The Great Western Greenway is the number one outdoor activity in Westport, and this is the whole of it.

43 kilometres or 27 miles of safe, traffic-free cycle track from Westport to Achill Island, following the Wild Atlantic Way the entire way west. The ride

• Westport to Newport is 12km. An easy first hour to warm the legs. Clew Bay opens on your left with Croagh Patrick standing behind you. You'll roll into Newport under the seven-arch viaduct, one of the most photographed spots on the whole route.
• Newport to Mulranny — 18km. The bay comes and goes through the trees, then opens out properly. Mulranny sits on a ridge above one of the finest beaches in Mayo, and the view down over the strand and out to Clare Island is the one people remember. Good place to stop.
• Mulranny to Achill — 13km. The last stretch is the wild one. The track crosses open bogland along the Achill coast — russet and gold, wind-scoured, with the Nephin Beg range on one side and the ocean on the other. There is nothing else in Ireland quite like it. Then the bridge, and you're on Achill.

At the end

Park and lock the bikes at the Achill Island Hotel. You've earned whatever you order.

Getting there and back

• Bus out and cycle back to Westport
• Cycle out and bus back to Westport: the Achill to Westport bus stops 500m from the hotel, across the bridge. Departures at 3pm and 5pm (4pm only on Sundays). The journey takes about 50 minutes.

We'll point you at the stop and make sure you know the times before you set off.

Why it's easier than 43km sounds

The Greenway follows the Midland Great Western Railway's Achill branch, built in the 1890s and closed in 1937. Railway engineers didn't build hills if they could avoid them, so the gradient rarely tops 3% across the entire route. The surface is firm, it's completely separated from traffic, and it's downhill in spirit even where it isn't in fact. Plenty of first-timers do the full run. Take an e-bike if you'd rather not think about it at all.