Few
places can boast the kind of equestrian prowess as County Kildare. Famed around
the world for its sleek-coated thoroughbreds, the county is packed with
horse-breeding facilities, stables, race tracks and tack shops. But there’s
another side to this equine-obsessed county of rolling green pastures: the
waterways.
A short distance from the sweeping fields of the Curragh, with its
exquisitely shorn grasslands, is the pretty town of Athy, which sits at the
junction of the River Barrow and the Barrow Line of the Grand Canal. The
towpaths and riverside walkways here feel delightfully isolated with a breezy
escapism that allows you to imagine you’re a million miles from the modern
world.
Historic bridges arch gracefully over flowing waters, elder and willow
line the banks, and scenic locks and pretty towns punctuate stretches of water
that seem to go on for miles. At times, history inches its way into the
landscape in ways that cause surprise – there’s the abandoned chunky stone mill
at Levitstown, which harks back to an era of industry. There’s the 18th
century Fisherstown Bridge at Monasterevin, which follows a road that’s said to
be one of Ireland’s most ancient routes. And there are the canal towpaths –
designed to facilitate horse-drawn barges, today these paths are some of the
most beautiful places to take a leisurely walk.
But it’s in the town of Athy
itself where the area’s history feels at its most tangible. The past infuses
every corner of this ancient Norman settlement, from Crom a Boo Bridge, named
after the war cry of the Fitzeralds, earls of Kildare; to Preston’s Gate, which
got its name from Thomas Preston who seized the gate in 1648. Elegant and
relaxed, this town is a delightful place to linger, with the tree-lined banks
of the water providing a beautifully languid counterpoint to the thick stone
tower of White’s Castle.
Take your time and stroll along canalbanks and
riverside trails, jump on a boat trip into the heart of nature, and finish the
day with a session in one of the town’s great music pubs.
