Athlone to Mullingar Cycleway

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Athlone to Mullingar Cycleway
Athlonemullingargreenway793457937.jpg
Bridge on the greenway
Length42 kilometres (26 miles) [1]
Location County Westmeath, Ireland
UseCycling, walking
DifficultyEasy
SeasonAny
Surface Tarmac
Website Athlone.ie - Old Rail Trail
Map of the EuroVelo 2 route. EuroVelo Route 2.svg
Map of the EuroVelo 2 route.

The Athlone to Mullingar Cycleway (also known as Old Rail Trail) [2] [3] is a long-distance cycling and walking trail in County Westmeath, which forms a section of the Dublin-Galway Greenway. It is a 42 kilometres long rail-trail over the disused Athlone-Mullingar rail line beginning in Athlone and ending in Mullingar. [4] [5]

Contents

History

Looking towards Athlone Athlonemullingarcycleway4809485 01.jpg
Looking towards Athlone
Looking towards Mullingar Athlonemullingarcycleway4809485 02.jpg
Looking towards Mullingar

The route was originally opened in 1851 as a railway line by the Midland Great Western Railway and was the first to reach Athlone from Dublin. [6] The line was closed in 1987 with trains using the former Great Southern and Western Railway line to reach Athlone. [7]

The Moate-Garrycastle section was officially opened by Taoiseach Enda Kenny in October 2015. [8] [9] [10] In September 2015 the Westmeath Independent reported that the greenway could provide a "€15m boost" to the local economy. [11]

The section was extended up to Ballymahon road (White gates) in December 2016, with plans to eventually extend into Athlone town. [12] [13]

As of 2015, plans by a community development organisation in Kilbeggan, County Westmeath, were underway to connect the Greenway to the Offaly Cycleways at Kilbeggan with a greenway to Tullamore, County Offaly. [14] Work was planned to begin by summer 2016. [14] [15] [ needs update ]

A new bridge to cross the River Shannon in Athlone was allocated €8.1m funding and began construction in 2021. [16] [17] [18] The bridge opened in August 2023. [19]

Access points

The following is a list of the access points to the cycleway. [20]

LocationDistance from Athlone (km)Distance to Mullingar (km)Coordinates
Abbey Road, Athlone-43 53.426547, -7.942494 [21]
Whitegates, Athlone-42 53.427995, -7.931805
Garrycastle, Athlone-40 53.422411, -7.899979
Mount Temple634 53.402258, -7.816096
Maghermore832 53.399294, -7.781841
Moate (Dún na Sí Park)1228 53.398406, -7.736041
Moate (Station)1228 53.399177, -7.723514
Rosemount1822 53.415931, -7.641321
Lisnagree2119 53.415931, -7.641321
Streamstown2317 53.435258, -7.570478
Garhy (R391)26.213.8 53.450029, -7.531310
Castletown Station2812 53.454793, -7.522229
Dysart3010 53.476641, -7.480747
Ballinea364 53.502709, -7.431523
Bellmount37.22.8 53.508298, -7.403209
Kilpatrick38.41.6 53.509364, -7.390320
Mullingar Newbrook (Canal Link)40- 53.517095, -7.368273
Mullingar Newbrook (Roundabout Access)42- 53.509364, -7.390320

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Old Rail Trail Westmeath" (PDF). Westmeath County Council. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  2. ↑ O'Shea, Susan (23 December 2019). "12 things to get you off the couch this Christmas". IrishExaminer.com .
  3. ↑ "Westmeath County Council - News". Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
  4. ↑ "Midlands Greenway official opening on October 18". Westmeath Examiner . 11 October 2015. Archived from the original on 14 October 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  5. ↑ "Work underway at Moate Railway Station". Athlone Advertiser. 9 July 2015. p. 4. Archived from the original on 10 July 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2015– via pagesuite-professional.co.uk.
  6. ↑ Casserley, H. C. (1974). Outline of Irish Railway History. Newton Abbot & North Pomfret: David & Charles. pp. 95–96. ISBN   0715363778. OCLC   249227042.
  7. ↑ "Clara Heritage Group : **(Part 4) - Full Steam Ahead to Streamstown (Well almost)**". www.facebook.com.
  8. ↑ "Taoiseach to officially open Greenway this Sunday". 5 October 2015. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "Taoiseach to perform official opening of Mullingar to Garrycastle cycleway". Shannonside FM. 11 September 2015. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  10. ↑ Cusack, Adrian (18 May 2015). "Countdown is on to opening of Athlone to Mullingar cycleway". Westmeath Independent . Retrieved 4 June 2015.
  11. ↑ Cusack, Adrian (2 September 2015). "local greenway could provide '€15m boost'". Westmeath Independent . Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  12. ↑ Fagan, Ronan (30 August 2018). "Greenway extension progress boost as funding is announced". Athlone Advertiser . Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  13. ↑ "Council looking to push forward plans for extension of Greenway". Athlone Advertiser. 5 May 2016. p. 1. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2016– via pagesuite-professional.co.uk.
  14. 1 2 "Kilbeggan track could be 'midlands Greenway'". Westmeath Examiner . 6 February 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  15. ↑ "Taoiseach to open Athlone-Mullingar Greenway this afternoon". Shannonside FM. 18 October 2015. Archived from the original on 11 December 2015.
  16. ↑ Fagan, Ronan (12 November 2020). "Significant funding allocated towards the construction of new town bridge". Athlone Advertiser . Archived from the original on 13 November 2020.
  17. ↑ Grace, Robert (10 December 2015). "Councillors welcome latest proposed design for Athlone's cycleway bridge". Athlone Advertiser . Archived from the original on 11 December 2015.
  18. ↑ Daly, Maria (9 October 2014). "Council confirm plans for new towncentre bridge as part of cycleway". Athlone Advertiser . Retrieved 9 October 2014.
  19. ↑ "Athlone Greenway Bridge Officially Opened". ittn.ie. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  20. ↑ "Old Rail Trail - Route Map". Westmeath County Council. 2022. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022.
  21. ↑ "Next greenway phase could open by Easter". Westmeath Independent.

53°26′10″N7°34′06″W / 53.435979°N 7.568348°W / 53.435979; -7.568348

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