Burtonport Harbour, Lackbeg, the Railway and the Pole Road
Moderate, 1 hour 45 minutes. 5.19 miles
From sea level to 101 feet
Longitude: 8′ 25′ 03″ W
Latitude 54′ 58′ 46″ N
Start off from the car park at St. Columba’s Church, Burtonport. Heading west, you head for the harbour, turning left at the old Girl’s school where the road is signposted as leading to the railway walk. At the end of this road the railway walk begins to the left, but this walk sweeps to the right and soon you realise that the path was indeed the railway of old, as it is obviously built up to hold the now existing road, sloping in places to water on either side at high tide. Make your way along to Burtonport Harbour, passing the large wind turbine and factories. These were used until recently, before the fishing
was taken from the area. Passing the Ferry terminal for Arranmore Island, well worth a trip, you begin to climb out of the harbour past O’Donnells Bar and the Lobster Pot. Reaching a big blue two-story house on the left, which used to the ATLANTIS, where the Screamers lived, turn left immediately preceding the blue house. You may think you are entering private property but this is a right of way to a beautiful part of this walk. Pass immediately to the left of Hughie Ban’s house and keep walking until you see a derelict but quaint old cottage on the left and turn left immediately before this house.
Follow the soft path down this lane and cross the bridge. The road ascends
between two houses onto a tarred road. Turning left here will bring you to
Lackbeg Pier in a few steps. This walk turns right and ascends a little more
keeping left at the next fork. Carrying on straight, resisting the sign that says TRA (beach) which is another lovely walk, you come to a more major road at a rusty old shed that once was the hub of night life in the area, Maggie Neil’s Hall. Turn right here, minding the traffic. This road returns to the chapel, but we are turning left just before the housing estate on the left, across a road known locally as Kentucky. At this turn off you have walked almost 3 miles. Continue along this undulating road for 1.2 miles, until you come to a narrow railway house. Here one encounters the crossing of the railway walk. Take a right turn onto this. As this road crosses another in a few minutes, you leave the railway path once again turning right and making your way along a back road until you get to a junction with a derelict boat and a Mobile home. Turning right here, you make your way back to the chapel and finish the walk.