View over the Carrowbeg River - Westport, Co. Mayo

ONCE upon a time you used to be able to travel Ireland's road network at your leisure - the only encumberances being the odd tractor here and there gettting in your way or perhaps even a donkey and cart.
These days thanks to the booming Irish economy it is all very different. I recently had the misfortune to spend 40 minutes getting through Sligo town in the rush hour and if you're planning on driving through Dublin then choose your time very carefully indeed or you might find you've written off most of a day doing little else.
Sligo town apart, the west of Ireland remains one of the best places to go if you want empty roads and with a direct flight from Birmingham International Airport to Knock you can be slap bang in the middle of it in just over an hour.
Even in an age where air travel is commonplace it's still quite amazing to think you can be at work at 5.30pm of an evening and just a few hours later unwinding in one of those wonderful Irish pubs where no-one seems to be in a hurry and the Guinness tastes like the nectar of the gods.
For years the west of Ireland seemed to be a fairly difficult place to access. Going overland by road or rail and ferry it's a hell of a trek - so much so you could probably get halfway across Europe in the same time. Even flying to Dublin and driving across from there is a pretty major voyage.
Knock International Airport opens up a large chunk of the west of Ireland and it is still a region that has not been taken over by the tourists, unlike some other parts of the country.
The thing is Mayo, Sligo, Galway and Roscommon have just as much to offer as the likes of KIllarney, West Cork and Dingle, if not more and now getting there is easier than ever.
The route has always been a little shaky. Knock International Airport is a triumph of enthusiasm over intransigence.
People said it could never happen, it was an airport that was built on a bog, that there was not enough demand for an airport and it wouldn't last.
While the airport has had some tough times it is still there and growing. In fact it is doing better than ever. This year more than 700,000 passengers will travel through it and bosses reckon it won't be too long before they reach the million mark.
The Birmingham route has had its ups and downs too and bmibaby is the latest operator. According to airport chiefs at Knock it is making a good show of it too.
In some ways it is not surprising, there are a lot of people originally from the region living in and around the Midlands and given the tourist potential of the region the route should continue to do well.
A lot of Midlanders travelling to Knock are visiting family in Ireland but increasingly the route is being seen as a tempting option for tourists keen to avail of the riches the west of Ireland has to offer. When I travelled there recently thre was a large party of golfers who looked like they were on a stag weekend and there are certainly some fine courses to choose from in that part of Ireland.
One could wax lyrical from now until eternity about what to do in the west of Ireland. From the afore-mentioned golf to fishing, to simply getting away from it to partake of an entirely different culture or exploring a rugged and dramatic landscape - there is no shortage of things to do.
Looking outward from Knock there are plenty of interesting and exciting places to go within striking distance. The infrastrusture hasn't evolved sufficiently yet to offer a selection of destinations via public transport, so if you fancy going exploring you will need to hire a car.
The picturesque town of Westport is within easy reach and is about an hour away by car. For fishermen the river Moy offers some of the best salmon and trout fishing that can be found anywhere in Europe, some favourite spots being Ballina and Foxford. Great course fishing can be enjoyed on the region's many lakes.
For a genuinely Irish experience it is worth checking out some of the sleepier towns that tend not to be frequented by the tourists. Swinford is somewhere I have visited many times and boasts an ridiculously high number of pubs compared to its small population. One of my favourite hostelries is Padraig Horkan's, which involves walking through a shop to get to the pub and boasts a bar that looks like it has hardly changed in the last hundred years or more.
In towns like Swinford you are sure to meet some of those colourful characters that have helped give the Irish worldwide a reputation for the art of conversation, storytelling and knowing how to have a good time.
Towns like this generally have a thriving traditional music scene too, though you'll need to check what night pub sessions are held.
No-one has arranged any tours to take it in yet but on the road between Swinford and Charlestown (the closest town to Knock International Airport) you pass the ancestral family home of the brothers Gallagher of Oasis. There's no sign or anything to draw attention to it so if you want to know where it is you will have to ask one of the locals. I do know it's right next to a bridge across a small river. If you're really lucky you might even see the renowned duo supping pints in either Swinford or Charlestown - they have been known to frequent the hostelries of both towns when they want to get away from it all.
If it's sightseeing you're after then try driving through the spectacular Ox Mountains - several scenic routes are signposted near Tubbercurry and Attymass. The Ox Mountains might not look too impresive from a distance but once you're in the middle of them you'll be amazed. As far as mountains go Benbulben close to Sligo Town is a breathtaking sight to behold, a bit like a scaled down version of South Africa's Table Mountain.
And if you venture to Westport then you're not far from Achil Island which gives a great flavour of Mayo's rugged coastline and you can even take a paddle in the Atlantic Ocean.
Overall you'll never be short of things to do in Mayo and beyond and I'm sure if you venture to Knock it won't be the first time.
And talking of Knock, the town that gives its name to the airport is well worth a visit. Even if you are not someone of a religious persuasion, it's worth journeying to this renowned place of Marian pilgrimage just to see the pilgrimage industry that has grown up around the original shrine.