Six entries here, and two of them are the same stretch of water. The Barrow Way is the towpath along the River Barrow, a level, waymarked route of roughly 116 km running from Robertstown in Kildare down to St Mullins in Carlow, past canal locks, stone bridges and lock keepers’ cottages. Almost nobody walks the whole thing in one go; sections between river towns are the usual approach, and the flat surface makes it the easiest walking on this list.
Away from the river the list thins out and spreads west. Cullenagh Mountain is a short, unmarked climb through planted woodland to a trig point, with views over the River Nore valley on a clear day, a low-effort hill for a quiet weekday morning. Borris-in-Ossory sits in the west of the county, a village of 629 that once served as the fifteen-minute tea stop on the midland bus run, and works better now as a base for the Rock of Dunamase, Emo Court and Ballaghmore Castle than as a stop in itself.
Two of the six are self-guided heritage routes rather than footpaths. The Laois Heritage Trail ties a dozen sites, Dunamase and the Timahoe Round Tower among them, into a drive with a free 45-minute audio guide in seven languages, and only Timahoe is staffed. The Laois Monastic Trail carries a 67-minute narration round towers and Romanesque doorways. For both, you drive between the stops and walk at each one.
A flat, well waymarked towpath of about 116 km through four counties, best taken in sections between river towns rather than end to end.
A quiet village of 629 in west Laois, more useful as a base for Dunamase, Emo Court and Ballaghmore Castle than as a destination.
A free app and 45-minute audio guide in seven languages linking a dozen heritage sites, from Dunamase to Timahoe, into a self-paced route.
Runs 192 km from the Slieve Bloom Mountains to Waterford Harbour, and its engineered navigation of locks and weirs is what the towpath walk follows.
A short unmarked walk through planted woodland to a trig-point summit, with clear-day views over the Nore valley and very little effort required.
5 of 6 shown — tap a pin for the place.
Kildare, kildare
The Barrow Way is an easy 116.9 km towpath that runs south from Robertstown in County Kildare to St Mullins in Carlow, following the canal line and then the River Barrow through Kildare, Laois, Carlow and Kilkenny. The walking is flat and well waymarked, past canal locks, stone bridges and villages like Borris and Graiguenamanagh, and most people do it in sections rather than the full four days.
Borris-in-Ossory, laois
Borris-in-Ossory earned its place on the map as a stop on the great midland road – for years the long-distance buses paused here fifteen minutes for tea. Today it's a quiet village of 629 in west Laois, more useful as a base for the Rock of Dunamase, Emo Court and Ballaghmore Castle than as a stop in its own right.
laois
A free app and 45-minute audio guide, in seven languages, tie a dozen Laois heritage sites into a self-drive route – the Rock of Dunamase, the Timahoe Round Tower and the Donaghmore workhouse among them. You set the pace, and only Timahoe is a staffed centre.
Laois, laois
The River Barrow runs 192 km from the Slieve Bloom Mountains to Waterford Harbour, past a 111 km engineered navigation of locks and weirs. Its towpath is the Barrow Way, a level 116 km walking trail linking lock keepers' cottages and river towns from Lowtown in Kildare to St Mullins in Carlow.
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laois
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