Grand Canal walk across Ireland... (Portumna to Ballyvaughan help needed)

Dr Pepper

Hi Folks,

I'm planning a week-long walking holiday for early May. The route is one I've been threatening to do for the past 10 years... Grand Canal from Dublin to the River Shannon (Shannon Harbour), along the Shannon to Portumna (Lough Derg) and from there cross-country to Ballyvaughan.

Dublin to Portumna is fairly straight forward. There are well maintained and signposted walking routes along the Grand Canal and the Shannon (details on Inland Waterways Assosiation walks website). However I'm not too sure on the route from Portumna to Ballyvaughan. Obviously, I'd prefer to be off the roads as much as possible. The 'Slieve Aughty' mountains are along that leg so it would be nice to incorporate those. Also, if there's much of the Burren to be seen between Kinvara and Ballyvaughan, that should also be part of the itinerary.

I haven't even gotten the Discovery Series OS maps for the area yet so they may make it easier to identify a route. In the meantime, if anybody knows that part of the country well, any advice would be much appreciated (even good accommodation, restaurants, pubs and scenic attractions along the way). Can anyone recommend websites or books?

I'm planning to do a reconnaissance weekend walk along the chosen route in the next month or two because there may be a small group of walkers with me and I will obviously want to know where I'm going!

Thanks very much,
Brian

PS - For anybody interested, here's a rough outline of the itinerary so far:
Day 1 - Ringsend (Dublin) to Sallins (Kildare) - 22.1 miles
Day 2 - Sallins to Killane (near Edenderry, Offaly) - 19.1 miles
Day 3 - Killane to Tullamore (Offaly) - 19.4 miles
Day 4 - Tullamore to Shannon Harbour (Offaly) - 21.5 miles
Day 5 - Shannon Harbour to Portumna (Galway) - 16.7 miles (this day may be extended to Abbey or Kylemore to shorten the subsequent day(s) a bit!)
Day 6 - Portumna to Peterswell/Hollymount/Gort ?? (Galway)
Day 7 - ??... to Ballyvaughan (Clare)

Cookie_Monster

check out OSI.ie, maps on-line may help you figure the route.

I know it's flat along the canal but 22mi or 35kms in a day is pretty serious going, don't overstretch yourself on the first day to the detriment of the others!

Alun

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

I know it's flat along the canal but 22mi or 35kms in a day is pretty serious going, don't overstretch yourself on the first day to the detriment of the others!

Have to agree there .. having done a number of long distance walks myself, I have to say it's the occasional long flat days (especially on hard surfaces) you get now and then that really take it out of you rather than the hilly sections.

Evil Phil

Just as a matter of interest what are you going to do for accommodation. Local B&Bs or something else?

Dr Pepper

Thanks. Now that I think of it, the long walks I've done along the canal always seem more tiring than going up and down mountains. I'll go out some Saturday soon and do the Grand Canal Dock to Sallins and see how I feel after it (or the next day for that matter!).

Dr Pepper

Evil Phil wrote: »

Just as a matter of interest what are you going to do for accommodation. Local B&Bs or something else?

B&B's, guesthouses, inexpensive hotels, I'm not sure yet to be honest. Don't think I'll be lugging the tent and sleeping bag on my back though I am hoping to arrange a family member to do at least one 'gear-swap' by car half way to save on the backpack weight.

LionelNashe

Walking Across Ireland might help
I picked it up somewhere a couple of years ago but I can't vouch for how good the directions are.

The route converges with yours in the later stages:
Dalkey, Tibradden, Kilteel, Johnstown, Robertstown, Edenderry, Tullamore, Banagher, Portumna, Gort, Ballyvaughan.

Dr Pepper

LionelNashe wrote: »

Walking Across Ireland might help
I picked it up somewhere a couple of years ago but I can't vouch for how good the directions are.

The route converges with yours in the later stages:
Dalkey, Tibradden, Kilteel, Johnstown, Robertstown, Edenderry, Tullamore, Banagher, Portumna, Gort, Ballyvaughan.

Wow, that's a great find! Thanks very much for that. I'll definitely be getting my hands on that.

I did Day 1 of the itinerary above as a trial run with my wife last Saturday. We had very little training before it and we happened to be out at a 30th birthday on Friday night so quite the hangover on Saturday morning. Despite that, we managed it fairly well and the weather was fantastic, clear blue skies and lovely winter sunlight all day. Bit sore the next day but we both reckoned we could have managed another long walk if we had to.

It looks like a lot of the group we thought might be interested in coming are already doing a couple of charity walks on Easter weekend so we will be travelling with about 3-4 fairly experienced walkers. Therefore, after much consideration, I think I'll stick with the above itinerary although I do agree that it's fairly tough distance-wise right from the start. We'll see how it goes this year and maybe get organised a little bit earlier next year and do it with a larger group as a fund-raising event.

Thanks again for the tips. Any more advice would be appreciated.

LionelNashe

Hey doc, Are you planning to post a journal / log of the walk? It would be an interesting read, I'd say, even more so with photos.

Dr Pepper

Good idea! I might keep a thread going here although not sure if I'll have internet access too often along the way. I might keep a laptop and a 3G jobbie in the 'support vehicle'.

I got that book. Haven't had a chance to read it properly yet but it looks ideal from what I've skimmed so far.

dogmatix

This guy, an american, walked from Dublin along the grand canal back in the early 2000's. It's an interesting read - http://www.grandcanalhike.org/GrandCanalHike.htm.

Not sure how I came across this link - apologies to other boards users if I have stolen their thunder.

Dr Pepper

Thanks, I've stumbled across that before myself. Must have a good read of it one of these days.

dublin2galway1

When are you starting your walk ?
I only ask because I have a team of about 20 walkers starting on May 1st from Ringsend, walking for charity.
We are walking from Dublin Bay 2 Galway Bay.
If your team would like 2 join us we have B&Bs organized.

Our itinerary is,

May 1st Dublin Bay (Ringsend) to Sallins (Kildare)

May 2nd Sallins to Edenderry (Offaly)

May 3rd Edenderry to Tullamore (Offaly)

May 4th Tullamore to Shannon Harbour (Offaly West)

May 5th Shannon Harbour to Ballinasloe (Galway) Note the canal finishes here.

May 6th Ballinasloe to Athenry (Galway)

May 7th Athenry to Galway Bay.

Kind Regards,
Ciaran Furey.
http://www.facebook.com/dublin2galway

Dr Pepper

dublin2galway1 wrote: »

When are you starting your walk ?
I only ask because I have a team of about 20 walkers starting on May 1st from Ringsend, walking for charity.
We are walking from Dublin Bay 2 Galway Bay.
If your team would like 2 join us we have B&Bs organized.

Kind Regards,
Ciaran Furey.
http://www.facebook.com/dublin2galway

Hi Ciarán!

Glad to hear you're getting out with such a decent big group. I think we can definitely help each other out with information (B&B's, maps, books, experience!). I'd love to hear what B&B's you've booked because I've only half the stop-overs covered at this stage. In turn, I can give you a loan of some useful maps/books. I am in the process of printing A4 laminated map sheets covering the whole route. Perhaps I can print you a copy (I'd be glad to after doing all that work!).

We are starting on Good Friday, 2nd April and we are also collecting sponsorship for a cancer-related charity, Melanoma Trust. There are about 6 people doing the whole route with me and about another 20 doing a day or two along the way. I can let you know how we get on and warn you about any problems we encounter. In fact, you are welcome to come along with us over the Easter long-weekend to try it out for yourself.

Send me an email if you like and we can trade some information.. brianocar [|at|] gmail [|dot|] com.

Cheers,
Brian

PS - How long have you had this plan? You didn't steal my idea did you?

GMacT

I have thought about a jaunt similar to yours for a while too,
I was tempted to join here but I can’t afford the time off.
http://www.dubsimon.ie/fundraising/events.htm#canalwalk

So keep an eye out for volunteers or you might want to join in and raise some funds, and have some company on the first leg of you trip.

Dr Pepper

Hi GMacT,

I can't believe I've just come across 2 other groups doing the same (or similar) walk in the past half hour!

If you are free for the Easter weekend, you are welcome to join us. We are doing the first 4 days (Dublin to Shannon Harbour) from Good Friday to bank-holiday Monday so you might happen to be off work. The only potential problem I can foresee is lack of space in B&B's but let me know if you're interested and we'll see what we can do.

Cheers,
Brian

dublin2galway1

Dr Pepper wrote: »

Hi Ciarán!

Glad to hear you're getting out with such a decent big group. I think we can definitely help each other out with information (B&B's, maps, books, experience!). I'd love to hear what B&B's you've booked because I've only half the stop-overs covered at this stage. In turn, I can give you a loan of some useful maps/books. I am in the process of printing A4 laminated map sheets covering the whole route. Perhaps I can print you a copy (I'd be glad to after doing all that work!).

We are starting on Good Friday, 2nd April and we are also collecting sponsorship for a cancer-related charity, Melanoma Trust. There are about 6 people doing the whole route with me and about another 20 doing a day or two along the way. I can let you know how we get on and warn you about any problems we encounter. In fact, you are welcome to come along with us over the Easter long-weekend to try it out for yourself.

Send me an email if you like and we can trade some information.. brianocar [|at|] gmail [|dot|] com.

Cheers,
Brian

PS - How long have you had this plan? You didn't steal my idea did you?

Hi Brian,

Haven't had the idea long about 4 months ago, was only meant to be 2 of us at the start but you know how these things grow.
We are doing it for Canteen Ireland a charity for teenagers with cancer.
I will get the name and numbers of our B&Bs for you from asap.
I was in Sallins last weekend and the walkway was closed, do you know anything about it ?

Cheers,
Ciarán

Dr Pepper

dublin2galway1 wrote: »

Haven't had the idea long about 4 months ago, was only meant to be 2 of us at the start but you know how these things grow.

Tell me about it, there were 2 of us when I started planning this too!

I was in Sallins last weekend and the walkway was closed, do you know anything about it ?

Yeh, as far as I know, it's the result of a 'landslide' of sorts that occurred during the floods a few months ago. A large section of the South canal bank on the Dublin side of Sallins fell away. If you are walking from Dublin, just before you reach the blockage, there is a mucky track going up towards the left. It's easy to spot. It's like a big fork in the track where the right track follows the canal bank and the left track goes up the banks, joins onto a road after a couple of hundred meters. From that road, you can skirt around the left-hand-side of the repair works on a temporary pedestrian route set up by the construction company. You come out again in Sallins by the canal. The whole detour is only about 10 minutes as far as I recall.

At least that was the case about a month ago when I last walked that section!

If you can give me the details of your B&B in Sallins in the next little while, I would be grateful (and Tullamore too whenever you get the chance). I was planning on driving out to Sallins this evening to check it out first hand so you might save me the trip. I am trying to get all B&B's within easy walking distance of the canal (No point in making people walk an extra 20-30 minutes after they reach their destination!).

dublin2galway1

Dr Pepper wrote: »

Tell me about it, there were 2 of us when I started planning this too!



Yeh, as far as I know, it's the result of a 'landslide' of sorts that occurred during the floods a few months ago. A large section of the South canal bank on the Dublin side of Sallins fell away. If you are walking from Dublin, just before you reach the blockage, there is a mucky track going up towards the left. It's easy to spot. It's like a big fork in the track where the right track follows the canal bank and the left track goes up the banks, joins onto a road after a couple of hundred meters. From that road, you can skirt around the left-hand-side of the repair works on a temporary pedestrian route set up by the construction company. You come out again in Sallins by the canal. The whole detour is only about 10 minutes as far as I recall.


At least that was the case about a month ago when I last walked that section!

If you can give me the details of your B&B in Sallins in the next little while, I would be grateful (and Tullamore too whenever you get the chance). I was planning on driving out to Sallins this evening to check it out first hand so you might save me the trip. I am trying to get all B&B's within easy walking distance of the canal (No point in making people walk an extra 20-30 minutes after they reach their destination!).

ARAH Bed & Breakfast, Frances Merrigan, Castlesize, Sallins, Tel;045-895687 Mob;087-6222183 she quoted us €30. Its a 3min walk and very clean.

dublin2galway1

Hi Brian,

The Simon Community are also doing a Grand Canal walk on the 29th of April to May 3rd.
Looks like its going to be busy out there.

Ciarán.

Dr Pepper

Yeh, GMacT mentioned that alright. The path will be well-trodden by the time you get out with your group!

I hope you don't mind but I've noticed your route follows the old (now closed to water traffic) Ballinasloe line. I also had this in mind when I first sat down to plan a route however, I remember reading that it is pretty much impassible on foot these days. The main causes being the M6 motorway works, farmers 'reclaiming' the canal banks as part of their land and other construction projects. I understood that there are a lot of impassable obstacles along that route now (like fences and motorways!) and that sections of the canal have been filled in, all done with typical Irish short-sightedness! :rolleyes:

I can't remember exactly where I read all of that. Perhaps you have already investigated the route first-hand but if not, I'd advise looking into it. IWAI might be able to give you some information on it.

Dr Pepper

Update: All information for the walk available at my temporary walk 'website'. I hope it's a useful resource for people interested in doing something similar. I know the site is fairly basic but please report any browser-compatibility problems or other errors.

Anyone interested in coming along for part of this walk next weekend (Easter long weekend) is welcome - Let me know.

Cheers,
Brian

SargentDuck

Not sure if anyone has any further info on this, or their experience etc...

I'm a the early stage of planning this and am aiming to run it mid next year, so for now just looking for info on terrain etc.

If any one has any blogs on their walk I'd love to see it.

Thanks