The Belvedere Trail

The Starting Point for the Belvedere Trail is Mullingar Town.

Mullingar town is also noted for is interesting buildings, to mention a few, the Railway Station, Columb Barracks, Masonic Hall, the Old Infirmary, Clonard House, and the Market House where the Tourist Information office is housed. Another fine building is the Cathedral of Christ the King. The town is surrounded by the Royal Canal and due to its proximity to many lakes it is aptly named the Capital of the Lakelands and is an angler's dream.

From Mullingar travel the N52, the Tullamore Road where you will pass Belvedere House Gardens & Park. Belvedere is situated on the shores of Lough Ennell and it is connected with a wealth of stories about the Anglo-Irish gentry and the imprisonment of Mary Molesworth by her husband. Visitors to Belvedere can do a tour of the house which was designed in the 1740s as a fishing and hunting lodge for Robert Rochfort and see a glimpse of the upstairs down stairs life of the mid eighteenth century. See the Jealous Wall and Follies such as the Gothic Arch, octagonal gazebo and icehouse. Visit the walled garden and explore one hundred and sixty acres of parkland.

From Belvedere follow the signposts to Lilliput.
Lilliput was named after Jonathan Swift, who published Gulliver's Travels in 1726. Swift was the Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin and was a regular visitor to Westmeath. He stayed with the Rochfort family at Gaulstown House, which was located on the Milltownpass-Rochfortbridge road close to Belvedere. Swift looked across the expanse of Lough Ennell one day and saw people on the other side of the lake. It is said this is what inspired him to write about the Lilliputians in Gulliver's Travels. At Lilliput there is an adventure centre where people can do activities such as: canoeing, kayaking, orienteering, archery and hill walking. Lough Ennell is a premier brown trout lake. The largest brown trout ever caught in Ireland was caught at Lough Ennell. It weighed an amazing 26lbs 2oz. It is now on display at Belvedere House Visitors Centre.

On the N52 follow signs for Kilbeggan.
From Kilbeggan you have the option of travelling to Tyrellspass, which is five miles east of Kilbeggan. Take the N52 to Tyrellspass.

Alternatively travel the N6 to Horseleap and on to Moate.
Moate takes its name from the Motte & Bailey erected by the Normans in 1180. Moate owes its later development to the Quaker community. They established a number of industries in the eighteenth century. Today Moate is a bustling market town. Dún na Sí Heritage Park is the genealogy research centre for County Westmeath. Included at the centre are horse drawn farm machinery, a hedge school, portal dolmen and an early Christian ring fort. The centre also has a picnic area and a souvenir and coffee shop. Dún na Sí holds evening seisúns or céilís. There is music song, dance and storytelling.

From Moate travel the Ballymore Road.
Since the Middle Ages markets and fairs were held at Ballymore. Norman evaders erected a Motte and bailey at Ballymore and administered the county from there. Around Ballymore are remains of castles, convents and monasteries. In 1691 the fort at Ballymore was the site of a major battle between two armies the Jacobite's and the Williamites.

From Ballymore travel to Mullingar on the R390 where you will pass the Hill of Uisneach.
The Celts herded cattle here and held ritual assemblies on the Hill of Uisneach, which is close by. Uisneach was an ancient Druidic sanctuary and assembly for the May time festival. It was a royal residence in the second century A.D. The Catstone a large rock on the hill marks the meeting point of the five provinces of ancient Ireland. This site is privately owned.

The Fore Trail

The starting point for the Fore trail is Mullingar travel the R394.
You will pass Mullingar Hospital. On your left you will see St Mary's Hospital, which was opened in 1841 as a Workhouse. This building accommodated eight hundred people. Continuing on the main road the trail veers right taking the road to Collinstown. There is an area known as The Cut by locals, which has a slipway, picnic area, toilets and a car park. To your left you will see the Rugby Club. This was formerly the Cullen Estate, which was once owned by the Duke of Mecklenberg. Further along this road on the right hand side you will see the gates of Knockdrin Castle. The castle is still occupied but is not open to the public.On your left hand side in the distance you will notice the spire of a church. This is a restored church, which houses the Belfry restaurant. This was once St Mary's Church. The families of the nearby estates of Knockdrin Castle and Ballynagall House built it in 1824. As you pass along this road you will be impressed by mature trees and stonewalls bordering the estate. Continue until you come to the village of Crookedwood.

Continuing on straight from Crookedwood towards Castlepollard you will see Lough Derravaragh. Lough Derravaragh featured in the famous Legend called Children of Lir. There is an information point and resting area on a little further. As you descend a hill there is a lane way to the left that will bring you to the lakeshore.

Continuing on the main road the trail veers right taking the road to Collinstown.
Barbavilla House & Estate is on your right as you go into Collinstown village. It was once home to the Smyths and is now an industrial complex. Collinstown is just beside Lough Lene. There is an area known as "The Cut" by locals, which has a slipway, picnic area, toilets and a car park.
The Gaelic name for Collinstown is Baile na gCailleach meaning town of the veiled women. In the early Christian Era, they lived in the area so the town was named after them. There are many ring forts in the locality.

Detour: To Delvin Clonmellon
Delvin Castle in the village of Delvin was built in 1184 by Gilbert de Nugent. The old Castle at Clonyn was the second castle built on this site by the Nugents. Richard Nugent destroyed the first castle when Cromwell was approaching. The present castle is now surrounded by an 18-hole golf course. In 1918 Brinsley Mc Namara, a local, wrote a well-known book called The Valley of the Squinting Windows. There is also a Motte at the end of the village. This was built by Hugh de Lacy in 1181.

Leaving Delvin via the N52 you will see Ballinlough Castle on your right six miles from Delvin. Continue straight on and you will come to the village of Clonmellon. This village on the Westmeath/Meath border is close to Killua Castle and is reputed to be the birthplace of Laurence of Arabia. Situated close by is a monument commemorating the introduction of the potato into Ireland by Sir Walter Raleigh.

From Collinstown Village travel to Fore Village.
The village of Fore is in a valley between two hills. Here you will see the ancient ruins of a Christian monastery. Fore is the town of the springs and was named after St Fechin's spring, which is beside the old church. It was St Fechin who founded the ancient Fore Abbey around 630 A.D. By 665 A.D. (the time of the yellow plague) there were three hundred monks living in the community. Between 771 and 1169 A.D. Fore was burnt 12 times.

The Fore Abbey is famous for its seven wonders:
1. The monastery in the bog;
2. The mill without a race;
3. The water that flows uphill;
4. The tree that has three branches or the tree that will not burn;
5. The water that will not boil;
6. The anchorite in a stone;
7. The stone or lintel raised by St Fechin's prayers.

An important aspect of Fore is the Fore Crosses one of which is in the village of Fore. There are eighteen crosses; some crosses are plain whilst others are carved. They are spread out over seven miles on roadways and in fields and bare witness to religious persecution during penal times. Above Lough Lene is Slieveboy Hill and Gallagher's Moteens which are Bronze Age graves. These are Cist graves, which succeeded the communal burial chambers of the New Stone Age.

From Fore travel to Castlepollard
This village was built in the late seventeenth- early eighteenth century by the Pollard family, which explains where the village got its name. Castlepollard has a museum with the display of home and farm artefacts. There are two churches called St. Michaels, the Catholic Church dates from 1806 and the Church of Ireland was built in 1821. There are several tablets for the Pollards and other families in the vicinity of the church. The town square once known as the fair green has a sculpture of Children of Lir. There is a ruin of an old church called Kilafree (1672 - 1818) in the town. This holds burial vaults of the Pollards.

From Castlepollard travel the Coole Road
On this road you will pass Tullynally Castle & Gardens, home of the Pakenhams who are Earls of Longford since the seveneenth century. This is now one of the largest Castles in Ireland still lived in as a family home. The Castle is open to the public during the summer months.

Detour: Mullaghmeen Forest is a state forest and provides 22.5 km of roadway for the walker. It leads to the highest point in Westmeath (849ft.) From the Rock of Curry you go straight to come to Mullaghmeen. Carrick Craft is situated in Mountnugent, which is close to Finea. There is a visitor's centre here and a basketry museum, which exhibits traditional baskets made from rod, rush and straw. Craft workshops are available here from time to time.

From Tullynally Castle travel to Coole village.
You will see a hospital on the left which was an Orthopaedic Hospital for children until 1981. The church dates from 1841 and Turbotstown House across the road is about two hundred years old. It was the home of the Dease family. Turn left at the crossroads near Coole Hall. Keep right at the next junction and continue for Multyfarnham. You will travel through moorland and forest and reach the village of Multyfarnham. Multyfarnham has a seven hundred-year-old Franciscan Friary and extensive gardens with life size Stations of the Cross. The stained glass windows depict the burning of the Abbey in 1601, a priest holding a secret mass and the legend of the Children of Lir. The tabernacle is a millstone with a copper ear of wheat. This symbolises the bread of life. One mile east of the village a roadway leads to the Donore Shore of Lough Derravaragh where a modern Caravan & Camping Park is located. This is a great area for boating, fishing, swimming & walking.

From Multyfarnham travel to Mullingar.
You will come to a junction with a pub called the Covert on your left. There is a lake across the road called Ballinafid, which has a fishing platform. Turn left at this junction 3 km on further you will see a breathtaking view of Lough Owel at Portnashangan, which will be on your right. You will see several small islands. The largest of these islands is called Church Island. There was once a monastery settlement here. The ruins still remain. The last burial on the island was in 1830. If the water level decreases substantially a causeway out to the island can be seen under the water. There is a sculpture in the car park of the Children of Lir. A pathway leads down a slope across a railway bridge and down to the lakeshore. The railway line will be on your right as you continue on for Mullingar.