Walking
Self-guided and guided walks are accessible, fun ways for families, groups, clubs and individuals to use the waterways either as part of a Sunday outing, for healthy walks or for traffic free enjoyment of longer distance trails. Check out the walks on each waterway to find the one that suits your group, your starting point and your timeframe the best.
A landscape of sandstone hills and mountains, and a waterfront graced with bays, scenic harbours, nature-rich wetlands and wild woodland mean walking around Ireland's watyerways is a rare treat. Some shores have been settled since prehistoric times with trails studded with reminders of the past, from a beech grove where 19th century ladies took tea in Portumna Forest, to the blustering cliffs around Lough Erne in Co. Fermanagh. As the seasons change, Ireland's waterways remains constant in her beauty, and is as captivating in the rinsed-out, watercolour tones of winter as it is in the technicolour-drenched heights of summer. Follow these trails and you’ll stumble upon partings in the forest where views of the water will stop you in your tracks. Swans cut soft ripples through the vitreous surface, dragonflies blitz, and the skies above seem endless. It is true paradise....
Greenways
Waterways Ireland has supported the development of multi-purpose greenways on Canal towpaths on the Grand Canal and the Royal Canal to broaden the type of use and the suitability of the surface for a wide range of use.
Royal Canal Greenway
The Royal Canal Greenway is ideal for walkers. Starting in Maynooth, it follows the 200 year old canal through friendly Enfield and Mullingar to Cloondara in Longford, with cafés, picnic spots and attractions along the way.
For more information about the Royal Canal Greenway, visit here.
Grand Canal Greenway
Works are ongoing to develop sections of the Grand Canal Towpath to Greenway standard.
For a summary of the works to be undertaken by the Local Authorities and current development updates on the grand canal towpath, visit here.
Blueways Ireland
With Blueway trails beginning in Mullingar, Lough Derg, the Shannon and the Shannon Erne, there's walking routes suitable for everyone.
For more information about Blueways Ireland, visit.
