Achill Island

Achill Island required a little backtracking from Westport, but was well worth it. We spent a good part of the day, in and out of clouds and sun, exploring its beaches and villages. We finally swung back through Westport mid-afternoon and made it to Clifden by dinnertime.

Achill is connected to the rest of County Mayo by a short bridge. The island is rugged headlands, big and small beaches, and a lot of peat-blanketed hills. We grabbed lunch supplies at the grocery store near the bridge and ate our lunches a couple of hours later at a picnic table overlooking Keem Bay.

The road out to Keem is spectacular - narrow, with steep dropoffs and sheep. The beach was perfect and definitely made my top ten list for the trip.