Borris Viaduct Walk Carlow Family walk

Borris viaduct walk started life as a railway viaduct built in 1860. The viaduct spans 16 arches across the river 50m below. The viaduct was constructed as a railway line from Bagenalstown to Wexford. Additional information about the viaduct’s history can be found here.

The viaduct has recently received work by Carlow County Council to make it safer and more accessible. They have added a new car park and installed railings along the top of the viaduct to stop small children from falling over the edge.

Key information

• Buddy friendly
• 2 Car parks
• Out and back walk
• lots of information signs
• Child friendly
• 1km long with the option of 500m additional section
• Picnic tables down at the river

Viaduct Parking

Every good walk needs a nice car park as a starting point and Borris viaduct walk has 2 car parks, one at each end of the viaduct, happy days. We parked at the old car park on the R702 main road. The new car park is beside the school here.

Both car parks have good signposts but the new car park at the school has lots of interesting historical information about the construction of the viaduct and great quotes such as;

“A bridge to the past and a link to the future”

This car park also has a very cool winding path to the top of the viaduct. This really suited our 2-week old baby in her buggy.

Borris Viaduct Walk

We walked from the car park on the R702 and walked 50m up the small quiet country road and turned down to the viaduct where we saw the “Viaduct walk sign”. The small path is concrete and quite steep but perfect for a buggy to descend to the path below.

At the start of the viaduct walk, there is a small woodland walk that walks below the bridge and underneath the arches. We sat at the picnic tables here and enjoyed the lovely scenic area.

Walking across the Borris Viaduct

From one end to another, the viaduct walk is 500m long. Carlow County Council added new visible barriers to both edges of the viaduct as they were quite low before. The new addition allows families to walk over the top of the viaduct without worrying about the children’s safety.

Borris Viaduct Walk length

If you decided to walk over the viaduct and back that is 1km long but if you decide to walk down below the arches and along the river that is another 500m long. The whole trial is buggy friendly and really fun for young children. Our daughters loved this Carlow walk, especially the new additions.