Overview
Enfield’s pull for a visitor is small and specific: a free fairy trail beside the Royal Canal, a flat greenway to walk or cycle, and a harbour with a picnic spot, all a two-minute walk from a station on the Dublin–Sligo line. You can come out from Dublin by train, spend an hour or two, and be home for lunch. It’s a stretch-the-legs stop, not a day out, and it’s fairer to say so up front.
The town wears its history as a transport crossroads. It sat on an tSlí Mhór (the Great Way), one of five ancient roads out of the Hill of Tara, and its English name, Innfield, comes from the Royal Oak Inn, a stagecoach stop where the Dublin coaches changed horses. The Royal Canal reached it in 1817 and the Midland Great Western Railway in 1847; a branch line to Edenderry followed in 1877. The Irish name, An Bóthar Buí, means ‘the yellow road’, though the reason for it – yellow mud, ragwort, or the cattle driven along it – is disputed.
The Royal Canal Greenway and harbour
The greenway is why most people stop. It’s a flat, well-surfaced towpath running 130 km from Maynooth to Cloondara, and the Enfield stretch is level the whole way, as good for buggies as for bikes. Head east toward Kilcock, or west toward Longwood past the Blackwater Aqueduct and the Hill of Down lock complex. The harbour, in the leisure park across from the station, has a small slipway and an accessible fishing platform opened in late 2023 – a quiet spot to cast a line or watch the water.
If you only have time for one thing and you’ve children with you, skip the greenway and do the fairy trail.
The Enfield Fairy Trail
Set into the harbour area of the leisure park, the Enfield Fairy Trail is a free, self-guided loop aimed squarely at young children. It’s fully wheelchair- and buggy-accessible, and it takes twenty minutes to half an hour at a toddler’s pace. A dozen or so handmade installations are dotted through the grounds:
- Fairy doors and houses tucked at knee height along the path.
- Fairy thrones – miniature seats built for photographs and imaginative play.
- Pooh Corner – a quiet nook with a bench.
- A bird-box area painted up as fairy homes.
- The Fairy Name Station – an interactive sign that hands out a fairy name.
The loop returns to where it starts, so it’s easy to manage with small children or a buggy. Adults after a gentle wander get on fine too, but make no mistake about who it’s for.
Facilities and food
There’s free parking at the harbour, with serviced public toilets and a picnic area, and the town centre is about 450 m away. Commuter parking at the train station is charged, and all-day parking in the town itself can be tight, so the harbour car park is your best bet.
For food, the town centre is a short walk: Bistro 61 at the Hamlet Court Hotel for a sit-down meal, Boggans Bar for pub fare, and a few cafés for coffee and a bite. For an overnight, The Johnstown Estate and The Hamlet Court Hotel both sit in or beside the town.
Getting there
- Train: Enfield station is on the Dublin–Sligo line, directly across from the leisure park, with regular services to Dublin Connolly and west.
- Bus: Bus Éireann route 115 links Enfield to Dublin and Mullingar.
- Car: The R148 (the old N4) runs through the town; the M4 is a couple of minutes away at Junction 13, and the harbour is signposted.
- Bike: The greenway is part of a wider network – you can ride to Trim, Mullingar or Maynooth and come back by train.
Nearby
Enfield makes a workable base for the southern Boyne Valley. Within a short drive or greenway ride:
- Trim – Ireland’s largest Anglo-Norman castle, a medieval church and the Boyne riverside walk.
- Bective Abbey – a well-preserved Cistercian ruin in quiet parkland, about 25 km north.
Before you go
- Water levels: the canal can drop in late summer, which affects boat traffic but not the towpath or fairy trail.
- Daylight: winter days are short, so aim for the morning; spring and autumn are mild and quiet.
- Accessibility: greenway, fairy trail and fishing platform are all wheelchair- and buggy-accessible, the flat surface making this one of the easier walking routes in the region.
- Etiquette: the greenway is shared with cyclists and horse riders; keep left, pass with care, and follow Leave No Trace.
The simplest way to do Enfield: train out from Connolly, an hour on the greenway or the fairy trail, coffee in the town, and the train home.