Levitstown Lock

Levitstown is one of the most atmospheric places on the upper river. The navigation follows the long Levitstown Cut, crossed by small bridges to the island of pasture between canal and river, to a lock watched over by the ruins of a huge mill. Built in the late eighteenth century, the mill made malt that went by barge to the Guinness brewery in Dublin, until a fire gutted it in the 1940s. The lock house dates from about 1800; its keeper also worked the lifting bridge beside the lock and collected tolls. The OPW gauge in the lock cut shows how high the river is running between Athy and Carlow, worth checking in a dry summer. The lock is worked by the crew with a lock key; the patroller for this section is on +353 87 951 0777. Maganey Bridge is about 5 km downstream.