Ulster Canal - Route

Route

The canal follows a fairly straight south-west to north-east course from Wattle Bridge, on the River Finn, to Charlemont, where it joins the River Blackwater. There were two locks close to the River Finn, two beyond Clones, and three near Smithborough, where the summit was reached. The summit pound was less than 6 miles (10 km) long, and was fed from Quig Lough reservoir, just to the north of the end of the summit. Two locks drop the level before Monaghan is reached and there is a flight of seven shortly after the town. The border with Northern Ireland crosses the canal below them. There are two isolated locks near Middletown, and the a level section before the canal reaches a gorge to the west of Benburb. Fitting the canal through here presented a lot of problems for the builders, as another six locks were required in awkward terrain. There is another lock above Blackwatertown, and the final lock below Charlemont, before the canal joins the River Blackwater.

The summit level was 213 feet (65 m) above sea level. The original locks were built for boats which were 62 by 11 feet (19 by 3.4 m). Of the large number of bridges that crossed the canal, 56 remained in 2002.