| Boyne Valley to Lakelands greenway | |
|---|---|
map of former Midland Great Western railway including the Navan-Kingscourt branch
| |
| Length | 30km[1] |
| Location | Navan–Kingscourt, Ireland |
| Trailheads | Blackwater Park, Navan, Dún na Rí Forest Park[2] |
| Use | Hiking, Cycling |
| Website | boynevalleytolakelandsgreenway |
The Boyne Valley to Lakelands Greenway is a greenway and rail trail, in Ireland. The 30 kilometres (19 mi) route has been completed in sections.[3] Completed in May 2024, it links Navan, County MeathtoKingscourt, County Cavan, along the defunct Navan and Kingscourt Railway.[4]
The completed sections link Navan's Blackwater Park to Kilmainhamwood,[5][6] through Kilberry,[7] Wilkinstown,[3] Castletown KP,[8][9] and Nobber.[5]
The branch line that the greenway was built on was authorised for construction by the Navan and Kingscourt Railway Co. on 5 July 1865,[10] and would reach as far as Kilmainhamwood on 1 November 1872. It would open to its final terminus at Kingscourt on 1 November 1875,[11] but it was hoped the line could be extended further north. The Kingscourt, Keady and Armagh Railway Co. was incorporated in 1900 to extend the railway,[12] but the section between Kingscourt and Castleblayney was abandoned in 1902.[13] The Midland Great Western Railway (who had acquired the line in 1888) would be authorised to complete the line to Castleblayney on 11 August 1903,[14] but it would ultimately never occur.
The line would find its primary source of traffic with the opening of a siding in 1939 at Kingscourt to allow trains to haul Kingscourt Gypsum.[15] Passenger service on the line would be discontinued during the harsh winter of 1947 on 27 January and never reopen.[11] The line would stop seeing non-gypsum traffic in 1975 and would ultimately close on 30 October 2001 after a driver's strike as gypsum switched to road haulage.[16]
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