THE RYEWATER AQUEDUCT ON THE ROYAL CANAL [AND NEARBY]
Ryewater Aqueduct which carries both the Royal Canal and the railway tracks across the river Rye.
The Rye runs north of Kilcock and Maynooth. Maynooth Castle is built between the Lyreen and its tributary the Joan Slade River. The Lyreen and Rye meet to the east of Maynooth and flow on through the estate of Carton House. In the estate, the river was widened to form an ornamental lake within the Georgian parklands, further enhanced by an ornamental bridge and boathouse.
The river then flows behind Intel Ireland where Intel have been monitoring the water quality since 1989.
Near Louisa Bridge in Leixlip the waters from the Leixlip Spa flow into Rye River. There is also an overflow from the canal. The Rye then flows under the Royal Canal, which is carried in the Leixlip aqueduct almost 100 feet (30m) above. The aqueduct is in fact an earth embankment, which took six years to build in the 1790s.
The Rye then descends into the heart of Leixlip. Here the river was harnessed by mills. In 1758, the site was used as a linen printing mill. Later the Rye Vale distillery was built, producing more than 20,000 gallons of whiskey annually in 1837. The distillery finally closed for good in the 1890s and the distillery has since been converted into apartments.The Rye then flows under the Rye Bridge to the confluence with the Liffey near the existing Boat House of Leixlip demesne.
A STROLL DOWN CAPTAIN’S HILL – LEIXLIP COUNTY KILDARE
Leixlip has the distinction of being the only town in the Republic of Ireland with two operational train stations and one is towards the top of Captain’s Hill.
Leixlip is connected to the Irish railway network on the Dublin-Sligo railway line, running from Dublin Connolly to Sligo, with two stations, Leixlip (Louisa Bridge), opened on 1 September 1848, and Leixlip (Confey), opened on 2 July 1990, located at either end of the town.
THE TOLL COLLECTOR’S HOUSE AT THE RYEWATER AQUEDUCT ON THE ROYAL CANAL
The Royal Canal, which linked Dublin to the Shannon, was fully completed in 1817. By 1794 it passed through Leixlip at the insistence of the Duke of Leinster who lived at Carton Estate. This meant the canal had to cross the Rye water valley, 85 feet below the level of the canal. In order to do this the Rye Aqueduct had to be built over the Rye Water.
Photographed across the canal from Leixlip Louisa Bridge railway station.
The National Famine Way is a self-guided Trail detailing the ill-fated journey of 1,490 famine emigrants who walked from Strokestown Park to ships in Dublin in 1847, at the height of the Irish Famine. With its captivating layers of history and culture, the Trail will give you a truly immersive experience. It is centred around the walk of twelve-year-old Daniel Tighe – one of the original famine walkers from Strokestown Park – who remarkably survived the horrific journey to Quebec in Canada in 1847. Daniel’s journey is reimagined in vignettes written by award-winning author Marita Conlon-McKenna. These are connected to over thirty pairs of 19th-century bronze children’s shoes interspersed along the route which create a thought-provoking experience.
I took a huge gamble today. The weather forecast predicted multiple thunder storms and it was correct but I decided to visit Leixlip hoping that there would be gaps in the weather giving me the opportunity to get some really interesting photographs. Based on experience the clouds are much more interesting before and after thunder storms.
Leixlip Louisa Bridge is a railway station in the north-eastern corner of County Kildare, Ireland. It is one of two stations that serve the civil parish of Leixlip, the other being Leixlip Confey. Both stations lie on the Dublin to Maynooth commuter route. It is one of the few stations in the Iarnród Éireann network in which the station building is located directly over the platforms, on a bridge (Dún Laoghaire railway station also follows this design).
Originally named Louisa Bridge & Leixlip when it opened on 1 September 1848 the station was known simply as Leixlip from 1851, until the opening of Leixlip Confey railway station in 1990.
The station was upgraded to two platforms as part of the Western Commuter upgrade project in the early 2000s. At the same time it was reconstructed to be disability-friendly. The previous station building is now a dwelling house. The 1980s concrete block station building remains, albeit out of use, and is the only remaining station building of this style from the 1980s re-opening of the Western Commuter line.
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