In the second part of his series exploring the gems hidden around our new motorways, Pól Ó Conghaile has 10 great detours from the M6. Photography: Ronan Lang

M6 Factbox

The route

The M6 is the main route from Dublin to Galway. The motorway runs in tandem with the M4 from Dublin to Kinnegad, at which point a junction separates the two, and the M6 continues for 144km/90 miles to Galway. The M6 is the first city-to-city direct motorway to be completed in Ireland.

The tolls

The M4-M6 toll plaza (with 18 lanes, the largest in Ireland) is located between the Kilcock and Enfield interchanges. The toll is €2.90 for cars. There is a further toll plaza on the M6 between Ballinasloe and Loughrea at Cappataggle, at which cars are charged €1.90.

The counties

The M6 passes through Meath, Kildare, Westmeath, Offaly, Roscommon and Galway.

The speed limits

There is a 120km/h limit on the M6. Along the Athlone bypass, however, the limit is 100km/h.

The must-sees

Lough Ree, Clonmacnoise, Athlone Castle, the heritage town of Athenry and the lively city of Galway itself, are all accessible from the M6. Visit discoverireland.ie for more activities along the route.

The scenic detour

Think of WB Yeats, and Sligo invariably comes to mind. But Galway has just as much claim to the poet.

Striking off the M6 towards Gort, I pay a quick visit to Thoor Ballylee, the tower in which he lived during the 1920s -- sadly now closed due to flooding -- before taking a stroll around Coole Park, Lady Gregory's former country estate. It's now an immaculately-kept nature reserve. Here, I make a beeline for the Autograph Tree, the copper beach into which Yeats, Shaw, Synge and others carved their initials.

It's a sunny day and the tree is an electric rusty-red. Stepping through the leaves I examine the trunk, picking out fading letters with the help of a numbered diagram.

It's a unique, organic connection with these literary giants and it doesn't cost a penny.

Details: Exit the M6 at Junction 17, 18 or 19, joining the N18 south. Coole Park (091 631804; coolepark.ie) and Thoor Ballylee are about 20km/12.5 miles in the direction of Gort.

One for the kids

One of the scenic highlights of the M6 is the point where the Athlone bypass crosses the Shannon. You can do more than look at the water around here, however.

Less than 10 minutes up the Roscommon road, Baysports offers kayaking lessons on Lough Ree. Beginners' lessons are suitable for kids aged six and upwards, and involve basic instruction in strokes and manoeuvrability, before leaving you off to paddle around a safe, enclosed section of water in Hodson Bay. Boats, paddles and wetsuits are all provided. Just throw some togs and towels in the boot.

Details: Exit the M6 at Junction 12, taking the N61 for about 5km/3 miles. Baysports (090 649 4801; baysports.ie) has hourly kayaking lessons from €20pp.

The en-route activity

Anyone who drove the N6 regularly will know Locke's Distillery, the old whiskey house so lovingly restored by the Kilbeggan community.

Sitting on the River Brosna, its moss-covered mill, brick chimney and brilliant white walls are a beacon of hope in what can feel like a rundown town.

Taking a walking tour of the distillery, which dates from 1757, I find atmospheric displays on distilling, malting, bottling and labelling. Several details stand out. Locke's was drunk by Winston Churchill, I learn, and its giant steamers, vats and mash tuns are described by my guide as "a giant cappuccino machine". Production ceased in 1957, but the spirit lives on.

Details: Exit the M6 at Junction 5 for Kilbeggan. Locke's (057 933 2134; lockesdistillerymuseum.ie) is just a few minutes off the motorway, and entry costs €7/€4.

A stop to stretch your legs

There are several looped walks braided around Lough Boora, the brooding bog lake near Cloghan, Co Offaly. Ranging from 3km to 6km in length, these take in bog roads, sandy tracks and old farmland trails, but it is the lake's extraordinary sculpture park (above) that makes the detour a must.

I love Eileen MacDonagh's Boora Pyramid, a six-metre mound created from glacial stone that lay hidden for millennia until turf-cutting works uncovered it. Jonathan Sietzema's Bog-Wood Road is another inspiring take on the bog's natural and industrial legacy -- its shards of black oak reach into the sky like the ancient fingers of a forest.

It's a fantastic re-imagining of the landscape.

Details: Exit the M6 at Junction 5, towards Tullamore. Turn off the N52 at Blueball, following signs for Sculpture in the Parklands (sculpture intheparklands.com) for about 7km/4.5 miles.

The pit-stop

Business is brisk at the Kilmartin N6 Service Station outside Athlone -- a campus that includes the Creggan Court Hotel, McDonald's, Woodies, Dominos, Subway and a 24-hour Texaco station.

I pop into the Centra for some papers and snacks. Floor-to-ceiling windows shower the place in light, and I brush against a bushy display of genuinely fresh flowers. The N6 Deli has a juice and smoothie menu featuring fresh lemonade (€2.95) too.

Sadly, the toilets are a letdown. There is no soap in the gents, the floors are wet, tiles are cracking and the taps look like they've been thumped by a thousand truckers.

Details: Exit the M6 at Junction 8 outside Athlone. The Kilmartin N6 Service Station (090 647 5426; kilmartinn6servicestation.ie) is about two minutes away, just off the old N6 roundabout.

The overnight suggestion

The Heron's Rest is a super template for a 21st-century B&B. Sitting snug on Galway's Longwalk, Sorcha Molloy's labour of love comes with a mix of single and double rooms overlooking the River Corrib. When I check into mine and peer out the window, it feels as if I'm on a boat.

The trump card here is the breakfast, prepared to order by Sorcha every morning. It's served at a common table in the kitchen and kicks off with fresh juice, fruit salad, home-baked caraway-seed scones and a plate of orange-chocolate muffins, borne fresh from the oven.

There follows a choice of sweet or savoury hot dishes: a summer berry vanilla omelette with ricotta and toasted almonds, for example, or, my choice, Boston baked beans with bacon and an egg served sunny-side up.

This goes way beyond the full Irish. There's a lovely zing of fresh tomatoes to the sauce, and when I crack the egg yolk, it suffuses the dish with still more flavour. It's a perfect start to the day.

My only concern with the Heron's Rest is its wooden floorboards, which carried quite a bit of sound around the house when the first guests started to stir. It's otherwise quite a B&B.

Details: Exit the M6 at Junction 19 for Galway, following signs for the docks. Rates at the Heron's Rest (091 539574; theheronsrest. com) start at €65pp, rising to €75pp in high season.

The shopping break

Athlone Town Centre shopping mall is within minutes of the N6 bypass. It's a small complex by city standards, but nicely bright and airy, and last time I visited I picked up a great Jungle Book T-shirt for my little girl at H&M. Coast, Zara, Benetton and the Irish Soap and Candle Company are among the 70-odd stores, and the open-plan food court is a good bet for a bagel.

Carry on through the actual town centre to the Left Bank. In the shadow of Athlone Castle, this is the place to pick up a second-hand book, grab a pint at Sean's (the oldest pub in Ireland, it claims) or tuck into a sandwich at Left Bank Bistro.

Details: Exit the M6 at Junction 10, following the signs for Athlone Town Centre (090 648 4387; athlonetowncentre.ie). It's a five-minute detour, and there is underground parking.

The bypassed town

We all know The Fields of Athenry, but what about the town itself? The first thing I notice on the approach from the M6 is Athenry's medieval wall -- snaking around the town centre and dotted with towers.

Inside the walls I find the ruins of a 13th-century castle, a Dominican Priory and a tight old market square which still hosts a cattle market on Saturdays. Look out for the heavily worn 'lantern' cross here (so-called because it has a rectangular swelling instead of a transom cross-head). It dates from the 15th century and is apparently unique in Ireland.

Details: Exit the M6 at junction 17. Athenry (discoverireland.ie/west) is two minutes off the motorway.

The hidden gem

"Even the stones speak," Pope John Paul II once said of Clonmacnoise. But what would he think of us visitors parking our behinds on the stone chair from which he celebrated Mass in 1979? That's just one of the surprises at this 6th-century monastic site.

Established by St Ciaran, Clonmacnoise is home to several churches, two round towers, three high crosses and a collection of early Christian gravestones, but nothing beats rolling down its grassy hills or whispering into the cathedral arch (sound travels around the loop, like an ancient phone call).

Details:

Exit the M6 at Junction 7 or 8, linking with the N62 south and turning off at Togher.

It's about 25km/15.5 miles to Clonmacnoise

(090 967 4195; heritage ireland.ie).

Entry costs €6/€2.

The lunch break

I swing by Temple Country Retreat & Spa on foot of a special offer on its website. Currently, day visitors can use the vitality pool, sauna and gym (and join a schedule of yoga, walking and relaxation classes) for €35 midweek. Everything about the place encourages me to slow down. Avoid the temptation to "rub and run" they say -- at least three hours are needed to pull back from the rat race.

Alas, I don't have three hours to spare, so I grab lunch instead. A celeriac and wholegrain mustard soup is followed by a sundried tomato and Cashel Blue cheese risotto. The rice has just the right bite, and the cheese doesn't overpower things. There are lots of refreshed faces in the dining room around me, so I make a mental note to return. Tempus fugit.

Details: Exit the M6 at Junction 5, in the direction of Moate. Temple Country Retreat & Spa (057 933 5118; templespa.ie) is about five minutes along the old N6. A two-course lunch costs €19.50.

- Pol O Conghaile

Irish Independent