County Kildare Walking Routes Project - Kildare.ie

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County Kildare Walking Routes Project 10. The Royal Canal Way (77 kms), Grand Canal Way (114kms) and Barrow Way (109kms) are three of the forty eight Great Irish Walks (Waymarked Ways) promoted in Tourism Ireland’s brochure “Walking in Ireland”. This walk is on the Barrow Way. 11. There are several well established community groups who run community enterprises and organise festivals such as the Blueberry Fair, Open Day on the Bog of Allen and International Bog Day in February, March, May, June July and August along the route. The groups include Ballyteague Community Council; Lullymore Heritage and Discovery Park Ltd; Monasterevin Community Council; Allenwood Community Development Association; Tir na Móna Community Development Council; Robertstown Development Association; Kildare European Leader Teoranta (KELT). KELT has funded several projects in the area including tea rooms at Lullymore Heritage Park, self catering accommodation at Robertstown and marketing grants to community development organisations. KELT has also secured EC funding for Waterwaysnet a project aimed at producing a set of best practice guidelines for dealing with waterways that are distressed or under some form of pressure from pollution, invasive species, or other sources. The project concentrates on the Blackwood Feeder adjacent to this walk. 12. There is a need for focus. Many different community groups are pursuing separate agendas that would benefit from co-ordinated action lead by the public sector. There is potential for private sector involvement through lending of resources or financial support for signage or route maintenance. Roadstone has a quarry at the Hill of Allen and may consider exploring ways of contributing to local initiatives. 13. Shops, pub and post office is available at Robertstown at the start of the walk. The Barge pub serves meals. There is a pub, the Traveller’s Rest, at Littletown. There are good shopping facilities and other services in Rathangan and Monasterevin. Walkers are not particularly catered for along the route (eg drying rooms). Accommodation is limited. There are self catering cottages in the village of Robertstown at the beginning of the walk and in Rathangan at the end of the walk. There is Bord Failte approved B&B accommodation available 3kms outside Rathangan and 3kms outside Monasterevin. The Hazel Hotel in Monasterevin is adjacent to the walking route. 14. Two successful visitor attractions, Lullymore Heritage and Discovery Park (25,000 visitors per annum) and the recently opened Bog of Allen Nature Centre at Lullymore run by the Irish Peatland Conservation Council are within 5kms walk of the main route along country roads. There is the potential to incorporate these attractions in a looped walk (see note 9). 15. Tour Operators that specialise in Walking Tours report that lowland walking routes, in spite of heavy promotion including TV coverage, do not attract any bookings. The market is the independent traveller or the Irish Walking Clubs that look for weekend breaks. 16. Fishing is well promoted along the canal by Waterways Ireland. The recent publication of a book on cycling the towpaths will generate interest in cycling. Although the canal bye-laws prohibit swimming in the locks, harbours and docks the locks are attractive to swimmers because of the deep weed free water. Perhaps selected appropriate areas could be designated for swimming. The development of towpaths for cycling could be encouraged along appropriate selected stages while ensuring that motorcycle use is discouraged in the design of gates. The towpaths are not suitable for pony trekking because of the physical damage caused. There are opportunities for bird watching, photography and landscape art along the canals. 17. Facilities for walkers such as drying rooms are available from the Hazel Hotel in Monasterevin. Entertainment including dancing on Sunday and Monday nights in the
County Kildare Walking Routes Project Hazel Hotel is available. There is music in the Bellyard pub in Monasterevin on the weekends. 18. The Barrow Way and Grand Canal way are well advertised on www.ireland.ie and through that site to http://walks.iwai.ie/grand/ and the www.walkireland.ie sites.
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County Kildare Walking Routes Project - Kildare.ie

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