1 Heritage of the past, Rindoon, Co Roscommon
The medieval remains at Rindoon on the west side of Lough Ree make up an atmospheric and peaceful site. Littered with the ruins of a lost medieval village, including a hospital, harbour, a Norman castle, church and wall, the site dates from the Middle Ages. The stonework of the walls, which spanned the width of the peninsula has survived for eight centuries and has been conserved. Other preservation work has taken place, and Rindoon is now a Special Area of Conservation.
2 The Corlea Trackway, Co Longford
The fascinating Corlea Trackway, six miles north west of Ballymahon, is part of a buried togher, an early Iron Age track, discovered in 1984. Dating to 146 BC, the trackway was known to turf-cutters as ‘Danes Road’ and was made of oak planks that were meant to float on the bog surface. Part of the roadway has been preserved in the visitor centre; another section has been left outside and gives a good idea of what the trackway would have looked like under the peaty tussocks.
3 Shannon Banks wildlife walk, Athlone
Let nature under your skin along the newly established Shannon Banks colour-coded trail where wildflowers such as herb Robert, speedwell, stitchwort and silverweed are prominent. Bursting with wildlife, this three-mile walk starts beside Athlone Castle, runs past the Luan Art Gallery and through a park alongside the promenade. You will come across horse chestnut, silver birch, Norway maple, and common lime trees, and among their inhabitants are wood pigeons, robins, blackbirds and thrushes. On the river, pristine-white swans preen their feathers, and keep your eyes peeled for cormorants, little grebes, coots and herons.
4 Cycle the Old Rail Trail Greenway, Co Westmeath
All the family can enjoy safe cycling and walking the Greenway along the delightful Old Rail Trail, a converted stretch of the former Midlands Great Western Railway line. It runs from Athlone, east of the river to Mullingar, linking the Shannon with the Royal Canal. This is an off-road trail with no hills so it is an easy ride, or walk, with many places to explore along the route. Dún na Sí Amenity and Heritage Park at Moate with 27 acres of parkland is one of the attractions.
5 The Hill of Uisneach, Co Westmeath
An ancient seat of the kings of Meath, the Hill of Uisneach, six miles east of Athlone, was a prehistoric meeting place of renown that plays a significant role in the local imagination. Its most famous feature is ‘The Cat Stone’, a limestone boulder which from certain angles resembles the shape of a cat about to pounce. The hill marks the point where the five ancient provinces of Ireland met, and was considered the symbolic centre of the country.
6 Go with the Shannon flow
One of the best ways of appreciating the Shannon is on the Viking longboat from Athlone to Clonmacnoise. Dating from 1923, this sleek boat is a replica of a Viking Knarr, the Norse merchant ship used for Atlantic voyages. En route to the ‘celestial city’, it passes through secretive countryside where it becomes an ecclesiastical superhighway. Once you pass the Esker Riada, a glacial ridge which marked a political boundary line in ancient Ireland, the grey stone buildings of the country’s pre-eminent holy site come into view in the watery distance.
7 Callows hay meadows
When God designed the callows he built in social distancing – these tranquil hay meadows on natural grassland between Athlone and Portumna are largely empty of humanity aside from farmers dividing it into strips. Fragranced by the beautiful coumarin of freshly cut hay in the summer, there is a stillness here with more than enough room for everyone. Dawdle among the wildflowers and Instagram the tall pink spikes of willowherb or wild valerian all flickering with insect life, and check the names with your Picture This app.
8 Finding river fortifications, Co Offaly
Scour the fields around Banagher and you will stumble across derelict structures such as the defensive Shannon Napoleonic fortifications brooding over strategic river crossing points. Last year, Fort Eliza, a five-sided, four-gun battery, built around 1812 looking out over the river, was awarded a grant of €35,000 from the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (match-funded by Waterways Ireland as part of its Conservation Management Plan) for renovation work.
9 Lough Boora Discovery Park, Co Offaly
This open expanse of once commercial and now exhausted bog has been restored for hiking, cycling, coarse angling and birdwatching. Initially there were just 11 breeding pairs of grey partridge in the parkland but now there are several hundred of these ground-nesting birds. Highlights include the 10-mile Turraun cycle route and the Sculpture Walk which has been created by artists influenced by the legacy of the bogs. It has won international awards and resulted in some of the most creative environmental outdoor artwork anywhere in Ireland.
10 Clara Bog, Co Offaly
They say that you can experience 10,000 years of history in the 10 square kilometres that make up Clara Bog in Co Offaly. Clara is one of the best remaining examples of a relatively intact raised bog in western Europe. It is noted for its peatlands and mosses but also for its flora and fauna such as sundews, heaths and bog cotton. Look out for the beautiful pink bog rosemary, the official Offaly flower which is represented on the county crest.
Shannon Country: A River Journey Through Time by Paul Clements is published by Lilliput Press, £13. It is available form bookshops or from www.lilliputpress.ie
