The Barrow Way () is a

long-distance trail A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, equestrianism or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exc ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is long and begins in Robertstown,

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

and ends in

St Mullin's St Mullins (, formerly anglicised as ''Timoling'' or ''Tymoling'' - 'homestead of Saint Moling, Moling')St Mullin's

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county located in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region of Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Carlow is the List of Irish counties by area, second smallest and t ...

, following the course of the

River Barrow The Barrow () is a river in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters (Ireland), The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers and, at 192 km (12 ...

and the Barrow Line of the Grand Canal through counties Kildare, Carlow,

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

and

Laois County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...

. It is typically completed in four days. It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the National Trails Office of the

Irish Sports Council Sport Ireland (), formerly the Irish Sports Council, is a statutory authority that oversees, and partly funds, the development of sport within Ireland. It is located at the National Sports Campus in the townland of Sheephill near Abbotstown Hou ...

and is managed by

Waterways Ireland Waterways Ireland (; Ulster-Scots: ''Watterweys Airlann'') is one of the six all-Ireland North/South implementation bodies established under the Belfast Agreement in 1999. It is responsible for the management, maintenance, development, and res ...

. The trail starts in Robertstown and follows the Barrow Line Canal, a branch of the Grand Canal, as far as

Athy Athy ( ; ) is a market town at the meeting of the River Barrow and the Grand Canal in south-west County Kildare, Ireland, 72 kilometres southwest of Dublin. A population of 11,035 (as of the 2022 census) made it the sixth largest town in Kil ...

via the towns of Rathangan and

Monasterevin Monasterevin (), sometimes Monasterevan, is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. It lies on the River Barrow and the Barrowline, a canal branch of the Grand Canal. In the 20 years between the 2002 and 2022 censuses, the population more than dou ...

. The section from Robertstown to Rathangan once formed part of the now defunct Kildare Way. At Athy, the Way joins the River Barrow and follows its banks to St Mullin's, taking in the towns of

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had a population of 27,351, the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland, ...

Leighlinbridge Leighlinbridge (; ) is a small town on the River Barrow in County Carlow, Ireland. It is 11 km south of Carlow town, on the R705 road. The N9 national primary route once passed through the village, but was by-passed in the 1980s. It c ...

Bagenalstown Bagenalstown ( ), officially named Muine Bheag (), is a small town on the River Barrow in County Carlow, Ireland. History and name In the eight century, Saint Lappan reputedly founded a monastic school outside Bagenalstown in the townland ...

Goresbridge Goresbridge () is a small village located in the east of County Kilkenny, in the province of Leinster, Ireland. Goresbridge is named after a 1756 bridge, built by Colonel Ralph Gore, which provides a crossing of the River Barrow between County ...

, Borris and

Graiguenamanagh Graiguenamanagh or Graignamanagh () is a town on the River Barrow in County Kilkenny, Ireland. Part of the settlement, known as Tinnahinch, is on the County Carlow side of the river, and Carlow County Council refers to the whole village as "Grai ...

. The Barrow Way connects with the Grand Canal Way at Robertstown. It also shares its route with that of the

South Leinster Way The South Leinster Way is a long-distance trail in Ireland. It is long and begins in Kildavin, County Carlow and runs through County Kilkenny before ending in Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. It is typically completed in five days. It is de ...

between Borris and Graiguenamanagh. A review of the National Waymarked Trails in 2010 found usage by multiday walkers to be moderate and usage by day walkers to be high. The Barrow Way is often done by way of a series of out and back excursions rather than as one continuous walk. The review recommended consideration be given to developing sections as a cycle route. The review also recommended that the Barrow Way be designated as a National Waterway Trail as it falls into the category of trails that follow the

towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, Working animal, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mod ...

s of inland

waterway A waterway is any Navigability, navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other ways. A first distinction is ...

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * *

Fáilte Ireland Fáilte Ireland is the operating name of the National Tourism Development Authority of Ireland. This authority was established under the National Tourism Development Authority Act of 2003 to replace and build upon the functions of Bord Fáilte, i ...

River Barrow Walks
at th
Inland Waterways Association of Ireland
{{coord missing, Ireland Long-distance trails in the Republic of Ireland Geography of County Kildare Geography of County Laois Geography of County Kilkenny Geography of County Carlow Tourist attractions in County Kildare Tourist attractions in County Laois Tourist attractions in County Kilkenny Tourist attractions in County Carlow

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links