[wptabs style=”wpui-green” mode=”horizontal”] [wptabtitle] <big>Western Atlantic Way </big> [/wptabtitle] [wptabcontent]
This tour will see you walking on ancient pilgrim and historical trails and returning each night to be rewarded by luxurious accommodation, fine food and a warm welcome. The ancient pilgrim trails at Maumean and Croagh Patrick are inspiring walks, allowing you to reassess and reflect. The Famine trail and the walks on the Renvyle Peninsula will see you leave the beaten track and discover untold beauty in rugged Connemara. You will also take a trip to Inishbofin island where the traditional way of life and easy pace will become apparent as you discover the island.
For your walks you will be transferred each day to and from start and finish points by road or by boat and then you will make your way with the help of maps and detailed route notes.
Prices
Hotel Option: €1245.00 per person sharing, single supplement €105.00. €1745.00 for a single traveller (travelling alone)
Duration: 7 Days/6 nights
Dates 2015: Any day between April – October
Level: Walking on ancient trails, soft ground and rocky pathways. Also includes hills, so moderate fitness required.
Equipment: Detailed route notes and maps, ferry return ticket to Inishbofin, Gold Experience package at the Plaza hotel in Westport.
Accommodation: 4* Hotels and castles/Manors
Meals: All Irish breakfasts and one dinner in Renvyle House on day five, one lunch in Leenane Hotel on day two.
Transfers: Transfers to and from walks where indicated, return taxi to Roonagh Quay (for ferry to Clare Island) and ferry ticket to Clare Island.
Meeting Point: A Connemara Adventure Tours representative will meet you either on the afternoon of your arrival or the following morning.
Departure Point: You depart from your last night’s accommodation in Westport.
[/wptabcontent] [wptabtitle] <big>Tour Itinerary</big> [/wptabtitle] [wptabcontent]
Day 1 – Arrival to Delphi Mountain Resort
You will be transferred from Galway, Westport or Knock Airport to your first night’s accommodation at the Delphi Mountain Resort, a stunning four star hotel located in the scenically breathtaking Delphi Valley near Leenane, Co. Galway. The hotel is nestled in the mountains of Mayo where you will arrive to a warm Irish welcome. Enjoy your luxurious surroundings or treat yourself to a relaxing evening at the award-winning spa. We will meet you either on the evening of arrival or the following morning (depending on your arrival time) to go through your itinerary and answer any questions you have about your tour.
Day 2 – Famine Trail
This morning you will be transferred by speedboat (weather dependent) to Rosroe, the start of the Famine Trail. The Famine Trail is a two to three hour hike along the shore of Ireland’s only Fjord. The walk features dramatic coastal landscapes, the majestic Mweelrea mountains, bog land and stunning views. You will pass by the Killary Sheep Farm and the terrain includes narrow roads, rocky trail and boggy track. You will follow the track all the way back to Leenane village where lunch will be waiting for you in the Leenane Hotel. From here you will be transferred back to your luxurious accommodation at Delphi Mountain Resort.
Day 3 – Maumean
Today you will be transferred to the start of the beautiful Maumean walk after a hearty breakfast at your hotel. Maumean is sometimes referred to as St Patrick’s Well or Patrick’s Bed and is located at a height of 320m. Mam Ean means Pass of the Birds. This walk follows an ancient Pilgrim’s path to St Patrick’s second holy mountain. It is now the site of a small chapel, a hollow in the rock known as Patrick’s Bed, a life-size statue of the saint, and a series of stone crosses, marking the 14 Stations of the Cross. You then follow the Western Way to the scenic Inagh Valley where tonight you will stay in Lough Inagh Lodge. The hotel rests on the shores of Lough Inagh, one of Connemara’s most spectacular lakes, and is surrounded by the impressive Maam Turks and Twelve Bens mountain ranges on all sides. It is a perfect haven for complete rest, relaxation, and romance and offers you all the comforts and pleasures of an elegant, modern hotel in an old-world atmosphere. Lough Inagh is also perfectly placed for you to take advantage of a number of extra outdoor pursuits and activities like hill walking or fly-fishing!!
Day 4 – Inishbofin Island
Today you will be picked up from your hotel and brought to Cleggan pier where you will take the ferry to Inish Bofin. Bofin or ‘Inis Bo Finne’ (Island of the White Cow) lies seven miles off Galway’s coast. The island measures 5.7km by 4km. It is estimated that Bofin was inhabited as far back as 8000 – 4000 B.C. The first documented history of the island dates from early Christian times. As you sail around the tower and signal light into the harbour, you will notice Cromwell’s 16th Century Barracks. It was used as a prison for catholic priests from all over the country after the English Statute of 1585 declared them guilty of high treason. There are a number of looped walks around the island which you are free to explore for the evening and the island is renowned for its traditional music sessions which you can experience in any of the local pubs. Your hotel, the Inishbofin House Hotel and Marine Spa is far removed from the daily distractions of the mainland. The hotel is guaranteed to provide a warm welcome with friendly staff, delicious locally sourced produce in their restaurant and a selection of superbly designed bedrooms with spectacular sea views, all in keeping with the island’s beautiful setting.
Day 5 – Renvyle Peninsula
After spending the morning on the island you will take the midday ferry back to Cleggan pier, where you will be met and brought to the start of your walk on Tully Mountain on the Renvyle Peninsula. This is a relatively easy walk and a rewarding one with stunningly beautiful views at the summit over the islands of Inish Bofin and Inish Turk to the west and north west, and the Ben Choona mountain range to the south. You will be dropped off at the starting point from where you make your way across the mountain and on to your accommodation at Renvyle House. Your arrival at Renvyle House will be greeted by their unique friendliness and warmth. Renvyle House is an historic country house hotel, situated in the untouched splendour of Connemara on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. The hotel is located on 150 acres, which include a private lake, a 9-hole golf course, a beach, woodlands, gardens and numerous activities on site. It is an award-winning hotel for hospitality and delights in encouraging its guests to do as little or as much as they wish. Some of the leisure facilities you will find on the grounds of Renvyle House Hotel include free golf, tennis, swimming pool, fly-fishing, snooker and croquet, with clay pigeon shooting also available at a charge per guest.
Day 6 – Croagh Patrick and Westport
After breakfast you will be transferred from Renvyle to the start of today’s climb at Murrisk, Co. Mayo. A place of ancient history, Croagh Patrick is St Patrick’s sacred mountain, and a rich vein of archaeological heritage. The dazzling quartzite pyramid of Croagh Patrick (764m), which dominates the land south of Clew Bay in the west of Ireland, has been a holy mountain since before Christian times. Ireland’s fifth-century patron saint, St Patrick, is said to have made it his own when he fasted on its summit for forty days, and ever since it has been an important place of Christian pilgrimage. Over 15,000 pilgrims climb to the top every year on the last Sunday of July, traditionally known as ‘Reek Sunday’. After you have conquered Croagh Patrick you will be collected and brought to Westport, where you will stay at the Westport Plaza hotel. The Plaza is an opulent, modern hotel which offers all of the luxuries and facilities that you could want while still run as part of a family business with a personal touch and a long history of hospitality in the west of Ireland. The Gold Experience at the Plaza includes an hour in their inspirational thermal suite allowing you to cleanse the road from your body and mind. Perfect after a day climbing the pilgrim’s mountain!
Day 7
Breakfast, followed by departure.
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