Westport, Clew Bay & Clare Island

Few towns in Ireland can match Westport's charisma and continental flavour. Cheerful, multi-coloured shop fronts jostle for attention with an attractive selection of pubs, shops, cafés and restaurants. Little wonder it has become one of Ireland's most popular and cosmopolitan holiday destinations. Clew Bay and its environs provide a spectacular venue in which to spend time on the water. The setting guarantees a healthy sailing breeze in sheltered water with breathtaking coastal scenery. Clare Island lies at the entrance to Clew Bay. The largest of Mayo's offshore islands, it has a varied terrain: spectacular cliffs with large numbers of nesting sea birds and a rich "inland" topography of hills and bogs and small pockets of woodland, making it ideal for hill-walking. The island's complex history can be read through its landscape: from archaeological remains of the Neolithic and Bronze age, to rare medieval wall-paintings in the 14th century abbey, to the "Pirate Queen" Grace O'Malley's castle and burial place. The sheltered anchorage and sandy beach is located in the shadow of Grace's castle.

It is a truly spectacular location to relax on deck in the moonlight.