{"id":561,"date":"2014-06-02T18:03:41","date_gmt":"2014-06-02T18:03:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cartrongarrow.com\/?p=561"},"modified":"2014-06-04T17:08:36","modified_gmt":"2014-06-04T17:08:36","slug":"canal-walk-hill-of-down-to-enfield","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cartrongarrow.com\/?p=561","title":{"rendered":"Canal Walk – Hill of Down to Enfield"},"content":{"rendered":"

So, suitably refreshed after a nice lunch of Tuna roll, crisps and a can of Coke, I pushed onwards. The heat really was starting to get to me at this stage and as usual it was beginning to stop being fun. But I still had 14 km to go and was on a reasonably tight deadline for a train at Enfield. So I had to just put the head down and get on with it. The railway was pretty much a constant companion at this stage with the odd milepost being visible. The railway is the only transport mode in Ireland still using miles.<\/p>\n

\"DSCN0853\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There is lots of canal activity visible in this shot with both cyclists and canoeists enjoying the fantastic weather. I must admit, that at this point I was praying for less fantastic weather and was trying to find shade wherever possible.<\/p>\n

\"DSCN0856\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The next major feature on the canal was the Boyne aqueduct. This is another landmark I have seen hundreds of times from the train but had never set foot on. There was quite a nice view of the river from here but it was a bit of a major diversion to try to get a picture of the aqueduct itself.<\/p>\n

\"DSCN0858\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The county boundary took \u00a0a bit of a diversion a this point and I had to wait another 5\u00a0kilometres or so until crossing the Blackwater to pass into county Meath. My pace had dropped below 5 km per hour by now and I was having to stop to take a rest every hour given I was now knocking on the door of 35 km and was in a bit of pain. I stopped for a quick chat with a couple of boaters at Moyvalley and then came out onto the old main road at Furey’s.<\/p>\n

\"DSCN0862\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Much as I would have loved to stop for a pint, I was looking nervously at my watch as I was going to be cutting it really fine for a train or face waiting at Enfield for two hours. So I pushed on as fast as I could. After Moyvalley, the path got quite overgrown and it was really pleasant. There was quite a bit of shade about and it was a very welcome relief for the sun.<\/p>\n

\"DSCN0864\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At about 40 km, I decided to chance another quick rest. I had a bit of a sit down, ate a chocolate bar and drank the remains of one of my (long-thawed) frozen bottles of mineral water that I use for stopping my chocolate from melting. This gave me another burst to finish out the walk.<\/p>\n

The next feature was the Blackwater aquaduct which finally marked my transition into County Meath and left me with about 3 km to go.<\/p>\n

\"DSCN0867\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

From there on in I was on the home stretch and the sore legs and feet didn’t really matter any longer. There were a lot of teenagers hanging about Enfield harbour enjoying the fine weather.<\/p>\n

All of a sudden, I spotted the bridge at Enfield station and knew that I had only a couple of hundred metres to go. I got into the station about 10 minutes before the train was due but I needn’t have been that rushed as Irish Rail weren’t too rushed either and the train was about 15 minutes late.<\/p>\n

\"DSCN0873\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n