As I remarked to my granddaughter, at her age the world lies at her feet, but at my age I'm thinking "can I even do this?" or " this may be the last time I get to..." But in good faith that the body the Good Lord gave me won't let me down yet, I set off for what must count as the first of my 2024 forays. The particular destination was the Suir Blueway bicycle path following the river Suir from Clonmel to Carrick on Suir and the railway linking Limerick Junction with Waterford.
Outward journey
The foray started with a 5:15am departure by bike for Heuston station, Dublin, where I boarded the 08:00 Cork service, changing at Limerick Junction to the branch line to Cahir.
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| Segment (1) to Heuston 42.4km |
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| Changing trains at Limerick Junction |
From Cahir I followed the wide, paved path along the river, past Swiss Cottage, until it ended abruptly. Here there is a short footpath to the nearby road, but very overgrown and full of stinging nettles. I survived.
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| beside the Suir, looking north towards Cahir |
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| looking south towards Swiss Cottage |
The blue-way
Forced to leave the river I fought my way to the road and biked to Clonmel (land of cider) where I joined the blue-way, so called because the river is navigable for canoes and suchlike, though I did not see any. But I did pass many walkers and cyclists on the nicely paved path. And folk fishing out in their waders - but the fishing in these parts is all private, some clubs having well appointed fishing shelters.
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| From Cahir to Clonmel |
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| From Clonmel to Carrick along the blue-way, totalling 51.5km |
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| Beautiful bridges |
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| Orchards to feed the cider works |
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| The paved blue-way |
The tower
I had several hours to kill before my train, the only train, would return me to Limerick Junction, so after checking the whereabouts of the station (and finding it all locked up) I entered part (b) of my foray, destination De Le Poer Tower. This involved a steep climb of about 150m elevation gain over 1.5km out of the Suir valley and then another battle with undergrowth before emerging onto a forestry track beside the tower. The wonders of GPS!
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| 16.6km there and back |
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| Having emerged from the undergrowth... |
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| Towards the Comeragh mountains |
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| The top is obviously unfinished |
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| Towards Waterford |
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| The plaque is visible but not the inscription |
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| There is a steel door, but it was open |
The De Le Poer Tower has a sad back story. It was built in 1785 by the second Earl of Tyrone, George de la Poer Beresford, in memory of his eldest son Marcus. We are told that the plaque above its door states that the monument was dedicated 'To his beloved Son, his niece and his friend'. His son Marcus died aged 12 in a horse riding accident at Curraghmore. The 'friend' refers to his tutor Marcus, Charles Poliere de Botens, who died at shortly after the boy's death. It touched me that his tutor was also his friend.
Curraghmore is the estate and its big house is just visible in one of my photos. More sadness followed: the tower was planned to be 120ft high but was left unfinished at 70ft. Why? Maybe as a poignant statement of grief. Its unfinished look makes it even more special, like a symbol of a life that ended too soon; a powerful reminder of how precious life is and how memories last forever. Surprisingly in this age of safety first, the entrance is laid open and I climbed up the 92 steps to the top where the spiral staircase ends abruptly. There is no parapet or rail, nothing to stop the more adventurous from standing on the edge and falling. Indeed, at the base there is a recently erected wooden cross where, I suppose, someone lost their life that way. All very heart wrenching. But I had no time to commiserate: I had to get back to catch the one and only train. Hurrying down to the road, the undergrowth inflicting many bramble scratches on my legs, a further testament to the sorry story.
Curraghmore is the seat of the Marquess of Waterford. The estate was part of the grant of land made to Sir Roger le Puher by Henry II in 1167. One wonders on what basis Henry II could grant Irish land. Today it is the home of
Curraghmore Whiskey, a 100% authentic, Single Estate Pot Still Whiskey, crafted from barley and oats grown on the estate.
My original intention was to go on to explore the estate's nearby church which I could see from the tower, and Mother Brown, a curiosity that you can do your own research on. Driven by an irrational fear of missing the train I let those historic items be and hurried back.
The tea shop
Mostly downhill, it took less time than planned to return to the railway station, indeed I discovered an error in my calculations: I actually still had over an hour spare. So I roamed the streets of Carrick in search of tea and found the unlikely named Sunnyside Café. Propping my bike against the neighbouring derelict property (Carrick is a bit run down) I was accosted by the proprietor who kindly coerced me into ordering a pot of tea and scone with butter and jam, for which I was eternally thankful. Who wouldn't be after peddling up that hill?
The railway
Then back to the station. It was still locked up, after all it serves only two trains in each direction every day. But eventually the signal man cum porter cum station master unlocked the gate and led me to a waiting room complete with electric heater. I still had half and hour or so to wait so I familiarised myself with things railway.
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| Carrick on Suir station towards Waterford |
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| Section signal protecting the level crossing |
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| Signal boxes are still in use on this line |
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| The level crossing gates are opened manually |
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| home signal 'off' shows our train is on the way |
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| Gates closed to traffic and section signal 'off' |
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| Our train arrives at last! |
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| One of our stops is this iconic placename |
Having I suppose ascertained that the train is running on time and that the section ahead is clear, just before the due time of arrival the signal man descends from his box and drives his car the 200m or so to the level crossing. He manually closes the gate to traffic, then drives back to his box where he lowers the section signal to indicate to the arriving train that it is safe to proceed. He then climbs down from his box again, carrying the
block signalling token to give to the train driver. By this time I am in the train, but doubtless the signal man communicates with the next box that the train has entered the section, sets the signal 'on' (stop), drives down to the crossing gates and opens them, then closes up shop and takes a well earned rest. Which melodrama all seems a bit OTT given that there is likely only one train set that trundles from end to end of the route.
On the return journey I noticed that there are a number of similarly manually operated level crossing on this line, complete with signal boxes, although I noticed that one crossing was automated with lifting barriers and colour-light signals protecting it. I suppose it warranted this special treatment because it was a busier road.
Based on the appearance of the track (concrete sleepers, welded rail, clean ballast), Iarnród Éireann has obviously spent a small fortune on bringing the line up to standard so one wonders why so few trains each day and so few folk using those trains. I was surprised to find semaphore signalling, indeed the signals look brand new so I suppose they also were upgraded. And why the 80km/hr speed limit? I do hope the
line stays open because I like branch lines. I went to school on one. But at present it surely
cannot be economical. One blogger sums it up with "It is like spending a fortune upgrading a hotel but only opening on a Wednesday during the depths of winter".
Once again I managed to convey my bike from train to train at Limerick Junction and then again at Portlaoise catching the slow train that would stop at Sallins. Here I exited to cycle the last segment of my trip back home. A total of 131.9 km biking.
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| 21.4km from Sallins to home |
Wow, how I slept well that night!
