Moderate 6 Days / 4 Nights Walking

National Famine Way Part A — Strokestown to Mullingar, 6 Days

The western half of the trail, four walking days from the Famine Museum to Mullingar

Starting From €845 per person

This is the western half of the National Famine Way, and it is the half where the story begins. You start at the National Famine Museum in Strokestown. You finish four days later at Mullingar Harbour.

Day one takes you out of Strokestown on quiet country roads. At Clondra you reach Richmond Harbour, where the Royal Canal begins. From there the towpath carries you all the way, flat and well marked.

The days run between 18 and 24 km. There is no climbing worth the name. You pass Keenagh, Ballymahon and Abbeyshrule, and the canal gets prettier as you go.

Mullingar is a proper town, and it makes a good finish. Trains run from there straight into Dublin. If the trail gets under your skin, Part B picks up where you stopped.

Highlights

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The National Famine Museum at Strokestown

Your holiday opens at Strokestown Park, where the estate archive that created this trail is kept. Entry is included, and so is the official Passport Pack. Stand in these rooms first and the walking means far more.

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Richmond Harbour, where the canal begins

At Clondra the country roads end and the Royal Canal starts. This is where the towpath takes over, and it carries you the rest of the way to Dublin.

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Four flat days, 18 to 24 km

No climbing, no rough ground, no navigation worries. The towpath is level and waymarked the whole way, so you can look at the canal instead of your feet.

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A finish on the Dublin train line

Mullingar Harbour is the midpoint of the trail and the biggest town on it. Trains run straight into Dublin Connolly, so getting home is simple.

Who Is This For?

This suits walkers who want a short break with real substance. The ground is flat, so you do not need to be especially fit. You do need to be happy walking about 20 km in a day, four days running.

It is a good first taste of the trail. It is also the right choice if you would rather do the Famine Way in two trips than one long one.

Tour Itinerary

Day 1

Arrive Strokestown, National Famine Museum

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Your holiday begins at Strokestown Park, where the National Famine Museum holds the estate archive that makes this trail possible, including the record of the 1,490 tenants cleared from the land in 1847. Take your time here; the walking makes far more sense once you have stood in these rooms. Collect your Passport before you set out.

Day 2

Strokestown to Clondra

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20.3 km · about 5 hours · country roads, then canal towpath

Quiet Roscommon roads carry you out of Strokestown and down to the Shannon at Clondra, where Richmond Harbour marks the western end of the Royal Canal. From here the towpath runs level and waymarked for the rest of the week. The first of the bronze children's shoes appears along the way, there are over thirty of them set into the route.

Day 3

Clondra to Ballymahon

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23.9 km · about 6 hours · level canal towpath

The longest day of the week, and a steady one on the towpath through Keenagh. A short detour reaches the Corlea Trackway, an Iron Age oak road laid across the bog in 148 BC and preserved under glass. The canal then carries you southeast into Ballymahon, which sits a little off the towpath.

Day 4

Ballymahon to Ballynacarrigy

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18.0 km · about 4½ hours · level canal towpath

An easier day through Abbeyshrule, where the canal is at its prettiest and the towpath runs right past the village, a natural lunch stop. Over the Whitworth Aqueduct and across into Westmeath, finishing at Ballynacarrigy.

Day 5

Ballynacarrigy to Mullingar

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19.3 km · about 5 hours · level canal towpath

Past Coolnahay Harbour, where the canal reaches its summit level and the flight of locks gives out, then an easy run down into Mullingar Harbour. Carry a packed lunch, services are thin between the two. Mullingar is the biggest town on the route and a good place to finish: the original workhouse and the famine graveyard can both be walked from the centre.

Day 6

Departure from Mullingar

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Breakfast and onward travel. Mullingar station is a few minutes from the canal, with direct trains to Dublin Connolly, straightforward whether you are heading home or on elsewhere. If the trail has got under your skin, Part B picks up exactly where you stopped and finishes at the Famine sculptures on Dublin's Docklands.

Accommodation

You stay in family run B&Bs and small hotels in the canal towns. Strokestown, Clondra, Ballymahon and Mullingar.

Rooms are en suite, breakfast is full Irish, and your hosts know the canal. Some of these villages have only a handful of rooms in total, so we book early on your behalf.

What's Included

check_circle What's Included

done5 nights accommodation in B&Bs, guesthouses and small hotels (en suite rooms)
doneFull Irish or continental breakfast every morning
doneDaily luggage transfer between accommodation
doneAdmission to the National Famine Museum at Strokestown Park, with the gardens and woodlands
doneThe official National Famine Way Passport Pack, your personalised ship ticket for one of the original Strokestown famine families, the 14 page Passport & Guide, the 30 page End of Trail booklet, your famine family's fate, the Bronze Shoes lapel brooch and your Certificate of Completion
doneTransfers between the trail and your accommodation where the trail has no beds of its own
donePersonalised digital itinerary and route app for your smartphone that keeps you on the trail at all times
done24 hours a day emergency contact and on trail support
doneBefore you travel information pack

block Not Included

closeFlights to and from Ireland
closeTravel and walking insurance, which is essential. We are happy to suggest providers
closeLunches and dinners
closeTravel to Strokestown on day one, and home from Mullingar on day six
closePersonal expenses

Best Time to Visit

Apr

May

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Jul

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Sep

Oct

You can walk the National Famine Way from April to October. May, June and September are the best months. The days are long, the air is mild, and there are fewer midges by the water. July and August are warmest, but the towns are busier. The yearly Remembrance Walk is held in May, and it brings a real sense of company to the trail. Early spring and late autumn are quiet. The days are shorter then, and the towpath is wetter.

From

€845 per person

Based on 2 sharing

Preferred Start Date

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Book at least 20 days in advance

Number of Walkers

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phone or call +353 42 932 3396

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