Week in Pontoon Foxfort

Reg'stoy

Hi folks, we're spending a week in Foxfort with our two dogs and looking for recommendations on some dog friendly trails we could take them on. Have checked out a couple of websites but looking for some local knowledge.
Also any recommendations for pubs and grub in Pontoon and any areas worth a visit in west Mayo.
Thanks in advance for any replies

Polo_Mint

Are you staying in the Pontoon bridge Hotel?

I stayed there for 4 nights with the missus and my 2 dogs. Lovely hotel. ( Ask for a room that has the really large balcony)

to eat you can go to the hotel restaurant but we ate in Healys Fishing Lodge just down the road ( Lovely food )

Ballycroy National park is really nice

Croagh Patrick Heritage

Go out to Achill Island

Reg'stoy

Thanks for the quick reply, no we're staying in a rented dog friendly holiday home.
Hadn't thought of Achill Island, might make a day out of that one. We do a week away every year with them and normally it's a long walk in the morning and back to the house for lunch and out again it the afternoon for a shorter walk.
It's finding some place where you can leave the dogs off lead and let them be dogs. Obviously we'd like to avoid livestock and natural habitats, all the dogs want to do is have a sniff and a bit of a run around.
We'd also like to go for a couple of pints where we could have the lads on leads outside and another night go for a meal out minus the two of them. Pub grub would be fine but if their was any local restaurants worth visiting that would be great.

toadfly

Definitely go to Healys for food, great restaurant and pub with music at the weekends. Go to Achill for a day, the beach there is gorgeous. Ceide Fields is another nice day out for walking and scenery. I personally love Enniscrone, there is a lovely seaweed baths there. Mulranny, Easkey, Foxford Woollen Mill, loads of places!

Kristopherus

Polo_Mint wrote: »

Are you staying in the Pontoon bridge Hotel?

I stayed there for 4 nights with the missus and my 2 dogs. Lovely hotel. ( Ask for a room that has the really large balcony)

to eat you can go to the hotel restaurant but we ate in Healys Fishing Lodge just down the road ( Lovely food )

Ballycroy National park is really nice

Croagh Patrick Heritage

Go out to Achill Island

Last time I checked, which was last week, Pontoon Bridge was closed. Not sure about Healys either. The place is for sale.

farmchoice

you have healys in pontoon which is a nice pub and restaurant. out from that you will have to travel to foxford. in foxford there is the foxford woolen mills which is nice and has a nice cafe. there are a good few pubs in foxford, it is a good ''drinking town'' so you will be we accommodated in that regard, its the kind of place where the dogs are drinkers as well so by all means bring them with you.

restaurants wise you would want to head into Ballina , there you have the really fancy like the icehouse and mount falcon castle and beleek castle ( in beleek woods which is great for walking). then there is the market kitchen by the river which is excellent and plenty of others in the town as well.

if you can head out to lahardane which is not far from pontoon there is a lovely pub there called leonards.

regarding walking trails there are a number that head off from foxford through the ox mountains if you ask in healys or in the woolen mills they will have plenty of info on these.

whitey1

toadfly wrote: »

Definitely go to Healys for food, great restaurant and pub with music at the weekends. Go to Achill for a day, the beach there is gorgeous. Ceide Fields is another nice day out for walking and scenery. I personally love Enniscrone, there is a lovely seaweed baths there. Mulranny, Easkey, Foxford Woollen Mill, loads of places!

Enniscrone beach has to be 2 miles long...I'd say that's about 30 mins away. Some great pubs there for lunch...I was just there last August myself and am planning to go again next month.

Healys is definitely open...someone I know put a picture up on Facebook when the were there a few weeks ago

There's a new 5 mile walkway from Turlough to Castle Bar but I don't know how busy or dog friendly it is. can't imagine it would be too busy during the week

Lahardane has some great pubs...definitely take a trip up there it's only 10 mins from Pontoon

Xenji

Kristopherus wrote: »

Last time I checked, which was last week, Pontoon Bridge was closed. Not sure about Healys either. The place is for sale.

It has been closed for months and is not reopening, the receivers are better off knocking it, the place was a total dive besides the scenery.

Polo_Mint

Xenji wrote: »

It has been closed for months and is not reopening, the receivers are better off knocking it, the place was a total dive besides the scenery.

I never found it that bad and I stayed in it twice.

That was about 2 or 3 years ago

Reg'stoy

Back after our week in the West, I can confirm that the Pontoon hotel is indeed closed.

Plenty of loop walks around the Foxfort and Newport areas. You are going to need a good Sat Nav to find the starting points of the loop walks particularly around the Foxfort region. Some of the roads are the grass in the middle type I thought were long gone. If you like Hill walking then you are in for a treat (as good views as you get in the Dublin hills).

Healy's was grand but you won't walk to it, regular pub fare food wise but they did have lobster. You are as well to find a house close to or in Foxfort if you want to head out at night. Foxfort is a lovely town to stay, two good shops and two take aways. The pubs are ok, didn't try them all but those we were in didn't do any local craft beers which was a pity as I was told that there were some tasty local beers.

I would again recommend all of the loop walks, they range in length from 6km to 14km to an all day 33km. The views are worth the climb up some of the slopes, so bring a stick. The Larganmore loop walk is 14km and for us the best, word of warning keep your dogs (if you have some) well under control; we are confident in our two, but there was livestock close by on some of the trails.

Between Newport and Achill Island are three areas of loop walks again beautiful views but you want to keep your eyes well open to spot the starting points.

Achill island is well worth a (an all day) visit as the views are again beautiful.

One thing I will say folks is that the roads are tight enough in areas and on more than one occasion I had my rear view mirror full of a local who knew the roads. We couldn't help but notice the number of skid marks on the roads, is there a joy riding problem or do people like doing doughnuts; a lot. Drive at your own pace, as you will not take some corners at the posted limit.

Would absolutely recommend a stay in the area, Mayo has it all when it comes to trail/hill walks. The only thing is the signposting in some spots, bring a good map and Sat Nav. The walks require good boots and the proper gear, you cross all terrains; roads, bog tracks and hillside slopes.

So to wrap up, Foxfort is grand if you like a central location for hill/trail walks, no 'fine' dining but two good local shops and two takeaways. Pubs are nice and the locals are friendly. Word of warning, mobile coverage is hit and miss (better in the hills than town). No internet was a welcome relief for me not so much her.