Waterways in County Kildare
Towpath Trails: the Walker's Guide
Introduction | The Barrow Line | The Grand Canal | The Royal Canal | Waterways Map
The Barrow Line
Route 1: Lowtown (Robertstown) to Rathangan: 7.75 miles, 12.5 km
To reach the Barrow line cross Fenton's bridge to the south bank of the Grand Canal just before the marina. Walk in the opposite direction from the marina following the west bank of the old' line of the Barrow junction. This is the channel nearest Robertstown as distinct from the new' line which diverges from the main course of the Grand canal just west of the marina.
Follow this bank for almost two miles (passing the Traveller's Rest pub at Littletown on the opposite bank ) until you come to the junction where the waters of the old and new Barrow links combine. Cross the bridge to the west bank of the now combined canal and continue towards Ballyteige Castle.
( If you are heading for the Milltown feeder cross to the east bank at the old 19 th lock and double back a few paces to the bridge where the clear waters of the feeder join the main channel. Look out for the plaque on the chamber wall which recites the history of the old 19 th lock. )
From Ballyteige castle follow the west bank past the 20 th and 21 st locks. The much restored castle dates from the late medieval period. The rebel leader, Silken Thomas of the great Kildare Fitzgerald family, is said to have taken refuge there.
Unusual, perhaps, to find a castle surrounded by relatively poor land. This is one of many similar tower houses built in the Bog of Allen to offer protection in the disputed no-mans land' zone where clashes occurred between the Irish clans who sprang attacks from island strongpoints in the boglands and the English garrisons of the Pale.
No more than with the bogland stretch of canal near Edenderry this section nearly swamped the canal builders of two centuries ago.
In the bogland to the east two Bishops of Kildare took refuge during the penal times while in a more recent era a turf camp was established during the Second World War. It accommodated men who came from distant parts to harvest peat fuel which was then ferried by specially constructed barges for stockpiling in Dublin.
Unusually for Co. Kildare hills feature on the landscape with a range of hills running almost parallel to the canal to the east. The Hill of Allen, fabled dwelling place of Fionn MacCumhaill and his legendary warriors, is being gouged by quarrying but its inverted-saucer shape surmounted by a folly from the 19th century is still distinctive. The tower was built by Sir Gerald Aylmer, landlord of nine thousand acres in County Kildare. The names of locals who worked on its construction are inscribed on the eighty-three steps to the viewing platform. The Hill of Allen is followed by a range of hills which separate the bogland from the Curragh plains to the east.
After the 21st lock the surfaced towpath gives way to a grassy trail on a pleasant embankment. The canal swings gently to the east and west as if showing off the skills of the engineers who planned its raised curves across the landscape . A gem of a small aqueduct leads across a tributary of the River Slate which runs parallel to the canal to the west. At Glenaree Bridge switch to the east bank of the canal which forms a fine and wide grassy path. Here coniferous forest either side combines with the waterway to form a unique stretch of canal scape. The forestry has the effect of almost completely deadening sound achieving almost perfect isolation from the outside world.
Emerging from the forested stretch the skyline of the town of Rathangan comes into view. Grain bins replace the miller's warehouse of bygone days. Rathangan village is worth a diversion from the canal bank. A flash-point in the 1798 Rebellion it is now known for its strong community spirit as demonstrated in the landscaping carried out in the area of the canal.
Rathangan also has a notable literary tradition. The poet William A. Byrne is commemorated by a plaque near the canal bridge while the 20 th century novelist Maura Laverty also hailed from the town.
From Rathangan the canal heads into the watershed of the River Barrow in the south-west extremity of Co. Kildare almost touching the Offaly boundary. The peatlands off its banks have long been the subject of experimentation. At Umeras, south of Rathangan, a factory was set up in 1885 to produce board from peat and, later, peat bedding for livestock. At Lullymore, to the north-west, experiments were carried out up to recent times in growing vegetables and pasture grass on peat soils. Today the Lullymore station is a museum of man's interaction with the boglands.