complete Galway write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Galway is where the day begins. Next is Achill Island.
2. Achill Island
Achill is Ireland's largest island, and you reach it by driving across a bridge, which takes a little of the romance away until you see the landscape. It lies off the coast of County Mayo, joined to the mainland at Achill Sound, and it is a rough, treeless land of heather bog, steep headlands and wide empty beaches. At Slievemore, the mountain that rises above the northern shore, a ruined village of stone cottages known as the deserted village stands on the slope, abandoned over generations after the Famine. At its foot, the winds sweep across the grass.
Read the complete Achill Island write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Achill Island comes up about 130 km into the recorded legs. Next is Slieve League.
3. Slieve League
Slieve League is one of the tallest sea cliffs in Europe, and it is a very different thing from the more famous cliffs on the other side of the country. The mountain drops about six hundred metres straight into the Atlantic, in bands of red, yellow and grey rock that look like a painter's palette in clear light. From the viewpoint at Bunglass, you look along a curtain of cliff that is far taller than anything you have seen on the coast of Clare, and the sound of the sea reaches you from a very long way down.
Read the complete Slieve League write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 388 km.
Leg by leg
Galway to Achill Island
Galway → Achill Island is 130 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Achill Island to Slieve League
Achill Island → Slieve League is 258 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.