The route starts at Moira station. This is the oldest railway station in Northern Ireland and has been in operation since 1841. When the station was being built, the skeletons of thousands of men and horses from the 637AD Battle of Moira were discovered, confirming that this was the site of the largest battle in the history of Ireland.

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Grey Heron

Moira towpath is a 3-mile walking path that runs along the Lagan Canal between Moira and Aghalee. This section of the canal is known as the Broad Water. There are plenty of interesting creatures that

you can see along the way!

Cormorant Whooping Swan

Belted Galloway

Kingfisher

Mute Swan

The canal is man-made. It was built in the 1700s and originally connected Belfast to Lough Neagh. Hundreds of boats would transport goods from Belfast to towns along the route and, on their return to Belfast, they would bring back sand from Lough Neagh. Horses would walk along the path and tow the wooden canal boats using long ropes - that’s why we call this a towpath!

These boats were called lighters (a type of barge - which is a flat-bottomed boat specifically designed to carry goods along a canal or river). Lighters were operated by highly skilled ‘lightermen’ who would often live onboard with their families. The journey from Belfast to Lough Neagh on a lighter would take two days.

Eventually, the use of the canal for transporting goods was replaced by railways and roads. The canal closed in 1954. In 1961, the section of canal between Moira and Sprucefield was filled in and the M1 motorway was built along its original route.

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1. What type of bird travels from Iceland to spend its winter here?

2. In your own words, explain where the word ‘towpath’ comes from.

3. How long did the journey from Belfast to Lough Neagh take on the canal?

4. Write down a synonym used in the fact sheet for each of these words:

Found

Begins

Joined

5. Can you find six different proper nouns that are used in the fact sheet?

6. Can you find a homophone in the fact sheet for each of the following words?

Root

Toe

Sight

Now it’s time for you to make your own fact sheet about a route that you walk! Print the findings page to sketch a map of your route and take notes along the way.

- Look for interesting flowers, weeds or plants. Take a picture and look them up when you get home to get their name. - Look out for birds, animals and bugs and write down a description of them. - Mark down on your map where you see each of these things.

When you get home, put together a fact sheet that shows where all of your discoveries were found on your route. Include some facts and don’t forget to illustrate some of your findings!

If you’d like us to display your finished fact sheet on our website, ask an adult to send us a picture of it - we’d love to see it!

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