Towpath Trails: the Walker's Guide

Introduction | The Barrow Line | The Grand Canal | The Royal Canal | Waterways Map

The Barrow Line

Route 2: Rathangan to Monasterevin: 6.5 miles, 10.5 km

Resume your walk on the road along the east bank of the canal pausing to admire the double lock followed by Spencer's bridge- the Spencer in question was a hapless local landlord piked to death in the aforesaid Rebellion!

Note how the bridge walls have been recessed to give room to the swing beams of the deep gates of the double - chambered lock.

Cross the road keeping to the east bank to begin the walk to Monasterevin. The towpath shows evidence of recent dredging and is a little sluggish at first but gradually becomes firmer. A fine thatched cottage at Umeras Bridge and the double lock at McCartneys Bridge are the main items of interest on this uneventful six mile trek to Monasterevin. Just past McCartneys bridge Ballykelly Mill turns its back to the canal. The first mill was built here in 1801 to take advantage of the newly constructed canal.

Any monotony that might have set in will be more than compensated for by the myriad of bridges and engineering features which are a legacy of Monasterevin's halcyon days as a humming town which thrived on distillery and milling enterprises. Across the canal are fine warehouses and a three - storey house which was once a canal hotel. However Monasterevin's gem is its lifting bridge - the largest and most elaborate of several examples on the Barrow waterway. Today it is lifted by electric motor but for nearly two centuries was cranked by hand as boat took precedence over road traffic. Watch out for the nearby blind' bridge : its blocked up arches are witness to the original line of the canal to the Barrow. It was replaced by the Barrow aqueduct - a structure rivalling the Leinster aqueduct on the main canal for its structural dignity.

Monasterevin has its roots in an ancient monastic community. In modern times its waterways and fine streets gave inspiration to many visitors such as the great tenor, John count McCormack, who lived at Moore Abbey overlooking the Barrow in the 1920s. Another learned visitor was the Jesuit intellectual and poet Gerard Manley Hopkins who is the subject of an annual summer school in the town.

Monasterevin seems to have had more industry in its hey-day than any other town of its size. It was certainly a strategic place on the country's transport infrastructure in the form of old warehouses, canal structures and railway engineering testifies to the intensive traffic generated by its brewing, distilling and milling industries.

A community improvement scheme has created a small park with miniature structures in the space between the aqueduct and the rail bridge where thundering trains form an impressive backdrop to the heritage of transport engineering features. Locals say that from a given point twelve bridges can be counted within the precincts of Monasterevin. How many can you spot as you cross the aqueduct?

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