The Royal Canal is one of Dublin’s best-hidden secrets, and the accompanying trail is rarely used by visitors. The canal itself leads from Liffey to Mullingar, and Dubliners must cross and re-cross it millions of times each week. Often without even noticing the ideal urban walkway below them.
The Royal Canal Way is great for some serious leg stretches after a long flight. For a brisk walk of just over four hours (or eleven miles), simply follow the Royal Canal, starting at Newcomen Bridge on North Strand Road. For a shorter distance, just choose with the help of a map.
From Connolly Station to Croke Park
Newcomen Bridge, just a few minutes’ walk north of Connolly Station, is the ideal starting point. The Royal Canal has just left the port (hugely rebuilt) and the Docklands area and runs west from here. And the charming Lockkeeper’s Cottage at 1st Lock will make you smile as you follow the path to the futuristic structures of Croke Park.
After passing under Clark Bridge, the ‘Croker’ will tower over you, a fitting monument to the enormous role the Gaelic Athletic Association plays in Irish public life.
In Brendan Behan’s old patch
The old bridle path, much improved since Victorian times, will take you across the Clonliffe Bridge and Binn’s Bridge to the other side of the Royal Canal, the second lock, and a charming statue of Brendan Behan. The well-known poet and drinker is depicted in conversation with a bird on a bench. Why not sit among them and talk to the local pigeons? And take an unusual selfie.
Continuing to the third and fourth locks, you will see the old Whitworth Fever Hospital on your right … and some tall chimneys on your left. This is the air conditioning system for the Victorian Mountjoy Jail, a former “model prison,” and it is still heavily used for incarceration today. Famous detainees included Behan, her ballad “The Auld Triangle” (from “The Quare Fellow”) depicting this prison “along the banks of the Royal Canal.”
Industrial heritage and mathematical genius
The Cross Guns Bridge (officially Westmoreland Bridge) and the nearby 5th and 6th Locks are surrounded by industrial ruins, some converted into apartments; opinions on this stretch of the Canal Real vacillate between “monstrosity” and “picturesque.” You can also see the O’Connell Monument at Glasnevin Cemetery on your right. And you may notice a rail line disappearing into a tunnel under the Royal Channel – this marks the beginning of the almost unknown rail tunnel that runs under Phoenix Park.
After the seventh blockade, you will approach the Broom Bridge in a setting that almost allows you to forget that you are still in Dublin. Speaking of forgetting: the bridge is officially called the Rowan Hamilton Bridge. The famous mathematician went for a walk with his wife here in 1843 when inspiration caught up with him. Not having a pen and paper ready, he immediately scratched the formula he had come up with on the stones of the Broom Bridge. Your wife must have been excited by so much attention.
You will not be thrilled by the stretch of the Royal Canal leading to Reilly Bridge, it is almost ugly. But later the landscape turns rural again, with the strange woolly horse. Pass the 8th and 9th Padlock plus the ever-present fishermen and you will arrive at Longford Bridge. Halfway House is close by if you need refreshment, and you can choose to take the train back to central Dublin from Ashtown station.
The Navan Road Interchange
If you want to continue, you will now pass lock 10 and 11, the latter being a rather tricky lock to negotiate a steep raise. The historic Ranelagh Bridge that follows does not seem to make sense, it was simply preserved when the nearby modern Dunsink Bridge was built. But all of this won’t have you ready for the spectacular Navan Road Interchange, completed in 1996.
Here, the massive N3 roundabout, the railway line and the Royal Canal cross the M50 orbital, along with culverts and water conduits, in a complex fabric of concrete and steel. Trucks thunder above and below you, the railroad vibrates next to you… it gets quieter after Talbot Bridge and the 12th lock on Granard Bridge. You can find some converted mills, some restaurants and a base station for narrow boats. Plus Castleknock station for another chance to catch the train back to Dublin.
Through the deep sinking and into Haixlip
If you continue, you will pass through a suburban area and will soon reach “The Deep Sinking.” Here the Royal Channel is narrow and up to 30 feet below the bridle path, fatal to the occasional stumbling draft horse in the old days and still potentially dangerous today.
The chasm continues past Coolmine Station and Kirkpatrick Street. Only after the Kennan Bridge will the path level out, become less bumpy and wider. Callaghan Bridge and Clonsilla Station are almost the last urban structures, more or less some new properties. Because this is the beginning of the commuter belt, where Dubliners moved into a more rural home until the streetscape, lifestyle, and trouble caught up with them.
Just keep going straight, following the Royal Canal fishing posts and the Royal Canal Amenity Group building through rural Ireland. You’ll soon be crossing from County Dublin to County Kildare, and at Cope Bridge, you should call it a day, whether it’s taking a train back from Leixlip Confey station or walking through Captain’s Hill towards Leixlip for a place to eat and drink. You can also take buses to Dublin city center from here.
Some practical suggestions
To maximize your enjoyment of Canal Real, you may want to:
- Wear appropriate shoes : the urban part of the hike is paved or gravel, beyond Longford Bridge it can get wet, muddy and slippery;
- Walk alone in daylight – the trails are rarely lit and frequented by a dubious clientele at dusk;
- Bring some food and drink – energy bars and a bottle of water are a good idea, even if you plan to visit a pub along the way;
- Tell someone where you are walking : some parts of the Royal Canal are lonely and deserted, bringing a cell phone for emergency use might also be a good idea;
- Don’t overdo it – if you start at Newcomen Bridge you may not want to hike to Leixlip unless you are used to long walks.
