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Robert Crilly is hopeful that his new Midlands Cycling Hub facility, strategically located at the end of the Royal Canal Greenway in Co Longford, will see tourists on their way when it opens this summer.
The longest greenway in the state so far, the 130km Royal Canal Greenway from Maynooth in Co Kildare to Cloondara, Co Longford, will be officially opened by Transport Minister Eamon Ryan on Wednesday.
The 225-year-old canal-side towpath route passes 90 bridges, 33 locks, 17 harbors, and four aqueducts, not to mention dozens of shops, B & Bs, restaurants, and pubs.
After Covid-19 restrictions caused Crilly’s cycling center’s plans to be suspended last year, his hopes are high that its annual business will be dynamic.
The center is one of dozens of businesses along the route now awaiting a “greenway dividend.”
In the first nine months of the Waterford Greenway opening in March 2017, there were 250,000 visitors, most of whom spent between € 25 and € 100 per night.
Business in the Midlands would be a welcome relief from Covid, says Crilly, who hopes to offer a route to the hunger museum at Strokestown Park House, about 11 miles away in Co Roscommon. The trail follows the unfortunate journey of 1,490 starving emigrants who walked from Strokestown Park to the ships in Dublin in 1847, at the height of the famine.
Susan Egan of Abbeyview House B&B & Glamping is investing in modules to accommodate visitors to the new greenway. Photography: Alan Betson
In Abbeyshrule, Susan Egan of Abbeyview B&B, 100 meters from the canal, is investing in “capsules” on her land.
“Because necessity is the mother of invention,” he says, explaining that they are ideal for people who want their own space during Covid-19, since they are socially distanced and have their own kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.
“There was always a lot more to do in the area than people thought,” he says, citing a long list that includes the availability of flying lessons at the nearby Abbeyshrule airfield.
The Royal Canal Greenway in Abbeyshrule, Co Longford, is the longest greenway in Ireland. Photography: Alan Betson
Mullingar is about 30 km away and offers a route along the Old Rail Trail Greenway towards Athlone. The Royal Canal Greenway route also passes well-known isolated inns like Mary Lynch’s, where the canal meets the M4 in Coralstown; Nanny Quinn’s bar and restaurant near Killucan; and Furey’s tin-roofed bar on the canal in Moyvalley.
Also offers bike rentals on the east end of the canal, Michael Burke, offering bike tours based in Enfield or Maynooth, which are only 20 miles away. Burke is willing to offer people the opportunity to rent multiple days and will pick up bikes at pre-arranged guesthouses along the way.
He chose not to open his business during the short period available during the Covid restrictions last year. Now he is confident, with the official inauguration of the Vía Verde del Canal Real, that this year it will finally take off.
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