2025 Foray: Carlingford Greenway and Newry Canal Way

 

Carlingford Greenway

Amid reports of the remnants of Hurricane Erin affecting Irish weather, I had rescheduled the foray from Wednesday this week to the day before. I consider myself blessed - apart from a few drops during the day the only proper rain started just a few miles short of my arrival home. It's now the day after as I write this and it is raining steadily, and is due to rain the rest of the week.

I can certainly recommend this foray, although it comes even better if you are 66 or over and thus able to enjoy free travel here in Ireland. And it can be done in a day: no need for the bother of finding a suitable wild camping site and the fear of being evicted. So I set out just before 06:00 with nose and tail lights affixed to my helmet. I got to Connolly station with time to spare (42km in just over 2 hours). After an hour by train to Dundalk I then cycled to Carlingford (26km) where I joined the Greenway, which has only recently been extended all the way to Newry (20km). From Newry I joined the Newry Canal Way which follows the West bank of the now defunct Newry Canal (not to be confuesed with the Newry Ship Canal) and thence to Portadown (32km). Finally I boarded the train for Dublin Connolly changing for the commuter service to Sallins from where I cycled back home (21km) via a pizza shop.

Both Greenway and Canal Way are pretty much level which is such a pleasure when cycling. There were plenty of other users, both cyclists and walkers (with their dogs). The Carlingford Greenway in particular seemed to attract cyclists who either can't cycle and have the tendency to ride rather slowly in the centre of the path and thus not making it easy for me, operating to my tight timescale, to pass.

Newry Ship Canal from Victoria Lock

The Greenway hugs the shore line and is largely tarmac, having only a few sections that are compacted small gravel, and a couple of amazing board walk sections. However the section between Victoria Dock and the Albert basin in Newry, where the path follow the narrow spit of land between the Newry Ship Canal and the River Clanrye, is paved with larger size gravel which was a bit scary for my road bike but I successfully navigated it without puncture.  In all a Grand Day Out!

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Some notes on the subject of free travel and travelling with a bicycle, for those for which the experience is new. There is the FT (public services free travel) card which entitles anyone resident in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) aged 66 or over to free travel on any state owned transport (rail or bus) and some privately run buses nationship. You can also apply for a "ROI Senior SmartPass" card which extends this privilege to Northern Ireland (NI). I have both. Whether a paying customer or not your bicycle can accompany you on trains in both NI and ROI free of charge. You cannot take a bike (unless it folds up) on ordinary buses or the Dublin Luas tram. But a long distances coach (bus) with a large luggage space under the main seating area will also take your bicycle free of charge though I have yet to avail of this.  However the trains understandably have limited space for bikes.

In the ROI you have to book a bike slot in advance, but obviously not everyone does, so on the above Connolly to Sallins route there were three bikes (including mine) vying for two bike slots. The the train was overflowing with ordinary customers. In NI you cannot book a bike in advance and space is allocated on a "first come first served" basis, which rule is of course ignored. For the space: older commuter trains in ROI have a sort of rack where one or two bikes can be stored, although it requires some dexterity to get your bike in the further slot, and if your destination is before the chap whose bike is in the nearer slot...  On newer trains including the "Enterprise" service between Dublin and Belfast there is a general area allocated to bikes and similar impediments, but no explicit "slot" so you have to lean your bike against pull-down seats and hope that not too many other bikes will be piled on top.

As stated, in ROI you (or you are supposed to) prebook cycle slot when you book a seat. The Enterprise service is run by the NI "translink" but when travelling north you book in the ROI "transport for Ireland" website whether a paying or free customer. When travelling south you book in the NI translink website. So for the return journey (going south) I attempted to book a seat, going through all the motions until the final "click to book" instead of which a notice was displayed telling me to instead present my SmartPass card to staff at the departure station (Portadown for me), and if that station was unstaffed, to present the card to the conductor on the train. I happened to arrive just as my train was pulling in, so I was flustered. I waved my card at the woman at the gate and she said I needed a ticket, so I found the ticket office waving my card and the woman there gave me all the options - just a single I cried and I need to catch this train!  Armed with card and free paper ticket I was finally admitted. And then I had to find the carriage door bearing the bicycle symbol. Fortunately I with my bike didn't have to leg it far, but on finally boarding I found the bike slot occupied by the refreshments trolley (which I was later to avail of). The trolley was hastily moved and all was well.

In summary, it helps if you have been through this rigmarole before, but whether or not you will find the station staff are always helpful and only once have I been challenged: "did you book your bike in advance?" (I had). And all for a service that cost nothing! And if there are others with bikes, talk to them: they just might know the ropes, or if not you can at least commiserate.