West of Sallins in County Kildare, the Grand Canal crosses the River Liffey not on a bridge but in one: the Leinster Aqueduct carries the canal, water and boats and all, in a stone channel high above the river. It was built in 1783 to a design by the canal engineer Richard Evans, and it still does the job it was built for, floating leisure craft over the Liffey more than two centuries on. It’s free, open all the time, and well off the main tourist track.
History and engineering
Faced with getting the Grand Canal across the Liffey on its push west from Dublin to the Midlands, the canal company chose to carry the water over the river rather than drop barges down to it through locks. Evans’s limestone arches lift the canal clear of the Liffey so that river and canal traffic pass independently. The structure has come through floods, wars and the collapse of commercial canal freight, and remains fully navigable for pleasure boats.
A few minutes upstream, between the aqueduct and Digby Bridge, is the Four Pots: an unusual 18th-century overflow that bled surplus water off the canal to keep it from flooding. Waterways Ireland and the Historic Structures Fund restored it in 2023, and it’s worth the short walk to see a piece of canal plumbing that survives almost nowhere else.
Walking and cycling
The towpath is the thing to do here, flat and tree-lined and traffic-free in both directions. It forms part of the Grand Canal Way, the 130 km route running from Dublin all the way to Shannon Harbour, so cyclists can ride straight past the arches and keep going towards Sallins and beyond. Information panels near the aqueduct set out the canal’s history and how it was built, and benches and grassy banks make for easy picnic stops. Dogs are welcome on leads.
The one real drawback is parking. There’s only a small lay-by off the R413, with a portable toilet beside it, and it fills quickly on a fine summer day, so come early. Better still, arrive by train: Sallins is on the Dublin Heuston commuter line, and the harbour is a five-minute walk from the station, which is the simplest way in without a car.
Barge cruises
From spring into autumn, BargeTrip.ie runs heritage cruises out of Sallins harbour, a short walk from the aqueduct. The options are a one-hour trip that glides directly under the arches, a longer tour up to Digby Lock, and evening cruises, generally departing Wednesday to Sunday in the early afternoon. It’s an easy, unhurried way to see the canal from the water; book ahead for weekends.
Nearby
- Jigginstown House – the ruins of an enormous unfinished mansion begun in 1636, near Naas, about 4 km away.
- Dún Ailinne – an ancient royal hilltop site with wide views and guided heritage walks.
- Donadea Forest Park – woodland trails, a ruined castle and a lake, roughly 12 km on.
- Castletown House, Celbridge – Ireland’s largest Palladian country house, about 14 km away.
Bring a camera for the arches, a picnic for the banks, and check the BargeTrip.ie schedule if you want the view from the water. Late spring and early autumn give you the longest days and the quietest towpath.