Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [139]
For information on hiring narrow boats on the canal, see the boxed text, Click here.
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WALKING THE TOWPATH
The Grand Canal towpath is ideal for leisurely walkers and there are numerous access points, none better than Robertstown if you fancy a long-distance ramble. The village is the hub of the Kildare Way and River Barrow towpath trails, the latter stretching all the way to St Mullin’s, 95km south in County Carlow. From there it’s possible to connect with the South Leinster Way at Graiguenamanagh, or the southern end of the Wicklow Way at Clonegal, north of Mt Leinster.
A variety of leaflets detailing the paths can be picked up at most regional tourist offices. Waterways Ireland (www.waterwaysireland.org) is also a good source.
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NEWBRIDGE & THE CURRAGH
pop 17,042
The fairly unremarkable town of Newbridge (Droichead Nua) is near the junction of the M7 and M9. Many tourists flock to the Newbridge Silverware Showroom ( 045-431 301; www.newbridgecutlery.com), a purely commercial venture that trades on the area’s metalwork heritage as it peddles vast quantities of silver-plated spoons, forks and whatnots.
Silverware aside, the town is more famous as the gateway to the Curragh, one of the country’s largest pieces of unfenced fertile land and the centre of the Irish horse industry. It’s renowned for its racecourse ( 045-441 205; www.curragh.ie; admission €15-60; mid-Apr-Oct), the oldest and most prestigious in the country, which is in the middle of a substantial spruce-up – thanks in large part to the generosity of the Aga Khan. Even if you’re not a horsey type, it’s well worth experiencing the passion, atmosphere and general craic of a day at the races, which can verge on mass hysteria. If you miss the chance to hear the hooves, you can still see some action: if you get up early or pass by in the late evening, you’ll see the thoroughbreds exercising on the wide-open spaces surrounding the racecourse.
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BOG OF ALLEN
Stretching like a brown, moist desert through nine counties, including Kildare, Laois and Offaly, the Bog of Allen is Ireland’s best-known raised bog, and once covered much of the midlands. Unfortunately, in a pattern repeated across Ireland, the peat is rapidly being turned into potting compost and fuel. Once Ireland had almost 17% of its land covered in bogs; today it’s less than 2%. Bogs are home to a wide range of plants and animals, including cranberries, insect-eating sundews, all manner of frogs and butterflies. For more information on ways to discover this rich land, enquire at the Bog of Allen Nature Centre (see opposite), found right along the Grand Canal.
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The M7 runs through the Curragh (exit 12) and Newbridge from Dublin. There is frequent Bus Éireann service between Dublin’s Busáras bus station and Newbridge (€7.90, 90 minutes). From Newbridge, buses continue on to the Curragh racecourse (€1.60, 10 minutes) and Kildare town. There are extra buses on race days.
The Dublin–Kildare train ( 01-836 6222) runs from Heuston train station and stops in Newbridge (€13, 30 minutes, hourly). Check the timetable for trains that stop at the racecourse.
South Kildare Community Transport ( 045-871 916; www.skct.ie) runs a local bus service on two routes that serve Athy, Ballitore, Castledermot, Kildare town and Moone and Newbridge among others (one way €4, up to five times daily).
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KILDARE TOWN
pop 7538
Built around a compact, triangular square fronting its impressive cathedral, Kildare is a busy enough place, even if there aren’t a lot of attractions within the town itself. It is closely associated with Ireland’s second-most important saint, Brigid.
Information
The Tourist Office & Heritage Centre ( 045-521 240; www.kildare.ie; Market House, Market Sq; 9.30am-1pm & 2-5.30pm Mon-Sat May-Sep, 10am-1pm & 2-5pm Mon-Fri) has an exhibition