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Two locations are particularly evocative of canal life. ROBERTSTOWN , due north of Kildare, where the ways divide - the canal arrived here in 1785 - is no more than a village, yet it boasts a canal stop complete with the Grand Canal Hotel (tel 045/870005; no accommodation), which serves bar food and arranges leisurely barge tours (summer Sun 2-6pm). There are pleasant walks along the towpath from here: pick up Towpath Trails from a regional tourist office if you are interested in exploring these pleasantly undeveloped routes. If you want to navigate the waterways yourself, cruiser rental is available from Canalways in Rathangan, six miles northwest of Kildare (tel 045/524646, www.canalways.ie ). MONASTEREVIN , west of Kildare along the N7, follows the set pattern of an Irish Pale town: a big house, in this case Moore Abbey (once the home of the Irish tenor John McCormack), a church and the town itself - a street of eighteenth-century houses, their gardens sloping down to the river. A couple of features merit a pause as you pass through: a fine sculpture commemorating the English Jesuit poet and master of sprung rhythm, Gerard Manley Hopkins - at the side of the road opposite the houses - and an eighteenth-century aqueduct that takes the Grand Canal over the River Barrow.
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