A cruise upriver from Youghal to Cappoquin on the Blackwater made it clear that rivers were certainly old roads long before land-based tracks. From there it was only a short leap to canals, and then, inevitably, to the network of lost railways that once covered the country. They travelled on little local railway lines to visit friends and family, to attend a fair or gathering. Their grandparents in turn experienced floating from one side of Ireland to the other on canal boats, across hitherto undiscovered landscapes. Greenways are being created on old railway tracks, pleasure boats are returning to the canals.

Source: The Irish Times April 18, 2018 05:15 UTC