Toomebridge Lock Keepers Cottage - Guided tour of Canal Walk for EHOD 2024

On the 14th and 15th of September 2024, the Heritage Project Assistant with TIDAL Toome will be offering free public tours of the Toomebridge Canal Walk Trail in the evening from 6-7pm. The path is wheelchair accessible and visitors should bring sturdy footwear and dress for an early Autumn evening. Our guided tours of the canal foster a sense of place in our community and connecting with the outdoors fosters a sense of well being. We will start at the Lock Keeper's Cottage building at 6pm and finish at the end of the Canal Walk at 7pm.

 Our one hour tour will discuss the history of Toome as a fishing community, with insights into the heritage of local eel fishing families such as the McErlain's and the Tottens. We will delve into the sand industry and its impact on Toomebridge and the construction of the railway in the area in the 1850s with the Randalstown Railway arch designed by Sir Charles Lanyon. Tours will touch on the history of the aerodrome at RAF Creagh and memories of our project stakeholders of American GIs stationed in the area. We will also talk about the flax industry and the traditions of farmers retting the flax in dams and drying it on local fields. The tour will include photographs and excerpts from our oral history project. We will conclude with an insight into the work of conservation volunteers along the canal walk and examine the future of our community through the volunteering projects along the Canal Walk.