The Atlantic Companion · Wild Atlantic Way · Mayo

Welcome to Ballina & North Mayo.
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Ballina — Béal an Átha, 'the mouth of the ford' — is the largest town in Mayo, on the lower River Moy. The river carries one of Europe's finest runs of Atlantic salmon; you can watch fly-fishers casting from the Ridge Pool in the centre of town. North-west of Ballina, the WAW runs along one of the most dramatic coastlines on the route — Downpatrick Head with its sea stack and EIRE 64 sign, and the Céide Fields, the world's oldest known field system, preserved under blanket bog for nearly 6,000 years.

Downpatrick Head, Céide Fields, and salmon on the Moy.

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First things first

Where are you headed next?

Tell us once and we'll shape the rest of the page around it.

The essentials

What you shouldn't miss.

Locally chosen, not algorithmic. In rough order of "if you only do one thing".

History

Céide Fields

A 5,500-year-old Neolithic farming landscape — stone walls, enclosures, tombs and houses — preserved beneath the blanket bog and now exposed by peat-cutting and survey. The world's oldest known field system. A pyramid-shaped visitor centre on the cliff edge, with a viewing platform looking over the unforgiving Atlantic the early farmers somehow lived beside.

Good to know · On the R314 between Ballycastle and Belderrig. Seasonal — check current opening hours before visiting. Allow 2 hours.

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View

Downpatrick Head

A grass-topped headland 5km north of Ballycastle with the dramatic sea stack of Dún Briste — 'the broken fort' — separated from the cliff in a storm in 1393. An EIRE 64 sign in white stones from WWII. Holes in the cliff (Poll na Sean Tine) where waves explode upward in big swells.

Good to know · Free, always open. Park at the headland, walk five minutes to the edge. Stay back — no fences, the cliff edge is undercut.

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Town

The Ridge Pool, Ballina

The salmon pool at the centre of Ballina, beside the Cathedral. One of the most productive Atlantic salmon pools in Europe — anglers from around the world fish here. Walk the riverbank from the Cathedral down to the Quay; you'll usually see fish being landed in season.

Good to know · Free riverbank walks. Permits required to fish (from the Ballina Salmon Anglers Association). Salmon season April–September.

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History

Killala and Round Tower

A small fishing village 13km north of Ballina with a 25m round tower, built in the 12th century at a site founded by St Patrick. Killala Bay was the landing spot for General Humbert's French invasion force in August 1798 — the Year of the French. A small museum at Killala Pier tells that story.

Good to know · Round tower free, always visible. Pier and museum signposted.

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Drive

Belderrig and the bog road

The R314 from Ballina to Belmullet runs along one of the wildest coastlines in Ireland — Ballycastle, Céide Fields, Belderrig, Glenamoy, into the bog. Belderrig itself has the Seamus Heaney memorial (he often stayed at the Belderrig research station of his archaeologist friend Seamus Caulfield, who excavated Céide).

Good to know · Long drive, almost no fuel between Ballycastle and Belmullet — fill up before. Allow a half-day with stops.

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Beach

Enniscrone (across the river)

Technically Sligo, but a 15-minute drive from Ballina. A 5km Blue Flag strand on Killala Bay, and Kilcullen's Seaweed Baths — Edwardian seaweed and steam baths in the original 1912 building, still operating.

Good to know · Free beach parking. Seaweed baths year-round, book ahead.

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Local businesses

Places we'd point a friend to.

Hand-picked, not paid for. The ferries, the beds, the pubs and the bike hire that make a visit work.

Before you go. These listings are compiled from public sources and aren't yet verified by the businesses themselves. Hours, menus and prices change with the seasons — always check directly with the venue before travelling, and book ahead in July and August. Owners can get in touch to update their listing.

Eat

Mary's Cottage Kitchen

On the village street in Ballycastle, halfway between Ballina and Belmullet — Mary Munnelly's tiny tea-room in a 19th-century cottage. Brown bread, scones, soup, the kind of lunch that makes you ring home.

Where: Main Street, Ballycastle, Co. Mayo

Directions

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Drink

Dillon's Bar & Restaurant

On Dillon Terrace overlooking the Moy — bar, beer garden and restaurant with Mayo lamb, Atlantic chowder and a serious craft beer list. Sessions on weekends, busy with the salmon-fishing crowd in season.

Where: Dillon Terrace, Ballina, Co. Mayo

Directions

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Stay

Ice House Hotel & Spa

On the banks of the Moy where the salmon run, just outside Ballina — Victorian ice house bolted onto a sharp modern wing. Chill Spa with outdoor hot tubs over the river, the Pier Restaurant for dinner. The county's design-led splurge.

Where: The Quay, Ballina, Co. Mayo

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Stay

Mount Falcon Estate

100-acre wooded estate hotel south of Ballina with its own salmon and trout fishery on the Moy — restored 19th-century mansion, lodges in the woods, fly-fishing instruction, falconry. The country-house weekend.

Where: Foxford Road, Ballina, Co. Mayo

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Stay

Stella Maris Country House

Restored 1850s coastguard station on the cliff at Ballycastle, looking out at Downpatrick Head — eleven rooms, a long conservatory bar, dinner by the chef-owner. Open seasonally; books out in summer.

Where: Ballycastle, Co. Mayo

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Stay

Belleek Castle

19th-century castle in Belleek Woods on the edge of Ballina — Marshall Doran's eccentric collection of armour and shipwreck timber in the basement, fine-dining restaurant, period rooms upstairs. Atmospheric in a way new hotels can't fake.

Where: Belleek, Ballina, Co. Mayo

Directions

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Shop

Clarke's Salmon Smokery

On O'Rahilly Street in Ballina — Frank Clarke's smokery, the country's last independent commercial smoker still using wild and rod-caught Moy salmon when the season allows. Shop on site, mail order the rest of the time.

Where: O'Rahilly Street, Ballina, Co. Mayo

Directions

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Run a place in Ballina & North Mayo?

Our directory is curated, not pay-to-play. If we'd recommend you, you can be on here.

See how to get listed

Got a window or a counter?

Download a free A5 QR card for Ballina & North Mayo — print it, stick it up, and visitors land straight on the Ballina & North Mayo guide.

Ask a local

The bits that aren't on Google.

Watch the salmon at the Ridge Pool
Right in the middle of Ballina town, beside the cathedral. Stand on the bridge in June or July and you'll see fly fishers casting for some of the best salmon in Europe. Free entertainment.
Downpatrick Head when nobody's there
The famous sea stack — Dún Briste — gets coach loads in summer. Go at 7am or after 7pm and the headland clears out. The way the cliff just stops at your feet doesn't get old.
Know a North Mayo spot worth sharing?
Hidden gems on this page are written by locals, not us. The right Ridge Pool fly, the bog road pull-in for a sunset, the Killala back lane — tell us and we'll add it.

Off the spine

Worth leaving the route for.

Not on the Wild Atlantic Way — but a short drive inland (or further along the coast) and locals would always send you here.

Foxford Woollen Mills
Inland · 25 min south of Ballina
A working woollen mill on the banks of the Moy, founded in 1892 by Sister Agnes Morrogh-Bernard of the Sisters of Charity to give a poor town a livelihood after the Famine. Still weaves the tweeds and blankets they're known for, and the visitor centre takes you through the looms, the dye-house and the family stories of the women who worked here. The mill shop is the only place you can buy genuine Foxford direct off the floor.
In Foxford village off the N26. Visitor centre open daily, café and shop on site. Mill tours at fixed times — check on arrival.

Common questions

What people ask about Ballina & North Mayo.

Is Ballina worth visiting?

Yes — Ballina is the largest town in north Mayo and one of the best salmon-fishing rivers in Europe (the Moy). It's a natural base for the wilder Wild Atlantic Way north of here: Downpatrick Head, the Céide Fields, Belderrig and the Erris coast. The town itself has a strong food scene and a vibrant Salmon Festival each July.

What is there to do in north Mayo?

The headline sights are Downpatrick Head (with the offshore Dún Briste sea stack), the Céide Fields neolithic farm landscape (5,000+ years old, the oldest known field system in the world), the cliffs at Belderrig, and the long unspoilt beaches of Belmullet and the Mullet Peninsula further west.

Are the Céide Fields worth visiting?

Yes if you have an interest in archaeology — the Céide Fields are the oldest known field system in the world, with stone walls preserved under blanket bog for 5,000 years. The cliff-edge visitor centre explains the site well. If you only want dramatic scenery, Downpatrick Head 10 minutes away delivers more.

Where is the Dún Briste sea stack?

Dún Briste is the dramatic 50 m sea stack just off Downpatrick Head, 12 km north of Ballycastle in County Mayo. It split from the mainland in 1393. There's a clifftop car park, a short walk to the head, and clear views down to the stack and its nesting seabirds. Allow an hour.

Practical

The things you'll wish you'd known.

Fuel: Plenty in Ballina. Stations in Killala and Ballycastle. Fill up before the bog road to Belmullet — almost nothing west of Belderrig.
Cash: All main banks in Ballina. ATMs in Killala and Ballycastle.
Pharmacy: Several in Ballina, including Sunday cover. Killala Mon–Sat.
Parking: Pay-and-display in Ballina centre. Free at Céide, Downpatrick Head, Killala.
Phone signal: Strong in Ballina. Patchy on the bog road and at Downpatrick Head.
Salmon fishing: Day permits from Ballina Salmon Anglers — book ahead in peak season.

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