Category: Greenways

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Greenways

Midleton – Youghal Greenway

Having gotten the greenway bug, I cycled another one of Ireland’s greenways today (and yesterday), being the recently fully opened greenway from Midleton to Youghal in Co. Cork. Sections of this have been opened already, with the final section opened just before Christmas.

I headed down to Cork yesterday on the train and spent the day taking fresh photographs of the stations on the Cobh branch. This day finished with me cycling from Midleton to Youghal non stop and overnighting in Youghal.

Today saw me cycle back from Youghal to Midleton, taking photos en route. I was disappointed to see that at one former level crossing, the greenway deviates away from the railway route due to possession of the trackbed by a third party.

Given that the line has not been abandoned and technically, Irish Rail could run a train through this property, I am at a loss to understand why the greenway had to be deviated. After all, if Cork County Council could buy land to the north of the railway for an alternative route, they could have relocated this business to this alternative field.

I hope to have the photos taken on both days online by New Years Day.

Categories
Greenways History

Comber Greenway

Long before greenways were a thing, the former Belfast & County Down Railway trackbed from Belfast to Comber was one. Despite being one of the oldest such greenways, it is only today that I managed to travel it.

I took myself and my bike up to Belfast on the train yesterday, overnighted in Belfast and this morning, cycled from Belfast to Comber and back on the greenway. This is located primarily on the route of the former railway, with some deviations where housing has been built on the line.

I was surprised by the presence of mini hills on the route as generally, railways rose and fell at minimal gradients, however, my legs got a workout this morning due to this (I don’t have an electric bike).

All photos taken at the station sites are now online, however, there is not a lot to show as most stations have disappeared, with little trace remaining.

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Greenways

Once a greenway, never a railway

Advocates of greenways argue that an advantage of ripping up railway lines and converting them to greenways will allow for a railway to be put back at some future point as a greenway will allow preservation of the alignment for such a future use.

I would argue that once a greenway, a railway is not coming back as those that make use of the greenway, especially if they have developed a business around it, will absolutely oppose the closure of the greenway to allow rail based transport to resume.

This example from Edinburgh is a case in point. Proposals to extend the tram network in Edinburgh, which involve the restriction of use of a “travel corridor” by cyclists, are being opposed due to the aforementioned restriction.

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Greenways IH News 2023

Proposed greenway in Cork

The Irish Examiner (soft paywall) reports that Cork City Councillors have approved Part 8 planning (process for a local authority to grant itself planning permission) for a greenway on part of the former CB&SCR trackbed between the Kinsale Road roundabout and Chetwynd Reservoir (east of the former, the trackbed is now a road).

The map below (extract from Openstreetmap and licensed under the Open Data Commons Open Database License) shows the location, to which I have added a rough line of the route in red.

Proposed greenway – Kinsale Road roundabout to Chetwynd Reservoir, Cork City
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Greenways IH News 2023

The Big Bad Greenway is coming

Cry me a river. Agriland.ie reports on the “concerns” of a farmer in Cork about the possible building of a greenway along the former railway route from Mallow to Dungarvan.

Complaints about farms being split have no merit – when there was a railway there (up until 1967), any farm was split and had to move livestock etc across an operational railway. Doing the same across a greenway is far less hassle as people/bikes can stop in a shorter timeframe than a moving train. The specific farm in question only acquired the route in 1982 – what did they do pre-1982?

The usual objections that arise around any other infrastructure project are also trotted out – pollution and in this case, the effects on freshwater pearl mussels. So, build absolutely nothing anywhere near anything (BANANA).

I’m sure if the farmer wanted to build a one off house in the countryside, they would not have any concerns about pollution or anything else for that matter.

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Greenways IH News 2023

Phase 2 of the Passage Railway Greenway Improvement Scheme

A public consultation into plans by Cork City Council to upgrade the existing greenway from Cork to Rochestown and build an extension to the Cork City boundary commences on 26th January 2023 and runs to March 10 2023.

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Greenways IH News 2023

Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway – greenway consultation

A consultation process in respect of a greenway along the former SL&NCR from Collooney to Enniskillen is underway and a website in respect of the project has been established.

Details of the public consultation process is here.

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Greenways IH News 2022

Limerick Greenway

RTE have an article on their site about the Limerick Greenway (formerly the Great Southern Trail).

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Greenways IH News 2022

Tralee Fenit Greenway

TraleeToday.ie reports that the Tralee – Fenit Greenway (along the former railway between the two towns) opened last weekend.

I’m sure Irish Rail are delighted to have offloaded another liability and the awkward questions around how a railway that was not abandoned could have a supermarket carpark built on it.

Categories
Greenways IH News 2021

Ulster Canal Greenway

The Anglo Celt reports that a public consultation on the next phase of the Ulster Canal Greenway – from Clones to Smithborough – is underway this week.