Westmeath Way

Westmeath Way
Length100 kilometres (62 miles)[1]
LocationCounty Westmeath, Ireland
DesignationNational Waymarked Trail[2]
TrailheadsKilbeggan, Garrycastle (Athlone)[1][2]
UseHiking
DifficultyEasy[2]
SeasonAny

The Westmeath Way (Irish: Slí na hIarmhí)[2] is a long-distance trail in County Westmeath, Ireland. It is 100 kilometres (62 miles) long and begins in Kilbeggan and ends in Athlone.[1] It is typically completed in two days.[2] It is designated as a National Waymarked Trail by the National Trails Office of the Irish Sports Council and is managed by Westmeath County Council and the Westmeath Way Committee.[3] The trail forms part of the Dublin-Galway Greenway, part of the route 2 of the EuroVelo European cycle network.

Map of the EuroVelo 2 route.

Starting at Kilbeggan, the trail follows the River Brosna for approximately 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) and the crosses countryside to the village of Ballinagore.[4] From Ballinagore, the route travels on to reach the shores of Lough Ennell at the townland of Lilliput, from which Jonathan Swift used the name in Gulliver's Travels.[5] The trails follow tracks and roads around the lough, via Dysart village, before reaching Bellmount Bridge where it follows the Royal Canal to Mullingar with a rail-trail over the disused Mullingar-Athlone rail line to Athlone.[6][1][5]

A review of the National Waymarked Trails in 2010 found usage of the trail to be low and recommended that the amount of walking on tarred roads (41%) be reduced, that a series of looped walks off the main trail be developed and the trail should be promoted to day walkers.[3]

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d McDermott, Eoghan (18 October 2015). "Kenny wants national strategy for walks and trails". Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Westmeath Way". IrishTrails. Irish Sports Council. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  3. ^ a b National Trails Office 2010, p. 47.
  4. ^ "Westmeath Way". Midland Regional Authority. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  5. ^ a b "The Westmeath Way". Discover Ireland. Fáilte Ireland. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  6. ^ Cusack, Adrian (13 April 2017). "Over 1,500 used Athlone greenway extension on one day". Westmeath Independent. Archived from the original on 15 April 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.

Bibliography