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ROBERTSTOWN AND MONASTEREVIN |
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Two locations are particularly evocative of canal life. ROBERTSTOWN
, due north of Kildare, where the ways divide - the canal arrived here
in 1785 - is no more than a village, yet it boasts a canal stop complete
with the Grand Canal Hotel (tel 045/870005; no accommodation), which
serves bar food and arranges leisurely barge tours (summer Sun 2-6pm).
There are pleasant walks along the towpath from here: pick up Towpath
Trails from a regional tourist office if you are interested in exploring
these pleasantly undeveloped routes. If you want to navigate the
waterways yourself, cruiser rental is available from Canalways in
Rathangan, six miles northwest of Kildare (tel 045/524646,
www.canalways.ie ).
MONASTEREVIN , west of Kildare along the N7, follows the set pattern of
an Irish Pale town: a big house, in this case Moore Abbey (once the home
of the Irish tenor John McCormack), a church and the town itself - a
street of eighteenth-century houses, their gardens sloping down to the
river. A couple of features merit a pause as you pass through: a fine
sculpture commemorating the English Jesuit poet and master of sprung
rhythm, Gerard Manley Hopkins - at the side of the road opposite the
houses - and an eighteenth-century aqueduct that takes the Grand Canal
over the River Barrow.
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