Newry Canal Cycle Path ?

bbam

Hi folks..
Was looking for a cycle path thats family friendly.. Came across the Newry Canal path..

Has anyone been on this recently?

Was thinking of parking up in Newry and heading on up the path for a few hours.. Or would I be better parking up further on the route (Poyntzpass maybe), the area round where the trail starts looks rough enough and would worry about parking southern reg and leaving it

Any advice welcome..

bbam

Seems I'm talking to Myself on this one.

Went ahead and did this today and so glad we did. Did 30k round trip up beyond Pointzpass from Newry. Not a big cycle but wih a 4 and 10 year old aboard it was a fantastic spin.

It's Tarmac as far as we went level and only shared with car traffic for short sections and quiet, we only met two cars.

Nice open countryside benches and picnic tables.

Great route for a family spin.

And parking up in Newry was no bother at all.

piston

I did it a few years ago and loved it. Really must go back.

feck sake lads

Cycled t many a time all the way to poradown 20miles nice flat spin and mega safe for the kids which is great but other than that its not worth the journey up to it 40odd miles in my case .
Now if only the powers in be would get there finger out and devolop the Boyne Canal from Drogheda to Navan now that would be worth travelling too stunning views all the way.:cool:

muloc

feck sake lads wrote: »

Cycled t many a time all the way to poradown 20miles nice flat spin and mega safe for the kids which is great but other than that its not worth the journey up to it 40odd miles in my case .
Now if only the powers in be would get there finger out and devolop the Boyne Canal from Drogheda to Navan now that would be worth travelling too stunning views all the way.:cool:

How long does this take to cycle one way roughly?

I'd imagine it's slowish....would newry to portadown and back be too much of a spin?

Quickpip

muloc wrote: »

How long does this take to cycle one way roughly?

I'd imagine it's slowish....would newry to portadown and back be too much of a spin?

From Newry it's around 64km return to portadown. Depending when you cycle it, there can be lots of walkers/runners, families etc. So you wouldnt be hammerring it. However the path is quite wide so it's easy enough to pass. Takes me around 2hrs 30 min's, provided I don't stop off in the lovely cafe in Scarva.

muloc

Quickpip wrote: »

From Newry it's around 64km return to portadown. Depending when you cycle it, there can be lots of walkers/runners, families etc. So you wouldnt be hammerring it. However the path is quite wide so it's easy enough to pass. Takes me around 2hrs 30 min's, provided I don't stop off in the lovely cafe in Scarva.

That's 2 1/2 there and back or each way?

Speedtrap

Did that route earlier this year. Grand traffic free route ideal for family trips.

Quickpip

muloc wrote: »

That's 2 1/2 there and back or each way?

There and back

muloc

Quickpip wrote: »

There and back

thanks quickpip.....must give it a go soon

Quickpip

muloc wrote: »

thanks quickpip.....must give it a go soon

No bother, if you were feeling a little bit more adventurous you could head on through Portadown and up to Lough Neagh, though that would involve cycling on the road a little. I think the route is on the cycleNI webpage. You can also leave the path at numerous other points and branch out to see surrounding towns/villages etc. The path itself is very safe and flat and as I said there are a number of cafes along the way if you need a break.