Overview
The Corlea Trackway is an oak road laid across the Longford bog in 148 BC – work it out and that makes it contemporary with the Roman sack of Carthage. Known locally as the Danes’ Road, it is the largest prehistoric wooden causeway ever uncovered in Europe, and an 18-metre stretch of the original planks is preserved in a purpose-built humidified hall at the visitor centre near Keenagh in County Longford. You see it on a guided tour, which is the heart of any visit; the rest – a short film, a bog boardwalk, a picnic area – is built around it.
The discovery and the trackway
The trackway came to light in the mid-1980s, when Bord na Móna workers cutting peat for the power stations turned up the buried oak, and dating placed its felling at 148 BC. Professor Barry Raftery led the excavation that followed, recording dozens of toghers across the bog. Corlea 1 – the trackway proper – is a corduroy road of oak planks 3 to 3.5 metres long and around 15 centimetres thick, laid across parallel rails set about 1.2 metres apart, giving a running surface roughly 3.2 metres wide. It ran for at least a kilometre and ended on a small island in the bog.
Scholars still debate why it was built on such a scale. One idea is a ceremonial routeway linking the ritual centre of the Hill of Uisneach with the royal site of Rathcroghan; another is more practical access into the bog. Either way it was short-lived: the weight of the oak pressed the road down into the peat within a few years, and the same wet, airless ground that swallowed it then preserved it for the next two thousand.
The bog walk
Outside the centre, a boardwalk loops through the restored peatland for about 3.2 km – allow anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half depending on how often you stop. Four artificial lakes were dug to keep the water table high, both to conserve the bog and to protect the buried timbers, and in summer the ground carries bog-cotton, sphagnum and dragonflies. It is a low-key walk rather than a dramatic one; one or two visitors arrive expecting more of a hiking trail and leave a little flat, so come for the trackway first and treat the bog loop as a quiet add-on.
What to see and do
- The 18-metre oak trackway – The preserved planks in the humidified gallery, still showing their grain, are the reason to come. Access is by guided tour only.
- The film and displays – A short audio-visual show explains the excavation and how bogs both preserved and concealed the road, alongside Iron Age tools and objects.
- Guided tours and school groups – Tours run roughly hourly and are led by genuinely well-briefed guides; reviewers single them out. School groups can pre-book sessions.
- Picnic area – Benches and open ground around the centre for a packed lunch.
Practical Information
The centre opens daily from 14 March to 4 November, from 10am to 6pm, with the last admission and final tour at 5pm. A visit taking in the tour and the bog walk runs to about 90 minutes. Admission is free.
| Service | Details |
|---|---|
| Opening hours | 10:00 – 18:00 (last admission 17:00), daily 14 Mar – 4 Nov |
| Admission fee | Free |
| Guided tours | Access to the trackway is by guided tour only; school groups can pre-book specialised sessions |
| Parking | Free on-site car parking; bicycle racks available |
| Accessibility | Visitor centre and some board-walk sections are wheelchair-accessible; wheelchair-friendly toilets are provided |
| Dogs | Allowed on the grounds on a leash, but not inside the visitor centre |
| Nearby attractions | Rathcroghan Royal Site, Royal Canal Greenway, St Mel’s Cathedral, Abbeylara |
Getting there The centre lies about 3 km north-west of Keenagh on the R357. From Ballymahon, follow the R392 north-west; the site is clearly sign-posted. It is also reachable from Longford town (approximately 15 km) via the R392. Public transport is limited, so a car is the most convenient way to visit. A local bus runs from Longford to Keenagh, and the stop is a short walk from the centre.
Facilities Toilets, a wheelchair-accessible toilet, a small café serving hot drinks, and a picnic area are on site. Bicycle parking is provided for those cycling the Royal Canal Greenway before or after their visit.
Seasonal note The centre is open only in season: it closes in early November and reopens in mid-March, so the trackway gallery can’t be seen over winter. Check the official website before travelling, as the exact dates shift slightly year to year.
Come mid-morning if you can: tours run roughly hourly through the day, but earlier slots tend to be quieter, and that leaves the bog loop to walk afterwards while it’s still empty.