VISITING WESTPORT IN COUNTY MAYO

In 2012, my husband and I visited Westport for just a few hours.  We stopped there on our way back from Castlebar and Islandeady to Galway.  We ate some lunch and did a little shopping.  I thought it was a darling town and decided then that I needed to return some day to do more exploration. So, of course when planning our latest trip a stop in Westport was a no-brainer!

Westport (or in Irish "Cathair na Mart") is located on the southeast corner of Clew Bay.  Croagh Patrick is just ten kilometers west of the town.  One of the main things that I love about Westport is that the Carrowbeg River runs through the town, surrounded by low stones walls with hanging baskets of flowers from the walls and the bridges.

We visited St. Mary's Catholic Church in Westport.  The original church was built in 1831 in a neo-Gothic style.  However, the congregation became too big for the church so the present day church was built in two phases in 1928 and 1958.  

Spending just the afternoon in Westport was not long enough, so we decided to return the next day to tour the Westport House.

WESTPORT -- Cathairna Mart

When we were done in Islandeady, we drove to the city of Westport, which is on Clew Bay.  I figured anything after our trip to Islandeady would be “frosting on the cake.  I had seen the hometown of my great grandma, which had never been part of our plan for this trip.  Yeah, I am big on planning but do enjoy the “pleasant surprise”. 

Westport is a darling little town!  There are lots of flower baskets on the bridges over the Carrowbeg River that runs through town.  We ate lunch at Chilli Coffee Shop.  After lunch, Ginya and I went shopping at Foxford Woolen Mill.  This was a treat since the only other shopping I had done was at the gift shop at the Cliffs of Moher. There is a statue of St. Patrick at the Octagon.

The way back to Galway from Westport was absolutely beautiful.  Because we had to get our rental car back by 6pm, we did have time constraints and couldn't spend a great deal of time discovering all its natural beauty but we did see some beautiful sites.  I am putting Westport, Connemara and all points in between on “my bucket list”.

 

We visited Aasleagh Falls, which is where the Erriff River cascades through the valley between mountains.  Of course, we needed lots of photos of that area too!  We then drove back to Galway, passing the town of Recess – of course, we all wanted to get out and have “recess” but we had time constraints.  We made it back to Galway just in time to return our rental car.  While my husband was putting gas in the rental car, I found a cemetery in Galway – imagine that!  I took some photos from across the street – we were in a big hurry!  I absolutely love the huge headstones!