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Clare
Island is situated at the entrance of Clew Bay in County Mayo, north of
Connemara. Westport is the nearest town. The ferry
for the island leaves from Roonagh pier, near Louisburgh.
All our courses begin with people taking the early
evening ferry on the first day, arriving at the Centre for dinner. The
courses finish after brunch on the last day, in time to get the lunch
time train back to Dublin.
We will let you know the time of the ferry you
should take for your particular course (normally between 5.00 and 6.30
pm) when we confirm your booking. The ferry crossing takes about
20 minutes. Please do not make your own arrangements with the
ferry operators in advance.
Travelling
from within Ireland
If you are driving, from Westport take the coast road (R335) to
Louisburgh (10 miles), drive straight through Louisburgh over the
bridge, through the first cross road, and about a quarter of a mile
after the village, just after the "Nomadic display" factory, take a
right turn to Roonagh (the road is clearly signposted for Roonagh Pier
and Clare Island.) It is a further 4 miles to the pier. The drive
from Westport to Roonagh takes about 35 minutes.
From
Leenane and
Connemara, take the N59 towards Westport. After 4.5 miles, turn left on
the R335 towards Louisburgh. It is a very beautiful drive, first along
the North shore of Killary harbour, then up into Delphi valley towards
Doo Lough Pass and finally on to Louisburgh (25 miles). Turn right at
the cross road when you arrive at Louisburhgh (away from the village,
signposted Roonagh Quay), and about a quarter of a mile after the cross
roard, just after the "Nomadic display" factory, take a right turn to
Roonagh (the road is clearly signposted for Roonagh Pier and Clare
Island.) It is a further 4 miles to the pier.
There's plenty of parking space near the pier.
If
you are driving, let us know (on
the booking form) if you are willing to give another course participant
a lift (car pooling).
If
you are travelling by train, you need to take the 12.30 train from
Dublin Heuston to Westport. Note that it is
usually cheaper to book
your journey on line in advance, rather than buying your
ticket at the station on the day.
If coming by bus,
you need to be in Westport by 4.00pm. We will organise transport
from Westport to the ferry for you, either a lift from another
course participant, or if numbers warrant, a taxi/minibus. If this
is the case, expect to pay between 5 and 10 euros for the taxi,
please pay the driver directly. If for some
reason you need your own taxi, expect to pay around 30 euros for the run from
Westport to Roonagh. To arrange a taxi yourself, ring
Michael O'Hare, 087.2202123 or Noel Staunton, 098.28856 and mention you
are staying with us on Clare Island.
Please note that if you are coming for one of our courses outside of
the summer season, you might need to take the morning train, or an
earlier bus, as ferry times may be earlier.
Coming from abroad
The most straightforward route is to fly to Dublin and then travel by
train from Dublin to Westport. For scheduled courses, we organise
either a shared taxi/minibus or lifts from participants with cars from
Westport station to the ferry. Shared taxi fares is usually between 5
and 10 euros.*
In order to get to the island in one day, you need to get a morning
flight, arriving in Dublin airport no later than 11am, so as to be able
to take the 12.40 train from Dublin to Westport. This train leaves from
Heuston station (about 40 minutes by taxi from the airport). There are
also direct buses from the airport to Heuston station (called Airlink,
route 748, takes about 50mn). The journey from Dublin to Westport takes
about 3 and a half hours by train. It is possible (and cheaper) to book
your train ticket in advance throught the Irish rail website.
Another option is to fly to Knock, a
small airport which is roughly an hour and a half from the pier. The
onward journey from Knock by public transport can be problematic.
However, it is possible to get a taxi (60 - 80 euros) from the airport
to Westport where you can join the organised transport for the ferry.
It is usually possible to avail of public transport for your return
journey. If you can get a cheap light,
the shorter overland journey may be attractive, despite the high taxi
price. Ask us for advice on which flights will work for this
option. For shorter courses, it might make sense to rent a
car from Knock airport. Knock airport is often the cheapest option if
more than one person is using this route and share the cost of the
taxi.
From the UK or France, it is also possible to fly to Galway, about 2
hours by bus from Westport, with plenty of buses to choose
from. See www.galwayairport.com
for details of flights to Galway and the Bus
Eirean website for details of bus connections to Westport.
Flying into Shannon airport (between Limerick and Galway) is an option
only if your flight gets in before 10.00 am or if you are prepared to
spend the night in Westport or Galway. Travel time by bus is over 5
hours with at least one change.
If you are concerned about the environmental impact of air travel, note
that it is possible to take a ferry from Hollyhead to Dublin or Dun
Laoghaire (a few miles south of Dublin) and from there take the train
to Westport. There are also ferry services from Scotland to
Belfast and from France to Rosslare or Cork. While it does take a
little longer, cost are about the same and stress level is much lower.
For information about flights to Ireland, see the
websites of Aer
Lingus, Aer
Arann (flights to Galway) or Ryanair.
For information about train schedules, see The Irish rail website.
You can also book your train ticket online, and we recommend you do
this as it is cheaper.
For information on bus schedules, see the Bus
Eirean website.
For information on how to travel from the UK to Ireland without flying,
click
here
For details of ferry schedules, see the websites of Irish ferries
or Stena Lline.
Travelling
back from the island All courses at the Centre finish after
brunch on the last day, either with the 10.00 scheduled ferry or a
later boat at 11 or 11.30am. You will be back in Westport in time for
the 13.05 train back to Dublin. Usually, there is no need to organise a
taxi from Roonagh pier to Westport, as it is easier to arrange lifts.
If you travelling back to Dublin to catch a flight on the same day, you
need to book an evening flight, one that departs after 7.30pm, to allow
for possible rush hour traffic to the airport and then time for
check-in, etc.
If possible, spending a night in Dublin, Westport or Galway either
before the course begins and/or after it finishes, will help reduce
stress levels!
Special
note for winter course:
Please note that in the winter, it is not possible to travel to the
island by public transport in one day from abroad, as the last boat
leaves Roonagh before the afternoon train arrives from Dublin, so you
will have to stay overnight in Dublin or Westport. (Wesport is a better
option, as it is a lot cheaper, quieter, and finding a place to stay
there isn't usually a problem in the winter). If you are staying in
Westport, we recommend The Westwood B&B, (353)98.25520 a
friendly place near the train station. Another nice place to stay is
the Abbeywood
house, a friendly hostel type
accommodation near the town centre, but unfortunately not
always opened. The Mill hostel, (353)98 27045 in town
is open all year round.
If you need further help or advice with your travel arrangements, please contact us.
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