Dublin to Westport by Car

ballooba

http://ie.map24.com is telling me 3.5 hours. Mostly sh!tty roads too by the looks of things. Is there a better way?

monument

Train.

ballooba

LOL. I should have expected that one.

I don't know why I said Westport when I am actually going to Achill, probably too much coffee. Anyway, I can't train it as I am bringing windsurfing gear.

Wishbone Ash

ballooba wrote:

Mostly sh!tty roads too by the looks of things

The roads to Westport are OK - you could do a lot worse. Allow 4 hours.

ballooba

Wishbone Ash wrote:

The roads to Westport are OK - you could do a lot worse. Allow 4 hours.

That's a bit reassuring. Thanks.

cor

I drove to Westport last year. Took the Galway/N5 road going, and the Sligo/N4 road on the way back. The Sligo road was the better, and slightly quicker of the two in my opinion. AA website directions included taking the N4.

Wishbone Ash

cor wrote:

Took the Galway/N5 road going, and the Sligo/N4 road on the way back

Dublin to Westport involves taking the N4/N5 route or the N4/N63/N60 route.

Avns1s

ballooba wrote:

http://ie.map24.com is telling me 3.5 hours. Mostly sh!tty roads too by the looks of things. Is there a better way?

Dublin to ACHILL =>

- M4 then N4 to Longford,
- then N5 to Castlebar.
- The road to Achill from Castlebar is not the Westport Road, rather the Newport Road .
- Pass through Newport, Mulrany and then onto Achill.

Roads are not too bad until you pass throught Castlebar. But the 3.5 hours is being optimistic!

DerekP11

ballooba wrote:

LOL. I should have expected that one.

I don't know why I said Westport when I am actually going to Achill, probably too much coffee. Anyway, I can't train it as I am bringing windsurfing gear.

With the weather we're having lately, you could surprise everyone and actually windsurf to Achill.

afatbollix

once you get on the m4 (;past the liffy) its 2 hours to westport..... but i take a big short cut out mullingar to ballymahon roscomon ballymoe then cross country to claremorris castlebar then take the newport road and the off to achill with ya....... ive give an other hour to get to achill from castlebar

Ham'nd'egger

anto-t wrote:

once you get on the m4 (;past the liffy) its 2 hours to westport..... but i take a big short cut out mullingar to ballymahon roscomon ballymoe then cross country to claremorris castlebar then take the newport road and the off to achill with ya....... ive give an other hour to get to achill from castlebar

Anto, that's the one route I go for driving west, it's an easy 40 minutes off the road and while it is narrow road in places, it's straight and quiet enough. Study it on the map, OP; it is a good one to use.

I drove the N 4 last year on a Sunday Morning and did Heuston to Westport (Kilmainham Shell, as near as) in 3 hours and 15 minutes, but on the M and N 4/5 and into Mullingar, I literally was doing 170KPM to make up time, a good move in the end as I got held up in Roscommon due to bad roads, and between Castlebar and Westport. 4 Hours is a decent time to work with IMO. If you choose to stick to the main route, head directly into Longford town as the town by-pass still runs you back into the town to the Mayo road, and expect delays in county Roscommon and Castlebar town, it's a severe pinch point. If you are holidaying in Achill and need food etc, try get as much as you can in Castlebar as you have Tesco/Dunnes to avail of here over the smaller Super Valu/Centra's that you will find locally in Achill.

FrCrilly

ballooba wrote:

http://ie.map24.com is telling me 3.5 hours. Mostly sh!tty roads too by the looks of things. Is there a better way?

Longford and Edgeworthstown are potential bottlenecks along the way. Check out entry 5 in below thread for viable alternative.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055118451

Wishbone Ash

ballooba - from AA Roadwatch:

*ROADWORKS AND EVENTS* *N5/MAYO* The Westport Music Festival runs from today until this Sun (22nd). Travelling there, watch out for roadworks on the N5 Castlebar/Westport Rd at Islandeady and works on the Turlough Road (Both in place until mid August)

ballooba

Wishbone Ash wrote:

ballooba - from AA Roadwatch:

Thanks..

JupiterKid

The N5 Longford to Westport road is really crappy for most of its length - very narrow, twisty and in a generally disgraceful condition. There are also no bypasses for the towns and villages excepting Swinford and an inner relief route of Castlebar.

I personally would take the N4 via Carrick on Shannon or N6 via Galway instead. Another way is to take back roads via Ballymahon, Lanesborough and Castlerea.

YellowToeNails

When passing Swinford, if your car has a 1.5 litre or higher engine floor it if your short on time. The speed cop there is only armed with a 1.2 Fiesta and he has bad eyesight so he won't get your plate. I'm not advocating breaking the law (Newton's First Law of Motion)....well it depends on what law your talking about.

Watch out for the smell of manure spreading which goes on in these parts at this time of year.

Wear a diaper if you don't want to make a pit stop and save time, the pub toilets there can be nasty, trust me.

Avns1s

YellowToeNails wrote:

the pub toilets there can be nasty, trust me.

WHAT, They still haven't finished cleaning up after your visit??????

transylman

Don't forget to drive along Achills cliff road while you're there, the scariest road in Ireland

afatbollix

transylman wrote:

Don't forget to drive along Achills cliff road while you're there, the scariest road in Ireland

ive rallyed on that road i brought a british friend up it after... she cryed for me to stop.... ( i wasent going fast as i wasent driving) silly girl...

Mayo Exile

Originally posted by FrCrilly: Longford and Edgeworthstown are potential bottlenecks along the way.

There is a way around Longford. Coming from the Dublin side, you have the 1st roundabout, then the 2nd roundabout, where signs for the N5 direct you back into town. Ignore these, keep going up the N4 to the 3rd roundabout, take 1st left, head into town, through a couple of mini-roundabouts. Take a right off the 2nd of these roundabouts.

This is the Lisbrack Road (theres a sign on a whitewashed wall for it). This will take you out to the N5 about 1.5 miles west of Longford town. Adds about 2 miles to the journey but you bypass all the jams in Longford. Also this road is roughly the route the N5 Longford bypass may take whenever it is to be built.

Victor

On topic please.

ballooba

6 hours down. Got lost at Longford, Castlebar and Achill Sound.

4 hours back. Thanks for all the suggestions.