{"id":29125,"date":"2023-07-27T10:00:36","date_gmt":"2023-07-27T08:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=29125"},"modified":"2023-07-27T10:28:36","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T08:28:36","slug":"09-scarva-county-armagh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/2023\/07\/27\/09-scarva-county-armagh\/","title":{"rendered":"09 Scarva, County Armagh"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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NORTHERN IRELAND<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

09<\/span> Scarva, County Armagh<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Distance: 5.9 miles\/9.5km | Time: 3.5 hours | Grade: Easy | Ascent: 35m (one way)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

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The canal towpath runs beside Scarva village, before continuing to meadowland and Lough Shark<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
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Walked by Fergus Collins<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n

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Running north to south through gentle Armagh countryside, the 20-mile Newry Canal struggles to recall the bustle of its days as an industrial artery. Such is the peace and richness of wildlife that it\u2019s hard to imagine horse-drawn barges carrying coal from Lough Neagh and the Tyrone coalfields through Armagh to the Irish Sea. <\/p>\n\n

The Newry Canal is one of the oldest canals in Britain and Ireland. Opened in 1742, it dominated freight transport in the region until challenged by railways in the 1850s, finally closing to traffic in 1949. <\/p>\n\n

The canal section between Newry and Portadown has been left to gently decline, with the towpath incorporated into cycle and walking routes, including the new St Patrick\u2019s Way pilgrimage route. This short section between Scarva and Gambles Bridge offers a perfect taste of history, countryside and some lovely wildlife.<\/p>\n\n

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1. START <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Park by the canal and listen to the water sluicing through the rotted remains of lock gates. There is a pretty cottage on the far bank. The towpath runs along the western bank of the canal, flanked by railways and, on the east bank, the B3 road. Follow it south for three-quarters of a mile through pockets of woodland and open fields to the village of Scarva. <\/p>\n\n

2. 0.9 MILES <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Scarva has a visitor centre open at weekends and an excellent tea shop. The canal skirts the leafy edge of the village. The road on the eastern bank now pulls away from the canal and the way ahead is more peaceful, with open meadows either side. There are abundant flowering waterplants, including yellow flag irises, and you might be able to make out Dane\u2019s Cast, a prehistoric defensive earthwork, on the far bank. A colony of rare tree sparrows inhabits the scrub along this section.<\/p>\n\n

3. 2.1 MILES <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

After another half mile, spot tree-fringed Lough Shark, which feeds the canal. It also offers good pike fishing! Just past the Lough is the summit of the canal, where the water either flows north to Portadown, or south to Newry. Beyond Lough Shark, you may encounter dippers, kingfishers, herons and grey wagtails, a testament to the quality of the canal water. <\/p>\n\n

4. 3.6 MILES<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Like Scarva, Poyntz Pass is another port on the canal and, before the land was drained, the only point for crossing an extensive marshland in this wide valley. The canalsides are dominated by noisy rookeries, a feature of the <\/span>more wooded stretch of canal ahead. <\/p>\n\n

Between Poynts Pass and Gambles Bridge the towpath is accessible to cars, so keep a look out. There are some grand houses, lovely ruined bridges and attractive rugged hills. Glimpses of the Mourne Mountains appear to the south. <\/p>\n\n

5. 5.9 MILES <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n

Gambles Bridge, with its small car park, is your destination. Look out for the mighty rook city in the woods on the eastern bank.<\/p>\n\n

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USEFUL INFO <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Starting point <\/strong>
To park, take the B3 north from Scarva, take the first left to Terryhoogan and park on the western side of the canal bridge. For a two-car adventure, park a second car at Gambles Bridge. Alternatively, the 63 bus can be caught from the A27 or at Poyntz Pass back to Scarva. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Terrain <\/strong>
Flat and easy \u2013 perfect for wheelchairs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Map <\/strong>
OSNI Discovery Series 20 and 29 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stay <\/strong>
Heavenly B&B Blackwell House. 02838 832 752, blackwellhouse.co.uk<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

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In association with<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For more walks and days out visit countryfile.com<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

Photo: Alamy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This canal section between Scarva and Gambles Bridge offers a taste of history, countryside and lovely wildlife. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":29506,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"103","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"103","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_103-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_103-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"August-2023","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"August-2023","purple_external_id":"August-2023-103-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"August-2023-103-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000084072||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000084072||","purple_android_product":"com.im.countryfile.206","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.countryfile.206","purple_ios_product":"com.im.countryfile.206","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.countryfile.206","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"91da22fd-9e7f-40d1-a93f-fc46e9516d91","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2023-07-25T12:00:09Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"3de395a6-6d83-4403-85da-3aefc2bad285","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2023-07-27T08:05:00Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAw==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/APeOVpm2DRAOF2jrvwrrShQ","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[135],"tags":[14],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/07\/PK4RN3_preview-scaled.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/07\/PK4RN3_preview-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/07\/PK4RN3_preview-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/07\/PK4RN3_preview-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/07\/PK4RN3_preview-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/07\/PK4RN3_preview-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/07\/PK4RN3_preview-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2023\/07\/PK4RN3_preview-2048x1366.jpg",2048,1366,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"This canal section between Scarva and Gambles Bridge offers a taste of history, countryside and lovely wildlife.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29125"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29125"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29125\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29589,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29125\/revisions\/29589"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbccountryfile\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}