| National Cycle Route 9 | |
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 The route follows a section of the River Lagan towpath | |
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| Website | Official website |
National Cycle Route 9 (or NCR 9) is a route of the United Kingdom National Cycle Network , running from Belfast to Dublin . It is the lowest-numbered route on the National Cycle Network outside of Great Britain.
The route will eventually connect Belfast and Dublin. The route is currently signposted between the Queen Elizabeth Bridge in Belfast Newry. The portion south of Newry past Slieve Gullion was scrapped on safety grounds in 2020.
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2008) |
Belfast | Lisburn | Craigavon | Portadown | Newry
NCR 9 begins at the west side of the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, where it connects with National cycle routes 93 and 99. It runs south along the River Lagan to the Island Arts Centre in Lisburn. After leaving Lisburn it runs west, roughly following the M1 motorway to Portadown. In Portadown NCR 9 links with National Cycle Route 94.
At Portadown the route heads south down the Newry Canal Towpath. Approximately 4.5 km (2.8 miles) down the towpath the route links with National Cycle Route 91 and Regional Route 10. At Scarva station there is a second link with another branch of National Cycle Route 91. From Newry it passes through Camlough to the base of Slieve Gullion.
The Belfast to Lisburn section is a slow and winding route along a path that is suitable for road bikes. It makes an ideal cycle for young and old, and since bicycles can be taken on trains running on the adjacent railway line, you can choose the length of your route easily. The easiest route if taking your bicycle by train is going to Newry railway station then cycling to Portadown railway station, therefore avoiding going up a steep hill from Newry city centre to Newry railway station.
Newry | Dundalk | Drogheda Dublin
| | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2008) |
Work is underway in Dublin on the 1.4km Liffey-Tolka Project (1.4km), [1] linking the city centre with the planned 3.2km Tolka Estuary Greenway via Dublin Port, and the Fingal Coastal Way, a 32km walking and cycling route in Fingal that will run through Newbridge Demesne, Donabate, Rush, Loughshinny, Skerries and Balbriggan. [2] [3] As of April 2021, there had been no announcements regarding the connecting segments in counties Meath and Louth.
In Dublin Docklands the route with link with the Royal Canal Greenway and EuroVelo 2, and will connect with the Greater Dublin Area Cycle Network.
County Armagh is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders the Northern Irish counties of Tyrone to the west and Down to the east. The county borders Louth and Monaghan to the south and southwest, which are in the Republic of Ireland. It is named after its county town, Armagh, which derives from the Irish Ard Mhacha, meaning "Macha's height". Macha was a sovereignty goddess in Irish mythology and is said to have been buried on a wooded hill around which the town of Armagh grew. County Armagh is colloquially known as the "Orchard County" because of its many apple orchards.
County Down is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of 961 sq mi (2,490 km2) and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the north, the Irish Sea to the east, County Armagh to the west, and County Louth across Carlingford Lough to the southwest.
NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways, is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. NIR is a subsidiary of Translink, whose parent company is the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHCo), and is one of eight publicly owned train operators in the United Kingdom, the others being Direct Rail Services, Northern Trains, Transport for Wales Rail, Southeastern, LNER, ScotRail, and TransPennine Express. It has a common Board of Management with the other two companies in the group, Ulsterbus and Metro.
Lisburn is a city in Northern Ireland. It is 8 mi (13 km) southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with the arrival of French Huguenots in the 18th century, the town developed as a global centre of the linen industry.
The Lagan Valley is an area of Northern Ireland between Belfast and Lisburn. The River Lagan rises on Slieve Croob in County Down and flows generally northward discharging into Belfast Lough. For a section, the river forms part of the border between the counties of Antrim and Down.
The River Lagan is a major river in Northern Ireland which runs 53.5 mi (86.1 km) from the Slieve Croob mountain in County Down to Belfast where it enters Belfast Lough, an inlet of the Irish Sea. The Lagan forms much of the border between County Antrim and County Down in the east of Ulster. It rises as a tiny, fast-moving stream near to the summit of Slieve Croob; Transmitter Road runs nearby. It runs to Belfast through Dromara, Donaghcloney and Dromore. On the lower slopes of the mountain, it combines with a branch from Legananny Mountain, just opposite Slieve Croob. The river then turns east to Magheralin into a broad plain between the plateaus of Antrim and Down.
Carlingford Lough is a glacial fjord or sea inlet in northeastern Ireland, forming part of the border between Northern Ireland to the north and the Republic of Ireland to the south. On its northern shore is County Down, the Mourne Mountains, and the town of Warrenpoint; on its southern shore is County Louth, the Cooley Mountains and the village of Carlingford. The Newry River flows into the loch from the northwest.
The Newry Canal is an abandoned canal in Northern Ireland. Opened in 1742, it was built to link the Tyrone coalfields to the Irish Sea. The navigable route ran from Lough Neagh via the Upper Bann river to Portadown, then approximately 20 miles from Portadown via the canal proper to Newry, terminating in the Albert Basin.
The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) (GNR(I) or GNRI) was an Irish gauge (1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)) railway company in Ireland. It was formed in 1876 by a merger of the Irish North Western Railway (INW), Northern Railway of Ireland, and Ulster Railway. The governments of Ireland and Northern Ireland jointly nationalised the company in 1953, and the company was liquidated in 1958: assets were split on national lines between the Ulster Transport Authority and Córas Iompair Éireann.
Lisburn railway station serves the city of Lisburn in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
The Belfast–Newry line operates from Lisburn station in County Antrim to Newry in County Down, Northern Ireland. The manager for this line is based at Portadown railway station, although the line extends to the border to include the Scarva and Poyntzpass halts and Newry. Newry is on the fringe of the network, being the last stop before the border with the Republic of Ireland. The line follows the route of the northern half of the main Dublin–Belfast line.
The Belfast–Dublin Main Line is a main and the busiest railway route on the island of Ireland that connects Dublin Connolly station in the Republic of Ireland and Belfast Lanyon Place station in Northern Ireland. It is the only railway line that crosses the Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border.
Knockmore railway station was a station on the Belfast–Newry railway line. The station served the suburb of Knockmore in Lisburn, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The Great Northern Railway (GNR) opened Knockmore station as a halt in 1932. Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) closed the station on 25 March 2005.
Portmarnock railway station serves Portmarnock in County Dublin.
Transportation systems in the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland, include road, air, rail, and sea. It is still a relatively car-dependent city; however, it is also served by a comprehensive rail and bus network. Belfast also ran electric trams prior to 1954. The city has two major airports, and the Port of Belfast is the busiest ferry port on the island of Ireland.
The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) class S was a class of five 4-4-0 steam locomotive that the Great Northern Railway introduced in 1913 to haul Belfast – Dublin express passenger trains. They were followed two years later by the three similar class S2 locomotives.
National Cycle Route 4 is a route of the United Kingdom National Cycle Network, running from London to Fishguard, Pembrokeshire. Between these, the route runs through Reading, Bath, Bristol, Newport, Swansea and St David's. Within Wales, sections of the route follow branches of the Celtic Trail cycle route.
The Enniskillen and Bundoran Railway (E&BR) was an Irish gauge 5 ft 3 in railway company in north-west Ireland. It linked Bundoran and Ballyshannon on the Atlantic coast of Donegal with the Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway (L&ER) at Bundoran Junction in Fermanagh. The line was opened in 1868 and closed in 1957.
The Lagan Canal was a 44-kilometre (27 mi) canal built to connect Belfast to Lough Neagh. The first section, which is a river navigation, was opened in 1763, and linked Belfast to Lisburn. The second section from Lisburn to Lough Neagh includes a small amount of river navigation, but was largely built as a canal. At its peak it was one of the most successful of the Irish canals, but ultimately it was unable to compete with road and rail transport, and the two sections were closed in 1954 and 1958. The central section from Sprucefield to Moira was destroyed by the construction of the M1 motorway in the 1960s. Responsibility for most of its remains passed first to the Department of Agriculture and then to the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, although the section between Aghalee Bridge and Lough Neagh, including the final ten locks, passed into private ownership. There is an active campaign to re-open the canal, including reinstatement of the central section.
Ireland's greenways are off-road routes for walkers, cyclists and other non-motorised transport in Ireland, which are often created as rail trails on abandoned sections of the Irish rail network. In the Republic of Ireland, several greenway initiatives have been centrally funded by the Irish government. In Northern Ireland, greenways are typically part of the collective British National Cycle Network (NCN).
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