Travel Mullingar - Athlone Greenway
Mullingar side
Starting from Mullingar there are three possible routes.
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1. Cycle east on the Royal Canal Greenway towards Enfield/ Kilcock/ Maynooth
2. Cycle west on the Royal Canal Greenway towards Longford
3. Cycle west on the Mullingar to Athlone (Old Rail Trail) towards Athlone
We are dealing with the third option here. Options 1&2 are covered in the Royal Canal section of this website.
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Note that the Royal Canal greenway route, travelling west, and the Mullingar to Athlone greenways straddle each other for about 4 Kms from Mullingar but on separate paths. The Royal Canal route hugs the canal while the Mullingar to Athone cycleway takes a slightly more southern route. In both cases the routes converge at Ballinea Bridge.
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The Royal Canal route then heads north west towards Longford along the banks of the canal. The Mullingar to Athlone Greenway route travels west to Athlone on the now disused rail network which is commonly referred to as the Old Rail Trail.
Cyclists taking the Old Rail Trail starting in the centre of Mullingar town or at the Railway station will cycle for a short distance on the Royal Canal Greenway. The greenways intersect just outside Mullingar. When cyclists pass under the bridge shown in the image they should take a left turn to join the Old Rail Trail. More detail on the intersection between both greenways is shown in the Info section here and also on the Royal Canal Greenway
Arriving by Train in Mullingar
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Those travelling by train will arrive into Mullingar rail station, access to the Royal Canal Greenway is just opposite the station. Cycling to the east from Mullingar rail station, there is a cycle path that takes you through the town on the cycle path where you can stop for lunch or coffee or stay overnight.
Those wishing the access the Old Rail Trail will cycle to the west along the Royal Canal for 1.5Km. Just under the bridge the path diverges. Those continuing on the Royal Canal Greenway towards Longford should continue on straight. Those wishing to cycle towards Athlone take a left turn just after the bridge. ​An image of the on the map of the point of divergence are shown below.
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As an aside please note that there is no direct rail line between Mullingar and Athlone (it is now a greenway!). Passengers expecting to travel between Mullingar and Athlone by rail must travel via Dublin and change stations in Dublin. Mullingar is on the Sligo line while Athlone is on the Mayo/Galway line, see the rail intercity rail map here.
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Arriving by car or bus in Mullingar
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Those travelling by car can park at the Old Rail Trail car park shown in the map below. The car park is free and the Old Rail Trail starts just outside the car park at the other side of the at the roundabout, see map below.
​Those travelling by bus to Mullingar will most likely be dropped in the town centre or at the Rail station and most likely will require bike hire, see the Bike Hire page here.
Also see Bus Eireann web page here.​​
Athlone side
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The Mullingar to Athlone Greenway starts and finishes in the centre of Athlone town at the recently built Athlone Greenway bridge. See news report here for its opening in 2023.
The location of the bridge and the train station is shown below.
Those travelling by train to Athlone will have a very short ride to the bridge and can use it as their starting point.
Those travelling by bus will most likely be hiring bikes, see the Bike Hire page here.
Parking is available at the train station.​​​
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Athlone Greenway Bridge
​​For those with cars and bikes, there is free parking outside Athlone town and is a useful place to have a picnic either at the start or end of your cycle. See location here.​​​​
It is not possible to hire bikes at one location and return elsewhere. Unfortunately. I have not found a bike hire company that allows bikes to be hired in Athlone and returned in Mullingar or vice versa. See Hire section here for more information on bike hire companies.
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There are many options to begin the cycle if driving and carrying own bikes other than Athlone or Mullingar, such as at Moate or at many of the road bridges that cross the greenway. There is parking at many of these crossing points.