← Ireland area guides
Ireland
Mullingar
Lakes, greenways and the heart of Ireland's Hidden Heartlands
Mullingar, in County Westmeath, sits among a cluster of lakes — Lough Owel, Lough Ennell and Lough Derravaragh — and is a hub for the Royal Canal Greenway's flat, traffic-free cycling route. It's a quieter, lake-and-countryside base roughly an hour from Dublin.
Highlights
- Lough Owel, Lough Ennell and Lough Derravaragh for fishing, swimming and sailing
- The Royal Canal Greenway — 46km of traffic-free towpath through Westmeath
- Belvedere House and Gardens, an 18th-century estate with woodland walks
- Fore Abbey, a 7th-century monastic ruin near the village of Fore
Getting around
Around 80km (roughly an hour's drive) from Dublin via the M4, with a direct Iarnród Éireann rail line into Dublin's Sligo route.
