The Great Western Greenway, Mulranny, Co Mayo, has been formally designated a European Destination of Excellence. The award recognises outstanding locally driven achievements, including the opening of the 42km Great Western Greenway cycling and walking track, the sensitive restoration of the stunning Mulranny Park Hotel, and the regeneration of Mulranny’s Victorian Causeway and Look Out Hill Walk.
A decade of community-led regeneration was to undo a century of decline when the area’s decaying built railway heritage was sensitively renewed for future generations to enjoy. The former Mulranny Railway hotel was reopened in 2005 inspiring a community-led initiative to redevelop the Mulranny Causeway and the Victorian walking trails into a high-amenity loop walk accessing three European-designated Natura 2000 sites. Finally, 73 years after closure, the Great Western Railway Line was re-born as the Great Western Greenway. The walk and cycling trail offers stunning panoramic views over the vast seascape of Clew Bay, its archipelago of drowned drumlin islands, the vast Nephin mountain range and Bellacragher Bay. The 42 km Great Western Greenway offers an exhilarating and safe experience for all the family with gentle gradients, through some of the most spectacular landscapes and seascapes in Europe.
For more information, visit: www.mulranny.ie/www.greenway.ie
