Newport: Greenway, Railway Heritage and Architecture

If you’re looking for a hotel in Newport, the Great Western Greenway, the town’s railway heritage or its architecture may influence your choice of destination. Events are also among the things that make Newport distinctive. The route, historic buildings and festivals each have their own story and place in time.

Great Western Greenway: cycling and walking route through Newport

The Great Western Greenway is a 42 km traffic-free cycling and walking route along the former railway line from Westport to Achill. In Newport, it crosses the town via the Seven Arches Bridge. This connects two ways of exploring along a clear historical route: the trail follows a former railway line.

The first section between Newport and Mulranny is of interest when considering the route’s history. It is 18 km long and opened in April 2010. The route between these two towns received the European Destination of Excellence (EDEN) award on 8 July 2011. The 18 km refers to this section, while 42 km describes the entire cycling and walking route from Westport to Achill.

Viaduct, church and stained-glass window

The Newport Railway Viaduct was built from local sandstone in the early 1890s. It was once part of the railway line that connected Newport with Achill Island. It therefore represents a different historical connection from the former railway track now followed by the Great Western Greenway.

Another architectural highlight is St Patrick’s Catholic Church in Newport. Rudolph M Butler built it in 1914 in the Irish Romanesque style. The church’s artistic history includes the eastern stained-glass window, “The Last Judgment”: Harry Clarke completed it in 1930, and it was the last window he finished. The construction and window dates thus point to two different aspects of the church’s heritage: its 1914 architecture and a work of art from 1930.

River and bay in the Natura 2000 network

Protected areas also offer insight into the landscape around Newport. Part of the Newport River is designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) in the Natura 2000 network. Clew Bay is also designated as an SAC in the Natura 2000 network. The designations relate to two different landscape features: explicitly part of the river, and Clew Bay as a whole.

Festivals with different time frames

Newport hosted the first Mayo Dark Sky Festival in October 2016. The programme for the festival in Newport from 1 to 3 November 2024 included talks and a mobile planetarium. The event concluded with the annual lantern parade to St Patrick’s Church in Newport. These programme details offer a specific glimpse of that edition without anticipating a current festival programme.

The Grainne Uaile Festival takes place annually in Newport over the August bank holiday weekend and features live music on the streets. If you’d like to plan your trip around this date, check the latest dates before making plans. This lets you consider the festival as a possible reason to visit, while keeping the mentioned Mayo Dark Sky Festival editions clearly dated to 2016 and 2024.

Discover more destinations: Doohooma, Mallaranny, Ballyglass, Kiltimagh, Kilsallagh, Claggan, Charlestown, Hollymount.

For the broader travel overview: County Mayo.