NEWRY CANAL
The newry canal was opened in 1742 and was built to bring coal from Tyrone to the Irish Sea. The coming of railways in the 1850s saw the canal go into decline. While Newry continued to prosper as a port, the traffic on the canal had halved by 1888. Declining income and increasing maintenance costs meant that commecial traffic ceased in 1936. By 1956 the canal was closed as far as Newry and by 1966 the section to Victoria lock was abandoned when Warrenpoint replaced the port of Newry.
Today the lower section is used for fishing with platforms along a 3.5 mile stretch. A greenway walk now stretches from Victoria all the way to Newry. Above Newry the towpath has been incorporated into both the Ulster Way and the National Cycle Network
THIS SERIES
This is part of a large series that has been placed along the Canal. It requires a mix of walking, kayaking, climbing and cycling to find the six different types of caches.
A suggested launch point for your watercraft can be found at NC001 - Slipway.
COMPLETE YOUR DT GRID
This is also one of the eighty one caches that will enable you to complete your DT in the Newry/Carlingford area. This link will take you to a spreadsheet which will show you the other 80 caches in the series. A bookmark list is also available.
THIS CACHE
This cache was placed using a kayak. It is a small container tied in place. If you approach ground zero by land you may be tempted to try to reach the cache without a watercraft. This approach was not test and looks risky to me. Please ensure you have the appropriate skills and equipment before attempting to find this cache.
This is a letterbox cache in that it contains an ink stamp. There is no ink pad in the container so you will need to bring your own if you want to make an impression.