I don’t know how this section of the towpath came by the sobriquet of the track, but however that’s what we called it.

The track is that place on the canal where the three waters meet, and if I make so bold as to steal a quote from that famous Irish poet, Thomas Moore.

 There is not in the wide world a valley so sweet

 As that vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet…

The towpath passes over a handsome twin arch stone bridge at this point, and if I were to stand on the bridge, looking northwards, with the town of Newry to my back, then on my left side is the Bessbrook River, to my right and separated from the Bessbrook River, only by the towpath itself is the Newry canal.

Way over on my right side at the bottom of the field is the Clanrye River colloquially known as the County.

The Bessbrook River at this point turns sharply to its left and passes under the bridge that I am standing on, to merge with the Newry canal.  Over on my right hand side, at the bottom of the field, the County River makes a large sweeping turn to its right in an attempt also to meet up with the canal. The only thing separating the County from the canal here is a low stone wall; these two waterways under normal conditions never actually meet.  Only at times of extreme flood conditions does the river actually overflow the top of the wall and intersect with the canal. Standing at or on the wall during such high water times could prove to be extremely hazardous.

The reason why the County rivers water level doesn’t rise here under normal conditions is because a few hundred yards upstream from this stone wall dam is an outlet diverting the river to its left and through the Damolly mill complex. 

As a young boy this part of the river always fascinated me because the river’s Mill outlet was always so mysterious.  It was on the far bank of the river which I could never access as the river was always very deep and fast-flowing here and there was just no way that I could get over to it.  The river water just seemed to disappear through this ever-so-mysterious green tunnel.

The trees and undergrowth on either side of that outlet stretched outward to touch each other and so form this enigmatic green tunnel of dark secrets that I would have just so loved to have explored, but never ever actually did.