Northwest Ireland and Lakelands is a region of Ireland.
Counties
Towns
Other destinations
- Ben Bulben Mountain
- Ring Fort
Understand
Get in
By air, Dublin (DUB IATA) is a good choice, for its range of flights and good onward transport. With a rental car, you'll reach this region in a couple of hours. Belfast (with two airports) is more convenient for Donegal, Monaghan and Leitrim. Derry and Knock airports have fewer flights but are closer.
The only railway across the region is from Dublin Connolly via Carrick, Boyle and Ballymote to Sligo, with five trains a day.
Buses from central Dublin run via the airport to Carrick and Sligo. Buses from Belfast run via Armagh to Monaghan and Cavan, and buses from Derry run to Donegal.
Get around
By bus
Cities and towns
Urban bus networks operate in the following towns:
- Cavan - Local Link operate three cross-town routes, C1, C2 and C3[dead link].
- Monaghan - Local Link operate two cross-town routes, M1 and M2[dead link].
- Sligo - Bus Éireann operate two town service routes. Route S1 runs north-south across the town every 30 minutes, while route S2 runs to Strandhill and Rosses Point every hour.
Regional, Commuter and Rural
An extensive network of regional bus services operate across the region. However, the frequency of routes can vary significantly, from high frequency routes between nearby towns, to rural services running only once a week. The majority of services are public funded and operated by Bus Èireann and Local Link, although in some areas commercial services also play a large role in providing transport.
The main regional bus networks are:
- Bus Éireann operate an extensive network of regional bus services across Ireland. Commuter services are provided along routes into the main cities and towns, while in rural areas there are routes connecting many villages and small towns into their nearest large town or city. Most routes are shown on the Bus Éireann network map. Routes are numbered by region, with the 100's in the east, 200's in the south, 300's in the midwest and southeast, and 400's in the west and northwest.
- Local Link is the brand name for all services funded under the rural transport programme. There are over 1,000 rural bus routes serving nearly all corners of the country. These range from regular scheduled routes running several times a day between nearby towns, to door to door routes running only one day per week. The regular scheduled routes operate like normal bus routes, with fixed routes and timetables, however the door to door routes can vary and may require advance booking, so it's best to inquire with your nearest Local Link office[dead link] the day beforehand.
- Andrew Wharton operate route 975 from Cavan to Longford
Intercity
The main intercity routes operating within the region are:
- Dublin - Monaghan - Omagh - Derry/Letterkenny: Bus Éireann Expressway route 32, Goldline Express routes X3/X4, John McGinley Coaches routes 932/933
- Dublin - Cavan - Donegal: Bus Éireann Expressway route 30
- Dublin - Longford - Sligo: Bus Éireann Expressway route 23
- Derry/Letterkenny - Sligo - Galway: Bus Éireann Expressway route 64, Bus Feda route 964