Walking on the Royal Canal: Cross Guns Bridge to Castleknock Train Station

Distance: 7km

One of the great things about walking along the Royal Canal in the Dublin area is that you are never too far from a train station so its always easy to get a train to your starting point or get a train home.

In my last walking post, I left you having a pint and a burger at The Bernard Shaw by Cross Guns Bridge and the 5th Lock after the short walk from town. This morning I will have to catch back up with you as I got the train from Maynooth to Drumcondra and had to walk the short distance from the Brendan Behan Statue back up to Cross Guns Bridge.

Today I start at the 5th Lock. The 5th Lock has a small harbour above it and once even boasted a railway siding. On its south bank lies the former North City Flour Mills which has been renovated and turned into apartments. Built as an iron mill in 1840 it was converted into a flour mill in the 1860’s and provided considerable employment for many years. The building is an impressive towering presence over the canal and an important reminder of the canals industrial past.

Once up on the 5th Level we only need to see the other end of the harbour to see the double chambered 6th Lock along with it’s recently restored Lock Keeper’s Cottage. Like the Cottage at the 1st Lock, this cottage has found a new life as a club house for a water based sports club, this time the Cabra Kayak Club. A railway bridge once carried a line from behind the cottage over the canal just below the 6th Lock to sidings beside the mill. The stone supports of the bridge remain.

At the top of the 6th Lock we have risen up 5 double chambered locks in only 1200 metres which is quite a climb in a very short distance. As I looked back down into the upper chamber of the 6th Lock today I found a Waterways Ireland Maintenance Boat sitting in the chamber.

We have a bit of time on the 6th Level as we walk along side the railway and the St. Paul’s Section of Prospect (Glasnevin) Cemetery. Not far in the distance we see O’Connell Round Tower on the main grounds of the cemetery. We also pass by four small cottages called the Coke Oven Cottages which most likely were built by the Midland Great Western Railway company for their workers. These four cottages enjoy a secluded feel right in the heart of Dublin

As the canal turns slightly north you would hardly notice that we pass over an aqueduct carrying the Royal Canal over the railway line that connects Irish Rails western terminus of Heuston Station with the north south bound lines at Connolly Station. This line runs through a tunnel under the Phoenix Park which was closed for many years and only reopened to passenger trains in recent years.

Ahead of us we can see the 7th Lock and the water tower at what used to be known as Liffey Junction but is now better known for Broombridge Railway Station and LUAS depot. The Dublin-Sligo line leaves the canal here via a railway bridge over the canal.

Currently the terminus of the LUAS Green Line, Broombridge was the location where the old Midlands Great Western Railway (MGWR) line used to go in to Broadstone Station. When the LUAS line was extended from St. Stephen’s Green it was decided that the tramline would follow the route of the old railway from Broadstone to Broombridge and the area now serves as a busy inter-connector between the railway and the tram.

After passing Broombridge Railway Station we pass under what is now known as Hamilton Bridge named after famed mathematician and astronomer Sir William Rowan Hamilton. The bridge was originally named for William Broome, a subscriber to the Royal Canal Company and a local landowner when the canal was being built. It is now more famous for being the location where Sir William Rowan Hamilton etched the fundamental formula for quaternions into the bridge while out for a walk along the canal on the 16th of October 1843. It is believed he did this in fear he may not remember it later but in doing so set a precedent for graffiti along the canal for many years to come.

In recent years Irish Rail came in for some abuse when they translated the name of Broombridge Station as Droichead na Scuab (Bridge of the Brush) and had to change it when it was pointed out that the area was named after the Broome family. Most the bridges of the Royal Canal are named for subscribers to the Royal Canal Company who contributed to the early construction of the canal. Names of all these subscribers can be found on pages 34 and 35 of Ruth Delany and Ian Bath’s Ireland’s Royal Canal: 1789-2009 which is an amazing resource if not the bible for those with an interest in the history of the Royal Canal and also of its restoration as spear-headed by the Royal Canal Amenity Group.

We pass under the green Ratoath Road Overpass bridge which carries traffic over both the canal and the railway replacing the once very congested Reilly’s Bridge at the 8th Lock. Reilly’s bridge became a bottleneck for traffic as while the bridge crossed the canal, the 8th Lock lower the water lever so that only a level crossing was needed to cross the railway.

Irish Rail started clearance work in February 2020 for a new railway station to be built at Pelletstown on the 8th Level right before the 9th Lock. Work is still ongoing as of February 2021 but a new footbridge over the canal to the new station has now been installed just east of the 9th Lock. A considerable amount of new residential buildings have sprung up around here in the last 15 years including Royal Canal Avenue and Royal Canal Park and the Rathborne area. Nestled in among this area is also the Royal Canal Kayak Club just before Ashtown.

As we approach the Longford Bridge and the 10th Lock we have now travelled 4.35 kilometres from Cross Guns Bridge. This might be a good time to take a quick pit stop. There is a SuperValu just off the canal at Ashtown but The Lock Keeper Canal Bar has always been a favourite place of mine to stop in for some pub grub and a pint. I am looking forward to trying out the new look when the Covid restrictions lift. Douglas and Kaldi is also another popular cafe right on the canal.

We have been on the north bank of the canal since we started at the 5th Lock today so now we must cross over the pedestrian bridge at Longford Bridge to carry on our journey west on the south bank. Several original canal bridges have seen recent additions of pedestrian bridges alongside them to allow the original bridge have more space for vehicular traffic. For those who want to finish up, Ashtown Train Station offers trains in both directions to Dublin and Maynooth pretty much every half hour.

We are now in Fingal and if you look beyond the gatekeepers cottage you will see a 5 storey Water Mill dating from the 1820s just behind it. The 10th level has a lit smooth tarmac surfaced path the whole way to the M50 Aqueduct. A park and ride railway station now called Navan Road Parkway opened along this stretch in the late 2000’s. There is no access to this from the canal however. After the industrial feel around Tolka Valley and Broombridge and the residential feel around Rathborne the 1.5 kilometre stretch of the 10th level almost feels rural albeit with the railway running alongside us.

We soon approach the double chambered 11th Lock with its two strange chimney like structures beside it. If anyone knows what they are I would be grateful to be informed but my best guess is that they were stopping posts for the barges from the canals trading days.

From here we can both hear and see the busy traffic of the M50 motorway and its junction with the N3. Several road bridges cross over the canal between here and the 12th Lock. In the middle of all this modern infrastructure lies Ranelagh Bridge dating from around 1810 and beyond it lies the impressive M50 Aqueduct which carries the canal over the busy motorway below. This a multi-tiered junction carrying roads, railways, canals and paths, many generations and forms of transport converging on the one spot.

After sailing over the M50 we emerge at Talbot Bridge (which was poorly modified for heavier traffic before becoming almost redundant with the building of the motorway) and the double chamboured 12th Lock. The 12th Lock marks the end of our 10 kilometre climb out of the city from the River Liffey and the last lock in County Dublin. In total we have climbed 65 metres and 8 double chambered locks, a feature that is a lot less prevalent as we head further west. It will be another 12.5 kilometre before we encounter the 13th Lock at Deey Bridge west of Leixlip.

The 12th Lock and Castleknock has a small harbour which tends to have a good number of boats tied up all year round. There is nice small hotel and bar called The 12th Lock which is a nice place to stop in if you are waiting for a train at the nearby Castleknock Train Station. To get to the train station you can continue past the canal boats in the harbour towards Granard Bridge.

Once the far side of Granard Bridge we have reached our end point for the day at Castleknock Train Station after travelling just over 7 kilometres from our start at Cross Guns Bridge or just over 10 kilometres if you started at the city centre.

Part 1: North Wall to Cross Guns Bridge

Part 3: Castleknock to Leixlip Confey

Part 4: Leixlip Confey to Maynooth

Part 5: Maynooth to Enfield

Part 6: Enfield to Thomastown

Part 7: Thomastown to Mullingar Harbour

Part 8: Mullingar to Coolnahay

Part 9: Coolnahay to Ballynacargy Bridge

Part 10: Ballynacargy to Abbeyshrule

Part 11: Abbeyshrule to Ballybrannigan

Part 12: Ballybrannigan to the 41st Lock

Part 13: 41st Lock to Richmond Harbour

Part 14: The Lough Owel Feeder

Part 15: The Longford Branch

Annex 1: The Old Rail Trail – Mullingar to Athlone