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‘Serious Flaws’ in Barrow Towpath Proposal

Barrow Cyclists

According to the Kilkenny People website, an engineer’s report, released under the Freedom of Information Act, raises serious questions about the suitability of the controversial Waterways Ireland “Blueway” plan to replace the grassy towpath along the River Barrow with a hard-surface cycling trail.

In a recent posting here I commented on the issues that he has raised that make the route unsuitable. His opinions will not come as a surprise to anyone who is familiar with the route but it is surprising that these concerns have not carried sufficient weight with project promoters, resulting in the project becoming controversial.

It’s fair to say that most people opposed to the proposal are not guilty of ‘nimbyism’ but are doing so through conviction that the proposal is indeed flawed and from a love of the beauty of the Barrow Track. I am sure that the vast majority would support a different proposal that respects this unique riverside habitat and maintains as much grass surface as possible.

Local knowledge should always inform these proposals; the engineer’s report refers to maintenance issues for a hard surface – and that is even without taking into account flood damage that will occur!

I would support the upgrading of the Barrow Track and the benefits it could bring to tourism in the area and for the health benefits attached to outdoor pursuits – walking, cycling, swimming and running on a well maintained grass surface with quality quayside developments in the towns and villages along the route. Carlow County Council got so much right in Carlow Town with the beautiful promenade and park which have truly enhanced the river in Carlow Town. An extension of this development a little further towards the town boundaries and in other towns and villages – Athy, Milford, Bagenalstown, Goresbridge, Graiguenamanagh and St Mullins would give us an international quality riverside development.

As a regular user I have to continue to point out that the maintenance of the towpath is not acceptable and has caused serious damage on long stretches. This has to be addressed. Waterways Ireland need a larger budget if they are to fulfil their obligations to the towpath.

Again I ask – is it not possible to develop the derelict rail line from Bagenalstown to Glynn just as the Déise Greenway has used the old rail line in Waterford? Surely a good solution? There would be no issue with a hard core surface and in fact it could develop into a rally good Loop cycle by using the grass bank from Bagenalstown to St Mullins to give it another dimension!

Déise Greenway v Barrow Blueway.

There has been a lot of focus on the plan to develop the Blueway along the Barrow Track. And a lot of controversy.

Many make the comparisons with the Déise Greenway in Waterford and the Great Western greenway in Mayo.

I thought I would take a spin down and cycle the Déise Greenway when the calendar allowed.

First impressions are that they have done a fantastic job on the route. Waterford County Coucnil obtained a licence from CIE at the turn of the century to develop the line as an amenity. They have completed the section from Dungarvan to Kilmacthomas and are working on the Kilmac to Waterford City section at present. I have to say it’s a great amenity for local and visitors alike. I have cycled on Greenways in Europe on old railway lines but found them a little boring as they were straight as an arrow and flat too. This line offers a lot more with great scenic views of the Comeraghs, Dungarvan Bay and Helvick Head. Other highlights are the Durrow Tunnel which has been tastily lit and is very atmospheric and the Ballyvoille Viaduct.

I started in Kilmacthomas and headed west for Dungarvan returning to Kilmacthomas. It’s a very easy pleasant cycle, ideal for families. There are bike hire facilities along the Greenway.

The surface is a mixture of tarmac and a cinder surface and on this occasion I was fortunate to use a carbon fibre Teschner racing bike, courtesy of Shane Foley – what a machine! I think my full water bottle weighed more than the bike!

For a Monday in January the Greenway was quite busy with cyclists and walkers and I got speaking to a number of them. All of them love using the Greenway but with one complaint – it has become a victim of its own success! Weekends are very busy times and there is little enjoyment on it as a result!

I would highly recommend the Greenway for anyone looking for a nice route easy route in beautiful countryside. It’s 24kms in length at present but will extend to 48kms when the final section is complete.

The thinking is that the Déise Greenway can join up with the Barrow Blueway to form a pretty impressive off road cycle route across the south east. It sounds amazing and would certainly be a boost for tourism in County Carlow. Would it work?

Having cycled both the Barrow Track and now the Greenway there are a number of differences between both routes.

For a start the Greenway will never flood whereas the Barrow floods on multiple occasions every year. The surface would be damaged and possibly washed away.The Greenway is attracting serious traffic on the weekends – the Barrow track could not cater for big numbers and for other users at the same time. I can imagine arguments between fishermen and cyclists – fishermen need the space for their rods and equipment; a bike track will reduce the area available to them. The Greenway runs along a rail line of no important ecological significance whereas the Barrow is Carlow’s most important wildlife habitat. this is a very serious difference between the routes. I don’t see how a hard surface can be considered in such a sensitive area nor how the Barrow track can retain its existing use and also cater for an influx of cycling enthusiasts.

A few other things struck me while cycling on the Greenway today; in places the route is lined with furze bushes and brambles. I could clearly see the thorn branches on the track after the hedges had been cut. Presumably this results is punctures! Maybe it isn’t the issue I think it is but I imagine in Autumn every year that there will be a problem with thorns puncturing tyres. I did notice that close to Dungarvan a sweeping truck was employed cleaning the path but I don’t think it does the entire route. This is a terrible problem on the Barrow Track because Waterways Ireland leaves the track in a terrible condition after hedge cutting – using machinery that is too heavy and never cleaning the surface after cutting. Farmers on roads always tidy up after the annual cut and the same should apply on the track. The route is very well laid out with protective gates at road junctions that are wide enough apart to allow cyclists continue without dismounting yet preventing motorised vehicles entering. A smart gate system also operates to allow farmers access their lands on both sides of the path.

The Déise Greenway is a great success and I think all options must be explored to see how the Blueway can be sensitively developed without harming the environment. Another thought struck me while cycling along this disused railway line. Running parallel to the Barrow is the disused Bagenalstown to Wexford railway line. If the Déise Greenway could be developed under licence from CIE could the Carlow line not also be developed in similar fashion? I assume the Waterford line fell into the same disrepair as the Carlow line so it should be possible to develop it instead of the Barrow as our off road cycle route!

Waterford Greenway 1

Waterford Greenway Tunnel

Waterford Greenway Dungarvan

Waterford Greenway Disused Train Station

Controversy comes to a tranquil and beautiful walkway

I think Olivia O Leary has put it rather well

I can’t match here eloquence with the written word but I think these photos also tell the same story. The Barrow is our piece of Paradise and we don’t need a hardcore surface to spoil it.

Carlow in Flood 2015-12-30 (1)

Heron near Ballytiglea

Go with the Flow!

Perfect for cycling as it is!!

Peace and quiet….and nature

Swans at Carlow

Evening time on the Barrow

Carlow Rowing Club – true custodians of the river in Carlow Town

A sambo where the Mountain River meets the Barrow

Barrow Cycle – what’s the problem with what we have?

Milford at sunset

Milford bridge

Clashganny

Near Ballytiglea

The Barrow Track

This morning’s blog seems to have it generated a lot of interest and thanks to all who have read it and got in touch about the sentiments I expressed and on the photographs of the stunning scenery.

Very pleased that my blogs have no attracted almost 11,000 views and 6,000 visitors. Thanks again for the interest.
Due to the interest I thought I would add a few more thoughts and a link to the Barrow in flood ….during the summer months.

As an aside here are a few amusing experiences I have had cycling the Barrow:
– Almost knocked down by an otter who shot across the Track and he then belly flopped into the water!
– Went up to Maganey with Mary on a fine evening some years ago, passing a lot of fishermen on the bank. When I made the return journey I was steering Mary’s bike as well while cycling my own as she had fallen and broken her elbow. Her sister Patricia picked her up at the River Lerr and I returned past the fisherman minus my wife – I got some funny looks!
– A trout swam past me on the track during a summer flood, I kid you not.. See this Link here
I once ended up in the river on Christmas week when my front wheel hit a mucky patch and I went head first into the river, which was very high at the time.

Getting back to the Blue Way and Green Way debate.
I have cycled on two Blue Ways and a Green Way and across old Roman roads in France.
The Blue Ways were on the banks of the Saone and the Rhone. Two great rivers. The surfaces were mixed – grassy banks, paved, dirt tracks.
The Green Way was on a disused railway line and it was a great tarmac surface that went on forever with long straights that were quite boring.

Give me a choice and I would pick the Barrow Track as it now is.

2015 Hols Lyon

Cycle Dijon Lyon

I went astray on The Rhone and came across this cemetery for German WWII soldiers. Very sombre.

Cycle Dijon Lyon

Blue Way v Green Way?

I have been spending most of my Saturdays over the past few months mapping cycles route across Counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Laois and Kildare. The routes are selected for the pleasure they provide; I am not mapping routes for training purposes, my choices are directed by three criteria – beautiful scenery, interesting sites to visit and as traffic free as possible.
My journeys have taken me over the Blackstairs, The Sliabh Blooms, The Bog of Allen and into rural parts of the south east that are seldom visited and places that haven’t really changed very much in decades.
I completed my 21st route this weekend, a kind of coming of age! Yesterday I returned to the Barrow.
There has been an explosion in cycling, the roads are full of groups of lycra clad cyclists every weekend, and families are increasingly going out together for a day out on the Green Ways of Mayo, Westmeath and Waterford (on disused railway lines, not on existing river paths).
Plans are afoot to have a Blue Way along the mighty Barrow. Some of the plans are really exciting and it is great to imagine the river being used much more than it is.
But.
Having spent many years cycling on the Barrow Track I am very familiar with every kilometre of it. It is simply the best off road cycling route in the country. The Barrow Track is a unique resource – no other river has a 70km walking path along it’s bank. It is a an area of natural beauty and national significance, a pristine wilderness, full of wonderful flora and fauna. A real living Green Way.
Any ‘development’ that exploits or damages that for the intention of economic development truly is ill judged and misguided.
The accompanying photographs show the Barrow at is wonderful best and if the intention is to maximise the resource for the benefit of local communities then the plan must surely be to enhance and not interfere with the local environment.
To replace the grassy bank with a hardcore surface can only be described as an act of vandalism. We have seen sections that have had hardcore surfaces for many years and they are all potholed and are the worst sections of the Track. By far. There are many people who already avail of the Track for local walking and it is in fact a national long distance walking trail (many of them are on roadways … why?), fishermen, canoeists, cyclists, runners and nature lovers. These people use the Track and any of them that I meet on the Track are all of the same opinion – no hardcore surface!
This is not an anti development stance, nor a rent a crowd or rent a protest movement; these are people of conviction who treasure what we have.
All these people have seen the Barrow flood in winter and summer and seen the damage done to the stretches of hardcore surfaces that already exist – they are washed away. Why spend millions on a surface that will not stand he test of time unlike the grass path that we already have?
Parts of the Track are areas of special conservation and a hardcore Blue Way just does not comply with that status.

One of the more worrying considerations has to be future maintenance, Who is going to have the budget to repair the surface after each winter and to provide for the upkeep? A pilgrim walk took place recently from St Mullins to Graiguenamangh and a fantastic job was done of cutting the grass and the Track looks it’s brilliant best at the moment. However apart from that the attempts at maintenance by Waterways Ireland can only be described as sabotage. They spread heavy aggregate wherever they can, they rut the track with machinery that is too heavy and which in places causes subsidence. There has to be a more environment friendly means of maintaining this treasure.
I understand the budgetary constraints Waterways works under but regretfully I do not think they are approaching this from the correct perspective.

My cycle along the Barrow yesterday was just stunning. I encourage everyone to experience it either walking or cycling. it’s on our doorstep and we should treasure it.

Heron Landing

Barrow Cyclists

Rathellin Lock

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Posts tagged ‘The Barrow Way’

‘Serious Flaws’ in Barrow Towpath Proposal

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Déise Greenway v Barrow Blueway.

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Controversy comes to a tranquil and beautiful walkway

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The Barrow Track

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Blue Way v Green Way?

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