Rothar Routes

Cycle routes & pilgrim journeys in Ireland and Europe …..

Posts from the ‘Turas Columbanus’ category

Around the Nurney Plateau: Quiet Roads, Hidden Relics, and Big Skies

The first time I heard the name ‘The Nurney Plateau’ was on a CBS Primary School outing with the great Brother Healy. It wouldn’t happen in today’s world to allow your primary students cycle out the Wexford Road, but the entire class cycled out from the CBS to Castletown Castle, a mock Tudor/Gothic 19th century incorporating a truncated tower-house! It is situated on the Wexford road less than 1km past Tinryland GAA Club. I think it was owned by the Monahan family – previously owned by the Kavanaghs and at one stage by the infamous Buck Whaley. My memories of it were that there was a display of swords from all over the world decorating the entrance hall. During the talk Mr. Monahan took us outside and explained about the lands extending up onto the Nurney plateau.

There are spins on the bike that feel like mere training sessions and then there are mornings like today where the road keeps offering up small wonders, one after another, across a landscape that is familiar to me but always surprising. Today’s loop was more or less over and around the Nurney Plateau: 55kms of rolling Carlow countryside with 541 metres of climbing, stitched together by quiet lanes, old stone walls and buildings, and the occasional moment of quiet magic.

And yeah yeah I know, before anyone says it, this was done on my e-bike! Not quite ‘cheating’ as some might imagine. The climbs still have to be ridden, the miles still tick by, and the legs tell me afterwards that there was real effort involved. The beauty is it gives me more freedom – the chance to enjoy the scenery, to take a longer route and to finish feeling happy to plan my next long outing.

It also helped that, finally, a spell of good weather has arrived. Temperatures finally nudging upwards, barely a breath of wind, and more hours of day light if needed and that removes any sense of hurry. No chasing the clock, no cutting corners – just time to ride. And because I travel the local roads, hardly a car along this route after I turned left up Staplestown Hill.

I headed out over Kellistown, heading in the general direction of Rathoe before slipping away onto the even quieter roads around Ballynunnery. Narrow roads, high full green hedgerows and that sense you’ve stepped off the map! Not long after, I passed a vast solar farm located on fine arable land. It’s hard not to feel conflicted – progress, of course, but at a cost that feels particularly visible in a landscape like this.

Crossing the Wexford Road at Ballintrane, I turned left and continued south crossing the River Burren for the third time today as I made my way toward Taylors Cross on the Fenagh – Myshall Road. From there I picked up a stretch of the Turas Columbanus, a route being developed to create a pilgrimage route Myshall, the birthplace of Saint Columbanus across France, Switzerland and Italy to his resting place in Bobbio, Italy. The tiny roads and tight bends tend to slow you down, as if encouraging you to notice more.

And notice more I did.

Soon came Toberbride; according to the Ordnance Survey Map there is a Holy Well located in the field off the road and soon came the wonderfully evocative townland name of Coolnacuppogue ,roughly translating as the Back of the hill of the Dock Leaves! It’s the kind of name that anchors you to a place and I spotted a nice stretch of traditional Carlow fencing here, the craftsmanship still holding strong against time and weather.

A few hundred metres on, two hens scratched industriously along the roadside verge, their small flock of chicks darting in and out under their legs – a simple, perfect rural scene.

Turning right, the road rose gradually before falling towards one of the highlights of the day: Ballyloughan Castle. This place never fails to impress. A seldom visited gem, it boasts the striking remains of a 13th century settlement, its double-towered gatehouse still standing with quiet authority. There’s something very atmospheric about it, I climbed over the gate and strolled inside. No crowds, no fuss, just a piece of Carlow history sitting patiently in a Carlow field posing questions I cannot answer about our past! Not far away lies Ballaghmoon Castle, another reminder of how dense the countryside is with heritage, even if many of these sites are poorly signposted and go unnoticed.

Conscious of the 2pm throw in for the eagerly awaited Cork v Limerick in the Munster SHC, I got back on the bike and pushed on through Swinn Cross Roads from where the road kicked up sharply towards Kildreenagh. This climb has a bit of bite but its reward is access to one of the more hidden treasures of this route.

Down a quiet lane, half hidden in a hedgerow lies a cross head and a bullaun stone, an understated but deeply evocative site. Kildreenagh – The Church of the Blackthorns, feels special. Few know of its existence. The bullaun stone was full of water from recent rains. It’s just one of those spots that rewards curiosity and for which we should be thankful that the local farmer, makes sure that it is not damaged when hedges are being trimmed back. It’s almost impossible to find without local knowledge or an Ordnance survey map in your hand.

From there it was a steady spin home via Newtown, though not without one final test – the climb to the top of Nurney Hill. It’s a proper pull, especially with a good few kilometres in the legs but the top delivers what all good climbs should. County Carlow opens in all four directions, a canopy of green fields, ridgelines along the Blackstairs to the south and Killeshin to the west with the Wicklow mountains in the distant east. Carlow Cathedral spire straight ahead as my North Star.

It’s a quick descent into Nurney village and home via Ballyloo Cross and Tinryland.

This is a loop that doesn’t draw any attention. It doesn’t have any headline climbs or famous passes, but it has other attractions – quiet roads, rich history and the kind of small details that stay with you long after the cycle is done. It’s hard to imagine a better way to spend a morning in the heart of Carlow.

Cycling Carlow’s Heartland

Killoughternane Church

The backroads are my routes for exploring the nooks and crannies of the countryside and cycling these bóithríns (cow paths) lets me slip out of this modern world for a few hours of exploring! With my ordnance survey maps loaded on my phone I’m constantly seeing little red dots and red writing indicating an ancient landmark, forgotten places that are impossible to see from the comfort of a car but which I can easily spot from my bike and explore. The ordnance survey maps carry the poetic placenames of the county. Long before maps and the written word, places had names which were memorised and were important reference points committed to memory. My good friend Uinsíonn Mac Graith (former Rathvilly goalkeeper 1980s) explained this to me on a cliffside walk along the north Mayo coast a couple of years ago. Every inlet, cave, reef, rock, hill, headland, stream had it’s own special name which were used to pinpoint a location, to tell a tale about the area and give meaning to the landscape. In his publication, ‘Logainmneacha agus Oidhreacht Dhún Chaocháin (The Placenames and Heritage of Dún Chaocháin)‘ he collected and listed an incredible 1,500 placenames of this tiny area and he mapped them all! It’s a beautiful and important publication. Many of these placenames were not written down beforehand, but were carried by word of mouth from one generation to the next. Carlow is no different; it would be nice to have our Logainmneacha recorded. For now the Ordnance Survey Maps are a good starting point, as is my father’s copy of ‘Placenames of County Carlow’ by Edward O Toole, a little publication that I treasure.

My route today was to take my down to Killoughternane and Rathnageeragh:

Sticking to the back roads provides me with safe quiet cycle paths; virtually traffic free. First stop off today was at Clonmelsh graveyard, where Walt Disneys ancestors are buried!

Ancestral burial place of the Disney family is located at Clonmelsh..

Just a few hundred metres beyond the graveyard is another very important site associated with St Willibrord, patron saint of Luxembourg. St Willibrord was born near York in England. He was trained and ordained at a religious site located in the townland of Garryhundon, Co Carlow commonly referred to as Killogan, Rath Melsigi (Rathmelsh) or Clonmelsh Graveyard.

Rath Melsigi and its cross

I took the back road to Bagenalstown or Muinebheag. William Bagenal of Dunleckny House had planned to build a new town based on Versaille! As pretty and all as Bagenalstown may be, it ain’t no Versaille!

(From http://www.logainm.ie website)

Passing out of Bagenalstown, the skew bridge over the railway is bordered with the very unique Carlow granite fencing; found no where else in the country! The upright pillars have a V cut into the top and into which the lintel is set in place. Richie Kavanagh wrote a song about it!

Onwards through Donore, Corries Cross, Ballinree Cross and finally arriving after a pleasant traffic free cycle at Killoughternane (Cill Fhoirtchearnáin) – Church of St Fortchen, of which I’ve blogged recently. Also known as the ‘White Church’. It’s obvious why from this drone photo:

Killoughternane Church

My final destination for the day was another visit to Rathnageeragh (Ráth na gCaorach – The Fort/ Rath of the Sheep) to see the progress on the restoration of the old National School. What a treat. But first a big climb up the approach to Carlow’s highest village, Drumphea, before turning right and along the stone walled bordered bóithrín to the Edmond Spruhan restored school. The Schools Collection on the Dúchas website (www.dúchas.ie) contains literally thousands of handwritten stories collected in National Schools, all across the country. They collected stories from Rathnageeragh NS, here is one surprising story about the popularity of bowling and cricket in Drumphea!

I was at the southernmost end of today’s cycle route at Killoughternane and was heading home into the cold north wind. I always like to take a different route home and today was no different. I headed towards Cúl na Sneachta and then in the direction of Garryhill before turning right into the townland of Sheean (An Sían – The Fairy Mound). It was there I came upon a memorial to Volunteers Myles Carroll and Seamus O Toole. The Myshall and Drumpha Parish website is a great source of local history and there is great detail, including a ballad, commemorating the two men here

This is a road I was never on before and I soon passed the Carlow dog training club, I didn’t know such a place existed; there were half dozen dogs being put through their paces! I headed back by the shortest route possible, through Straduff, Clonee, Tailor’s Cross, Kilnock, Ballynunnery, Kellistown, Moyle, Ballycrogue and back into Carlow Town. A great day’s cycling with lots of glimpses into our historic past.

John Creedon of RTE has written some great books in recent years, one of which celebrates the placenames of Ireland ‘That Place We Call Home’, well worth a read as is his compendium ‘An Irish Folklore Treasury from the Schools Collection which is part of the National Folklore Collection, which I sometimes reference.

Rathnageeragh NS restored
Rathnageeragh NS in ruins..

65kms done today across the beautiful countryside of County Carlow!

Rathanna Cycle Hub ?

Looking for a place to plan some nice cycle routes from? The tiny village of Rathanna would make a great cycle hub for south Carlow, south east Kilkenny and Wexford around the Blackstairs. Located between Borris and the Blackstairs Rathanna is perfectly positioned for exploring the Blackstairs Mountains, using tiny traffic free local roads, where time seems to stand still.

Equip yourself with the absolutely brilliant ‘Blackstairs, Mount Leinster & The Barrow Valley’ map produced by East West Mapping (they are based in Clonegal, and produce a series of maps ideal for hiking and cycling activities) and you will have the complete picture to create a multitude of scenic and historically interesting routes that will have you coming back for more.

The history of Ireland and all our local communities is bound up in the richness of our original Irish place names. Every townland, hill and river has a name that tells a story – it might relate to the landscape, to the people who lived there, historical events or ancient mythology. This part of Carlow is rich in heritage. The place names reveal long forgotten aspects of our past – monasteries, churches, battle sites, folklore… they still live on and these connect us with our past despite the angliscation of our country which deliberately mistranslated their original meaning. That’s a pet hate of mine; I hate to see modern housing estates adopting typically English names such as … Tudor Downs or other such pretentious nonsense, when we have so many meaningful options in our original names and heritage to choose from.

In an era of rapid globalisation, preserving local placenames helps maintain a connection to the past. They are not just markers on a map; they are living records of the Irish language, our history, and our identity. For those interested in genealogy, researching placenames can reveal ancestral links and provide a deeper understanding of family roots.

And economically, for tourism and cultural heritage, the meanings behind placenames can enhance visitors’ appreciation of the landscape. Many tourists are fascinated by the poetic and descriptive nature of Irish placenames, which add depth to the country’s storytelling tradition. This quiet part of Carlow has its own unique charms, just waiting to be explored.

This is a great route with plenty of climbing featuring breath taking scenery and a magnificent narrow strip of tarmac with a huge drop down the mountain side if you get too distracted by the views! I started out at the car park opposite St Fortcherns Church in Rathanna and beside Osbornes tiny pub (which also has a hostel attached), it’s a gentle start, gliding downhill to Jack Carrolls bridge over the Killedmond river and on to the ‘Bull Ring – a unique little pentagonal piece of ground shaped by the surrounding network of roads and from where the climb starts to gently rise. It rapidly becomes very steep approaching Tomduff Crossroads and the approach road to Mount Leinster. Use the excuse of taking in the views to take a break from the fairly savage gradient as you head up towards the famous Nine Stones and the Columbanus Bell which marks the starting point of Turas Columbanus, a pilgrimage route, linking Carlow and Bangor in County Down.

The Nine Stones is a very popular spot for Sunday drives and the short walk up Slievebawn or the more challenging road to the TV transmitter on top of Mount Leinster.

I was delighted to bump into Carlow’s finest dual player ever, Paddy Quirke, here at the Columbanus Bell; he was out with the family for some fresh air and a ramble. Naomh Eoin’s finest played Railway Cup with Leinster and was a dual All Star Replacement. He looks as fit as ever!

The views across the patchwork of green fields of County Carlow stretch out before you as far as the eye can see; it’s not a road for the feint hearted and it’s always important to be cautious when meeting a car as it can be quite daunting to an inexperienced driver. If the pace uphill to this point was tortoise like, the descent down past the Head of the River Burren was an adrenalin rush!

The source of the River Burren. I was once inspired by a tale of the great Gus Merne who walked from here to Carlow following the path of the Burren and I undertook it many years ago but didn’t quite get back to Carlow town by dark!

My favourite place name in Carlow is ‘Cúl na Sneachta’. Situated at the base of Mount Leinster, the road follows the contour of the hill around in a sweeping arc and I noticed a memorial stone I hadn’t seen before. I pulled hard on the brakes and made out the inscription s best I could and it said ‘Cathal Goulding’ but I couldn’t really make out the rest of it. I looked to up when I got home and it transpires it was erected in memory of Republican, Cathal Goulding (1923-1998) who was ‘Chief of Staff’ of the IRA and the ‘Officials’. I hadn’t heard of his connection with the area but he had spent a lot of time in his cottage at Raheenleigh. Following his death, he was cremated and his ashes were scattered at the Nine Stones. You learn something new every day!

A bit further on I turned back left in the direction of Rathanna at a cross roads, where there’s a famous piece of rock art on display in the garden of a house at the cross roads. From there I headed up onto what I dubbed ‘The Hidden Sky Road’ some years ago and which Carlow County Council signposted as a local cycling route. I love this road that skirts the western side of Tomduff, towering over Rathnageeragh Castle and the former National School. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a car on this road – nor another bike either!

Rathnageeragh NS in ruins, I took this a good few years ago.

Now transformed!

It was another downhill by Seskinamadra – Seisceann na Madraí, the marsh of the dogs… where I swung right and stopped over to visit St Fortcherns Well and Killoughternane Church ruins.

Despite it association with miraculous cures, I wasn’t tempted to have a ‘cuppa’ but clearly, other brave souls do and if the presence of frogspawn is an indicator of clean water, then I’m sure it would have done me no harm at all! A famous chalice and patten were discovered here that date back to 1595; they were hidden during penal times. There’s great reading about the history of the well and the area in the Myshall and Drumphea parish website.

Killougternane Church is a beautiful example of an early ChristianChurch dating back to the 10th century. It’s a beautiful serene place to visit and the stone work is immaculate.

Also known as ‘The White Church’, this 10th century granite church is built on the remains of an earlier timber church founded by St Fortchen in the 5th Century. Local wisdom holds that Christianity was established here even before the arrival of St Patrick. Who knows for sure.. ‘Cill Uachtair Fhionáin’ meaning the ‘upper church of Finnian’ highlights its connection with St Finnian of Clonard (but really of Myshall!), one of the greatest monastic sites in the country where the ‘Irish Apostles’ were all educated.

I skirted around by Knocksquire and traced my way back to Rathanna via Killedmond after a terrific afternoon cycle, sightseeing and exploring our local heritage. Good to be able to do it!

Boyne Valley to Lakelands Greenway & Beyond

It’s been a while since I’ve update my blog. It was great to get out again today for a good long spin! Greenways do what Greenways do! I took to the Boyne Valley to Lakeland Greenway, which follows the path of a disused railway. Long straight stretches. Nice day out for family cycles and lots of walkers close to the towns. I use Greenways as links to places I want to visit and they provide a great traffic free route. But there’s not a lot to see on these reinvented railways and if your goal is to see the country side and some nice scenery they can be restricted as they are enclosed between hedgerows or embankments. They serve a purpose and they are a great addition to the cycling and walking infrastructure.

This Greenway links Navan, County Meath with Kingscourt in Cavan, a distance of approximately 30kms. It was nice to visit places that I recognise the names of but have never been in such as Nobber and Kilmainham Wood. Before undertaking the route I checked my ordnance survey maps to see where else I might visit while up in these parts and Dún an Rí Forest park is situated just north of Kingscourt. It is a beautiful park with a lovely river walk.

The Park is not too far from the Monaghan border so after exiting on the opposite side (car park side) I pointed the bike in the direction of Magheracloone, a name that I always recall when I think of Monaghan football – Tomás and Damien Freeman are two of their most famous sons and of course the GAA pitch tragically disappeared into a sink hole! I didn’t quite go as far as Magheracloone and I took a shortcut along the edge of Cabra Castle Estate.

The back roads are my favourite cycling routes; lots of interesting things to catch the eye, winding roads, hills, virtually traffic free and it often feels like cycling back in time.

Today I managed to cycle in counties Meath, Cavan and Monaghan – which of course means I cycled in two provinces as well, Leinster and Ulster!

I was surprised at the number of old milestones that I saw along the route back towards Slane. This is just one example of many that I spotted:

I always had the perception that apart from Tara, Hill of Slane and Loughcrew that Meath was flat as a pancake… it isn’t and there was plenty of ups and downs as I made my way south towards Slane through Drumconrath and Syddan. I love to see the GAA pitches dotted all across the country side, Nobber GFC, Kingscourt Stars (Cavan), Syddan GFC, Drunconrath GAA, Meath Hill (Just saw the sign); the strength of the great Meath teams was borne out of these junior and intermediate rural clubs… now a distant memory for Meath folk.

Kingscourt Stars GAA Club .

After reaching the outskirts of Slane I turned towards Navan along the busy main road for a short while but then took a side road that brought me to Broadboyne Bridge and onto the side of the Boyne River for my return into Navan town. Its an historic route with lots of interesting sites, from castles to churches and of course the bradán feasa – the salmon of knowledge, was caught here by the poet Finegas, who had spent many years trying to catch him and gain all his knowledge. The bradán feasa had gained his knowledge by eating nine hazelnuts that had fallen into the Well of Wisdom, this gaining all the knowledge in the world. Finegas left Fionn MacCumhaill to cook it but warned him not to eat any of it until he returned. Fionn was turning the salmon to see if it was cooked and blistered his finger. He immediately put it into his mouth to suck it to ease the pain and he instantly gained all the knowledge! I could do with catching a salmon like that myself!

Video of Navan to Kingscourt Loop cycle

All in all, the route was 83kms long and I really enjoyed visiting a corner of the country, off the beaten track, that I’m not very familiar with. Fills a void!

My Say on The Barrow Way..

We leave tracks wherever we walk. For thousands of years man has followed rivers inland, forging new paths, seeking shelter, food, searching for places never visited before.

In whose footsteps do we wander when we thread The Barrow Way?

We have few wild places remaining which is why The Barrow Way is so special in today’s fast paced world.

Columbanus travelled this way on his journey to Cleenish Island in Fermanagh where he began his education before his onward journey to Bangor in County Down. It’s ironic that now the we are trying to create Turas Columbanus or the Columban Way, (which will follow the Barrow Way to Monasterevin), we are again talking about developing the Blueway Cycle Path. We need clarity about what we intend to do with the Barrow Track. It cannot be a long distance walking trail and a cycling path. Surely it’s one or the other?

Countless people working on the barge traffic that serviced industry and agriculture were very familiar with this route once the canal network was created. It was a lot busier in the 19th Century than it is today!

Today it is designated a Special Area of Conservation. Or at least it was.

Tracks and Trails..
The longest continuous off-road walking route in Ireland is again under threat….

Proposals are due to come before the Local Authority to revisit the Barrow Blueway decision. The Blueway, specifically the replacement of the grass surface with a hardcore surface to facilitate cycling, put forward by Waterways Ireland a few short years ago was refused by An Bórd Pleanála following an unprecedented level of local objections to the proposal. I sincerely hope the proposal will not reverse the decision to remove the grassy path.

The grassy towpath, soft underfoot, a pleasure to walk on.

Unfortunately it appears that the views of the hundreds of people opposed to the Blueway is not being reflected in the debate and I want to put my thoughts out there before a vote is taken as I fear we face a fait accompli, without due consideration of the reasons the proposal was rejected.

The plan for a cycling path is linked to very laudable plans for a network of linked Greenways. Most of these Greenways utilise disused railway lines where they once existed- The Western Greenway, The Waterford Greenway, The Old Rail Trail, The Limerick Greenway, while there is also one on the Royal Canal and another on the River Suir. I have made it my business to cycle all of them over the past few years with the Limerick one being completed on a cold 31st December last.

There literally isn’t enough room for a shared path, as this short video shows! Imagine multiple cyclists (WWI forecast 50,000 Germans!) approaching from the front or behind anybody walking on this path..

I make the following observations based on my knowledge of our beautiful county, and my experience of cycling and walking:

  • We have a disused railway line running almost parallel to the River Barrow that should be converted as was done in Waterford, Mayo, Limerick, Westmeath and now in Kerry. Why is Carlow the exception? Why are we not not pursuing this option? 
  • There are challenges in sharing walking and cycling paths and I experienced this on the River Suir, which is narrow for long stretches and in my opinion dangerous as a result. I have observed arguments between pedestrians and cyclists over the shared use and I would hazard a guess that it is now used mostly by walkers and not cyclists. My experience on the Barrow Track, where I am probably the cyclist who most uses the Track, is that it is entirely unsuitable for use as a paved cycling route for a few reasons. The main reason is safety. Hard surfaces encourage high speeds on bikes and road bikes will be used on this path as they are on the Waterford Greenway. It currently facilitates thousands of walkers – are you aware it is a National Long Distance Walking Trail? Are you aware that it is the longest continuous off road section of walking trail in the country? Are you aware that in Ireland we have very limited access to off road walking and this proposal is to remove the grass surface and replace it with a hard surface thus removing the longest continuous off road walking route in Ireland?
  • Not all Greenways are equal. There is a myth that by installing a cycle path we are going to have a tourism boom. Will we? How do the promoters know? It isn’t a given. The Old Trail in Westmeath is not near as popular as the Waterford or Western Greenways. In fact it may reduce the usage of the towpath by others – there are already thousands of walkers who use the Barrow, there are thousands of Carlovians who also swim and fish along the river bank. If it is considered dangerous, people will not use it. I too am all for developing the River as a way to attract visitors and support the local economy but I do not see this being the panacea promoters envisage.
  • Imagine this though. A cycle path from Bagenalstown to Glynn running between the beautiful Blackstairs and the River Barrow taking in the tranquil village of Borris. (The Barrow Blueway will by-pass Borris). If we create that path, we will still have the Barrow towpath and now we have a very very strong tourism product in the south of the county.
  • WWI has shown complete contempt for the riverbank and their maintenance practices are completely counterproductive. 
  • This is not a sustainable development. The River Barrow floods extensively and with climate change this is going to be more frequent and of longer duration. The hard surfaces that currently exist are always damaged after flooding and render the track unsuitable for any activity and impassable.
  • A hard cycle path will impact on current users – the River is extremely important to swimmers in the summer time and it will be completely unsafe to have large groups of cyclists sharing it alongside them. It’s impossible in fact. The Barrow is a very popular coarse fishing river and the river bank is very important to fishermen who will not be able to safely use the river if there is a bike path. 
  • It isn’t necessary to install a hard surface to attract visitors. Look at the experience in other countries – Such as Spain and the Camino route. 350,000 people walk the Camino every year and they do not need hard surfaces. 93% of users are walkers and only 6% are cyclists. The ratio is probably similar on the River Barrow. We should value wild places for walking. We are currently restoring old pilgrimage routes in this country – St Declans Ways in Waterford and Tipperary is an example and the most popular sections are the off road sections. Here in Carlow we are developing the Columbanus Way – which will utilise the Barrow Track. Much of this will be on road and so the off road sections must be protected and not destroyed. Why would we destroy the tow path when people want to walk on grass? 
  • What about ‘access for all’?  This is our only wilderness area – it is quite remote between villages and it could be dangerous. We cannot fundamentally destroy that which we intent to promote! It should not be torn up. If we take this argument to its logical conclusion surely we should have a stairlift to the top of Croagh Patrick or Carraountohill! Certainly close to our villages improvements can be made to enable improved access. Even on the Waterford Greenway, most of the activity is centred on the hubs.
  • This is an area of special conservation full of wonderful biodiversity. We are facing a worldwide biodiversity disaster and we are required to protect the area not damaging it. 
  • The Towpath is adequate as it is for anyone who does want to cycle while preserving the grass path for other uses.
  • I am a very active touring cyclist and I have written a book ’Cycling South Leinster’ which contains 30 beautiful routes along the back roads of the region. The Barrow Towpath as it is currently constituted is just perfect and the most popular route in the book.
What value do we as a society put on the quiet places – to visit, to sit and rest, to reflect, to stimulate the senses, to appreciate nature?
Is there anything evokes thoughts of summer more than spreading your towel across the grassy towpath on a fine day and getting in for a refreshing dip in the deep still waters of the River Barrow, then stretching out to catch a few rays on your towel spread on the soft grassy path? That will be a lovely memory in the future because it won’t be possible if a cycle path is created!
Heaven on the Barrow.

What should our Council do?

In my opinion, we should insist of improving the grass surface and require WWI to introduce appropriate maintenance practices that do not damage the track and ensure the surface is safe for users.

We should instead only consider works to improve boating and water based activities and enhancements to our riverside villages.

Instead of developing a hard surface for the entire stretch of the river bank from the River Lerr on the Kildare border to St Mullins in the south, we should be looking to enhance the riverside villages and towns – St Mullins, Tinnahinch, Graiguenamanagh, Goresbridge, Bagenalstown, Leighlinbridge and Carlow Town. Look at the great work that the Council did in Carlow town alongside the River. That should be the standard in all the other towns and villages. There should be promotion of the villages as hubs connected to the great walking route that we currently have. Economic gain can be provided by proper investment in the towns and villages and the promotion of the towpath as it was intended – a national way marked walking trail. There are far more walkers than cyclists in this country!

Ellie and Carl, of Tough Soles, are a beautiful young couple who have walked all the long distance walking trails and they have a wonderful blog detailing every walk they have completed. They have walked over 4,000kms of trails crisscrossing the country!

Here is what they had to say about the Barrow Way:

In our list of National Trails, there are 3 major waterways we walk; the Royal Canal Way, the Grand Canal Way, and the Barrow Way. Having done the first two and found them to be nice, but definitely not what we would call hiking trails, our hopes for the Barrow Way weren’t high. However – I am more than delighted to say that there was nothing for us to worry about. At a little over 120km in length, the Barrow Way featured almost entirely grass banks and perfectly spaced towns. It’s amazing how having purely grass banks to walk along it felt like we were actually walking along a river bank. On the first two canals it felt like we were walking on roads with water beside them, which meant we spent more time focused on how uncomfortable the road walking was than on the canal itself. When walking the Barrow Way on grass, the landscape was vibrant and alive. We saw and heard so much wildlife, enjoyed the powerful, thunderous weirs and the silent sun dappled bends. 

Ellie and Carl
Enjoy this video of The Barrow Way before it changes forevermore…
Did you know the Barrow is prone to flooding – even in the summer months? Hard surfaces are washed away every time we have a flood...

Yesterday’s Irish Independent carried this prediction of destruction, warning about the Biodiversity Loss we are heading for if we do not change course. It could not be more stark. I hope that our decision makers weigh up all these factors when they meet to decide the fate of the Barrow Way. I wish them all the wisdom to choose wisely.