Scouts Summer Camp 2017 – Clew Bay Cycle Trip
This year, to change things up, our summer camp was based around a cycle trip around clew bay in Mayo.
The scouts travelled by train to Westport with their bikes. After checking into the hostel for the night – and storing our bikes, we visited Westport House where we explored the historic house and took a ride on the Ferris wheel and had a go on the bumper karts.
The following morning we started our cycle along the Greenway. Our first stop was at a B&B, where we had arranged with a local skipper to take us our for some deep sea fishing. We caught a tremendous amount of fish! When we got back, we had a BBQ fish feast before some late evening activities.
The next day we cycled to Achill Island, where we stayed in a house. As well as a stop off to the amusements at Keel Beach, the scouts took part in several water activities including surfing, paddle boarding, and Kayaking. We also walked up a short but very steep route to Moyteoge Head at Keem Bay.
Our next stop was Clare Island. We got the ferry over to the Island from Achill, with our bikes on board. There we stayed in a hostel on the island. We hiked up Knockmore – the highest offshore point in Ireland, saw a Megalithic tomb, and Granuaile’s Castle.
From nearby Granuaile’s Castle, we headed back to the mainland on our next ferry – this time to Roonagh Pier. We stay in house at Roonagh Pier. We went on a coastal walk, and swam in the pond on site.
We then cycled on to Murrisk where we stayed at another hostel at the foot of Croagh Patrick. Here we went on a forest walk, hung our by a stony beach, and attempted a hike up the side of Croagh Patrick – which was cut short due to weather warnings from Met Eireann, which didn’t materialise.
For our last cycle leg, we travelled from Murrisk back to Westport. We did a quick stop off at a local chipper for our lunch, before boarding the train back to Dublin.