The National Famine Way

This trail looks like no other in Ireland. There are no cliffs, and no mountain passes. The beauty here is quiet. The Royal Canal runs in a straight line through the Midlands. It passes water meadows, stone bridges, and old lock keeper's cottages. The towpath runs on ahead of you until it meets the sky.

The farmland of Roscommon gives way to the canal country of Longford. Then come the lakes of Westmeath, around Mullingar. Further east, in Meath and Kildare, the canal narrows under trees. It opens again to wide views over flat bog. The last stretch takes you through Maynooth and Leixlip, then into the Docklands. The city arrives slowly, just as it did for the emigrants.

There is history at every turn on this trail. You begin at the National Famine Museum in Strokestown Park House. The museum tells the story through the real papers of the Mahon family, who owned the estate. A local man, Jim Callery, bought the house in 1979. He found 55,000 words of estate papers inside. That find created the museum.

The 146 locks of the Royal Canal are 200 years old. Bronze shoes mark the route as you go. At Strokestown there is a glass memorial wall, cut with the names of all 1,490.

You pass Richmond Harbour at Clondra, where the canal meets the Shannon. Ballymahon was the home of Oliver Goldsmith. Mullingar has its cathedral. In 1843, the mathematician William Rowan Hamilton carved a famous formula into a canal bridge near Ashtown. Maynooth has a medieval castle and a university.

The trail ends at the Famine sculptures on Custom House Quay. Rowan Gillespie made them. They are among the most photographed figures in Dublin.

You stay in family run B&Bs, guesthouses and small hotels in the canal towns. Strokestown has rooms close to the museum. Clondra, Ballymahon and Abbeyshrule have small B&Bs beside the water. Mullingar is the biggest town on the route, and it has the widest choice. Maynooth and Enfield cover the last few nights.

Expect a warm welcome, a full breakfast, and hosts who know the canal well. Some villages have only one or two rooms in total. We book everything for you, so you never have to chase a bed.

Getting there: Strokestown is about 2.5 hours from Dublin by car. Bus Éireann serves the town. Trains run to Longford and Roscommon, and a short taxi ride brings you in from either.

Getting home: The trail ends at Custom House Quay, in the middle of Dublin. The Luas, the DART and city buses all stop close by.

Terrain: Flat canal towpath the whole way. You need good walking shoes and a rain jacket. Nothing more.

Food and water: Most villages have a shop or a pub. A few stretches have nothing at all for 20 km. We tell you which days those are, so you can carry a packed lunch.

Your Passport: The official National Famine Way Passport is part of your price. You collect one stamp in each county as you walk. Hand it in at EPIC in Dublin and you get your certificate.