Coastal Walks and Cliffs Around North Mayo

If you stay in Ballina, you can place nearby headlands and beaches on one coastal trail that runs from Donegal to Cork. You will learn where Downpatrick Head, Easky and Enniscrone sit on that trail, how the trail is divided, and which access facts are stated for islands and walks.

Where Ballina sits on the west coast trail

You look west and northwest from Ballina toward a shore that belongs to a 2,500 km driving route. That route is described as 1,553 miles long and as passing through nine counties and three provinces. It stretches from the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal in Ulster to Kinsale in County Cork in Munster on the Celtic Sea coast. The Irish name is given as Sli an Atlantaigh Fhiain. Road signs in County Clare carry the name of the trail. The route was officially launched in 2014 by the Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring, T.D. Along the route there are 157 discovery points, 1,000 attractions and more than 2,500 activities. Some stops are called Signature Discovery Points. If you plan days around Ballina, you can use things to do each season to fit the coast alongside river days.

What counts as a stop along the way?

You are not asked to walk the full distance. The trail is divided into five sections. They are County Donegal, County Donegal to County Mayo, County Mayo to County Clare, County Clare to County Kerry, and County Kerry to County Cork. That structure helps you understand why places near Ballina appear in two groups in the list. Easky and Enniscrone appear with the northwest group for Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo. The Ceide Fields, the Mullet Peninsula, Achill Island, Clew Bay, Croagh Patrick, Clare Island, Inishturk, Doolough and Killary Harbour appear with the west group for Mayo and Galway. The Wikipedia page does not publish parking details, tide times or path conditions for these places.

Which headlands can you see near Ballina?

You can start with the headland that is named among the most popular attractions on the whole trail. Downpatrick Head is listed beside the Cliffs of Moher, the Skelligs Viewpoint, the Dingle Peninsula and the Old Head of Kinsale. That tells you its place on the trail as a named discovery point, not the state of a path on a given day. North of Ballina, the list also names Mullaghmore Head, Rosses Point Peninsula, Aughris, Easky and Enniscrone. To the south and west, the Mayo list names the Ceide Fields and the Mullet Peninsula, then Achill Island and Clew Bay, then Croagh Patrick and Clare Island. Each name marks a coastal position you can find on a map before you travel.

Which beaches and bays face you across the water?

You find beaches listed by name rather than as managed sites with facilities described. Bundoran is noted as popular with surfers. Streedagh Beach is noted for the Spanish Armada shipwrecks. Rosses Point Peninsula, Aughris, Easky and Enniscrone close the northwest list toward Mayo. In the west, Clew Bay, Doolough and Killary Harbour mark large indentations of the coast, while Connemara and Clifden mark the shore toward Galway. The trail uses a driving route through nine counties to join these shores in order. You can therefore read Easky and Enniscrone as surf and strand stops on the northern approach to Ballina, and the Mullet Peninsula and Achill Island as the western extension beyond the town.

How do you reach the islands by ferry?

You reach some islands only by boat, and the access facts are short and practical. Inishturk is described as accessible by ferry from Louisburgh in County Mayo. Inishbofin is described as accessible by ferry from Cleggan in County Galway. The Aran Islands, given as Oileain Arann, are described as accessible by ferry from Rossaveal in County Galway and Doolin in County Clare. Clare Island appears in the Mayo and Galway group without a ferry note in the lines given. Tory Island and Arranmore Island, given as Arainn Mhor, appear in the northern island list. Dursey Island in the southwest is described as accessible by Ireland's cable car. You can use those notes to check departure points before you set out.

What does the page say about walking routes?

You get few named walks, and that limit matters for Ballina. The midwest group names the Burren, the Cliffs of Moher with the Doolin Cliff Walk and the Liscannor Walk, Loop Head, and the Shannon Estuary with the Shannon dolphins. The southwest group names the Sheep's Head peninsula as home to the Sheep's Head Way walking and cycling routes. No equivalent named cliff path at Downpatrick Head, Easky or Enniscrone is described in the lines given. Other southern points are listed as views and sites, such as the Skelligs Viewpoint, Blaskets View and Skelligs Experience Visitor Centre, Mount Brandon, the ruined cottages of Great Blasket Island and the Blasket Centre in Dunquin, Dingle, Rossbeigh beach, Ballyheigue Beach as a Blue Flag beach, and Garnish Island in Glengarriff. You can read them as orientation, not as guidance on the ground.

How can you keep a coastal day simple?

You can keep your plan to what the list supports. Pick one headland, one beach and one town stop. Downpatrick Head gives you a signed headland on the popular list. Easky or Enniscrone gives you a northern shore. The Ceide Fields or the Mullet Peninsula gives you a western context, and Achill Island, Clew Bay or Killary Harbour extends the same line farther south. Malin Head is noted as the most northerly point of Ireland: Fanad Head, Slieve League, Horn Head, Errigal, the Derryveagh Mountains and the Blue Stack Mountains belong farther north, and Mizen Head, Loop Head, Old Head of Kinsale and Sheep's Head belong farther south. On a walk around North Mayo you can stay with those named points and leave path choice for the day.