As autumn swirls around us, changing the colours and cooling the breeze, the lure of Westport only grows stronger. If you’ve never been here during this beautiful, bountiful season, you’re in for a real treat. From the great outdoors to the safe indoors, we have everything you could dream of for a golden autumn getaway. And rest assured, all the indoor activities listed below operate in accordance with the highest health and safety standards and follow government public-health guidelines, with patrons’ safety always top priority.
1. Westport House
While the famous Pirate Adventure Park is closed because of the pesky pandemic, there’s loads more to do at Westport House. Explore the splendour of the historic house, wander through the stately gardens, go off track and follow the woodland trails, dine at Gracy’s Pizzeria and Bistro, enjoy a stay at the campsite or live it up at Hotel Westport, the only hotel on the estate’s grounds. Or why not learn how to survive in the great outdoors at the new Family Bush Camp run by retired a retired army sergeant and UN Peacekeeper? So many choices!
2. The Yoga Root
Feel like stretching out and enjoying a healthy short break? Look no further than The Yoga Root, Westport’s first embodied health and fitness studio, where the ancient art yoga is blended with a scientific twist. The state-of-the-art waterside studio at beautiful Westport Quay offers a full line up of safe, socially distanced classes and workshops to suit all bodies and experience levels – and all in a spacious, warm and welcoming environment. Pure holiday bliss!
3. Foraging Fun
Westport’s lush hedgerows will soon be bursting with plump sweet blackberries just waiting to be plucked by eager hands. For more-organised foraging, let archaeologist Will Williams of Walk on the Wild Side bring you searching for mushrooms and other deliciously free delicacies in Westport’s woods and hedgerows and along its coastlines. With over 50 years of foraging under his belt, Will certainly knows his Chanterelles and Hedgehogs from his Fly Agarics, so you’ll be in the safest of hands while learning loads about wild food while enjoying a cook up at the end.
4. Éalú Escape Rooms
Fancy a bit of competitive fun? Teams of all ages can test their skills at the challenging games in Éalú Escape Rooms. An escape room is a game in which a small team of players are put into a themed room and they must work together to find clues, solve puzzles and crack codes to escape in the time allotted. The craic is mighty. Pit your wits against Éalú Escape Rooms’ House in the Woods, Hidden Temple and Room of Doom, or choose an outdoor escape hunt with the ‘Escape Tommy Two Thumbs’ challenge. Themes that are guaranteed to get you in the mood for Halloween!
5. The W Cinema
Settle down with a bucket of popcorn and go back in time with a classic movie at The W Cinema. Though the cinema is, of course, showing the latest blockbusters, the curse of Covid means that new releases are a little thinner on the ground. But the good people at The W have turned that into a wonderful opportunity to escape into the fantastical world of films gone by. With much-loved older films filling out the line-up, it’s a great chance to experience a classic like The Shawshank Redemption, The Karate Kid or Pretty Woman on the big screen again.
6. The Wild West
Little humans will go wild for Westport’s dedicated indoor play village, The Wild West. Let the kids run amok and tire their little legs out as you relax in the knowledge that they are happy out, safe as can be. The facilities include a toddlers’ play area, a huge wild-west-themed activity frame, numerous party rooms, a café (yes, Mum and Dad, coffee!), and a sensory room. They have thought of everything, even sourcing a hand sanitiser that is safe for toddlers and kiddies, so you can rest easy while they play the day away.
7. Savour the season
Westport is famous among the foodie set, who flock to our restaurants and gastro pubs knowing they offer the very best locally sourced, seasonal fare. You’ll find all the season’s tasty bounties on local menus – think pumpkin soup, root-veg stew, nut loaf, mountain lamb, wild mushroom risotto, venison roast, wild rabbit and platters of new-season native oysters. And for dessert, mouthwatering autumnal favourites like apple and blackberry crumble, plum and almond tart, baked pears with walnuts and Westport honey… Drool… And sure soon enough, we’ll all be searching for rings in barmbracks.
8. Forest Walks
Is there anything more autumny than kicking your way through piles of colourful freshly fallen leaves? Westport is blessed with plenty of fantastic woodland walks close by, full of deciduous delights for vibrant autumn displays. Feast your eyes on the changing colours of ancient Brackloon Woods, just 7km out the Leenane Road – or head to Old Head oak forest near Louisburgh – it’s Ireland’s only Atlantic-Oak forest that grows right on the coast. Take a half-an-hour’s spin down to the enchanting Tourmakeady Forest and its magical waterfall, or stay in town and enjoy the majestic woodlands of the Westport House Estate.
9. Westival
Craving that festival feeling? Well Westival, Westport’s much-loved music and arts festival, is going ahead this year from October 21 to 26. With a strong emphasis on homegrown talent and closer-to-home culture, it will be appropriately themed the ‘Home Fires Burning Edition’. The organisers have been working on creating a programme of events that is both exciting and safe for audiences and artists alike, so keep an eye on the Westival website and the festival’s socials to find out what’s in store.
10. Sunsets and skies
In these crazy times, there’s something really reassuring about the predictability of nature’s natural rhythms, from the changing of the seasons to the shortening of the days. And one thing’s for sure: nothing beats a sunset in the west for colour and drama, especially in the autumn. So while you’re here, be sure to head to a good vantage spot, like Westport Quay or nearby Bertra beach, to watch the sun slip below the horizon while that cleansing Atlantic breeze gently blows your worries away. It’s a hug for the soul. And we could all do with a hug right now.
