The Boyne River Walk

As our winter hibernation ends and Spring finally appears so does the desire get out into the fresh air. Apart from the local street routes you'll need to venture further afield to access our wonderful countryside but you could start with our nearest and most significant natural feature: The River Boyne.

Posted on YouTube by Footsteps Ireland

Starting from Newberry Hall, County Kildare, the river flows 112km through County Meath to reach the Irish Sea in County Louth. Despite the river Boyne being so close our nearest public access point is at the Ramparts.

The area has been designated a Special Area of Conservation and there's plenty of wildlife, flora and fauna to observe along the flat route. Note that there are very few exit points and only tree cover if the weather turns bad. If you have two cars you could start at the Ramparts car park and finish an 8km trail at the car park by Stackallen Bridge.

Following the old canal, built in the late 1700's to transport grain, coal, flour and other goods from as far as Drogheda, there are a few points to note along the route:

ruins of a Ruxton’s Lock and Bridge
Lock cottage.
red brick manor of Ardmulchan Demesne,
ruins of Dunmoe Castle
medieval Ardmulchan church and cemetery.

The 6km route onwards from Stackallen Weir goes through private property and isn't easy walking terrain. However once passed is continues beyond Slane Castle View.