Boat Trip Ireland

Saturday, 22.07.2023

Today we start our next trip, this time to Ireland. We get up at 4:00 am, at 5:00 am we drive by car to Hamburg airport.

Everything goes well until we are sitting in the plane. The departure time has come but nothing is moving. Then the captain announces that the luggage cannot be loaded because there are no containers available. Now the containers that have just been unloaded should be emptied and then used for our suitcases, expected delay 20 minutes. After half an hour the captain speaks again. The suitcases are in the containers but there is no driver available for the transportation to the plane, expected delay another 20 minutes. Actually not so bad, if we didn't have a bus ticket for the ride from Dublin Airport to Carrick-on-Shannon and the bus leaves at 14:05. Research shows that the next bus doesn't leave until 17:00 and we won't be at the harbor before 20:00.

When we arrive in Dublin, we have about 1 hour left. The plane doesn't get a place at the finger, so the gangway has to be driven to the plane. But the gangway is missing, which leads to another delay of 15 minutes. But then everything goes very fast, we only have to wait 10 minutes for the suitcases. Running to the bus terminal, made it, we are there at 13:56.

The bus ride is 180 km and takes about 3 hours. It's raining heavily when we arrive in Carrick-on-Shannon shortly after 17:00. A short walk to the marina, then taking over the boat at the office and a short briefing on the ship.

Afterwards shopping. We could order in advance and the supermarket delivers on board or you can use the supermarket shuttle service and buy groceries yourself. We chose the latter. After dinner and a glass of wine, we are done with the world and just want to sleep.

Sunday, 23.07.2023

We were awake quite early on Sunday morning. It's still raining. But that doesn't stop us from starting our journey right after breakfast. The first destination today is Lough Key, we want to visit the Forest & Activity Park. From Carrick-on-Shannon we first go north on the Shannon River. Then we turn and travel through Lough Eidin. From here the journey continues into the Boyle River, which is very narrow in some places. The first lock comes into view, an exciting affair because next to the Clarendock lock there is a weir, which we must take into account. The jetty on the opposite side is submerged and cannot be used. The rivers and lakes here are very full due to the days of rain and have a corresponding flow velocity. After the lock, we continue into Lough Key, where the mooring place for the park is located. Finally, the rain has stopped and the sun is starting to show. We decide to do the Rockingham Trail here. The Rockingham House no longer exists but several underground tunnels are still there. The first one leads us to a somewhat ugly viewing tower in the middle of the beautiful landscape, but the view from above is worth it. The second tunnel leads to a treetop trail that takes us back to the visitor center. Now we treat ourselves to a coffee before continuing to Boyle. Here is a beautiful marina and we are the only charter boat. We set off for the town about 2 km away. We pass the Boyle Abbey, which we visit. The museum attendant recommends us to purchase an OPW Pass for the visit of 88 historical sights throughout Ireland. Now we continue to the city center, where we eat dinner at the small restaurant Cafe Lovage at the Gate Lodge directly on the Boyle River. What a beautiful day. Oh yes, the weather has played along since early afternoon.

Monday, 24.07.2023

We leave Boyle in good weather and travel the same way back to Carrick-on-Shannon. We pass the city without stopping and reach the Jamestown Canal about an hour later. The canal bypasses an unnavigable part of the Shannon for a distance of 2 miles. At the end of the canal, we come to the second lock, the Albert Lock. Three large boats are already waiting at the mooring by the lock, we just manage to get the last place. After us, a Dutchman arrives who has to moor to our boat. This proves to be difficult because his boat is noticeably larger than ours. After a short wait, the lock opens. It can accommodate four boats, so we can go through on the first try, but the Dutchman has to wait.

After the lock, we are back on the Shannon and continue south. We pass through Lough Tap and Lough Boderg. At the southwestern end of Lough Boderg lies the entrance to the Carnadoe Waters, an extensive reed area with two lakes and a beautiful landscape. Our destination is the Kilglass Jetty at the very end of the navigable route. The first challenge is the bridge at Carnadoe Quay. Under normal conditions, it is already very low and with the current high water it gives us goosebumps. We pass it without any damage and enter a breathtaking waterway that winds its way through the reed landscape and reach the Carrigeen Cut, a very narrow channel that leads us into Kilglass Lough. We reach the jetty, which has no infrastructure at all, and find that we are completely alone here. In the evening, a few locals come to swim here, it's too cold for us and soon we are alone again. The rising wind prompts us to change our mooring because the waves are splashing under the boat. After that, we spend a peaceful night in the middle of nature.

Tuesday, 25.07.2023

When we wake up, we see a swan family cleaning itself near our boat. After a hearty breakfast, we decide to start the new day. We drive part of the way back through the nature reserve with its endless expanses. We feel like we are trapped in the book "Where the Crawdads Sing". We pass through Lough Boderg and Lough Bofin to the small town of Dromod. Here we want to briefly moor in the harbor because we urgently need to empty the wastewater tank. However, there are three boats at the pump station that will also not leave in the foreseeable future. We decide to take a short walk through the town. We buy some drinks and a jar of honey at Hunts supermarket. When we return, the situation is unchanged, so we continue our journey towards Roosky.

At the Roosky lock, we ask the lock keeper if the Camlin River is navigable. He said it is no problem for our boat. Shortly after Lough Forbes, we turn left into the Camlin River. The river is really narrow and densely overgrown. About halfway through, a large boat comes towards us. We have to stop and let it pass. As we pass by, we see that it is the Dutch people we met at the Albert Lock the day before. On the map, we see an entry "Airdraft Gauge" that we cannot understand. Literally translated, it means "airdraft measurement". It refers to a rapid, which we recognize as we pass through it. After an exciting journey, we arrive at the small jetty below Richmond Harbour, where we will stay overnight. Richmond Harbour is a private harbor that can be reached via a lock. From here, the Royal Canal leads all the way to Dublin. The harbor has another pump station, the situation is the same as in Dromod, it is blocked by boats. In general, the harbor makes a miserable impression, neglected and full of dilapidated boats.

In the evening, we treat ourselves to a delicious meal and a few beers at the Richmond Inn Pub.

Wednesday, 26.07.2023

It's raining, as predicted by the weather forecast. We leave our mooring and turn into the Clondra Canal after about 100 m, a narrow, densely overgrown canal that ends with the Clondra Lock. Luckily, it is manned and open on our side, so we can drive in right away. The lock gates have to be operated by muscle power. The lock keeper, a strong guy, has to exert all his strength to operate the heavy gates. Shortly after the lock, we are back on the Shannon.

The next opportunity for pumping out is Lanesborough. On the map, we find more entries for "Airdraft Gauge", whose meaning we now know and know what to expect. Shortly before Lanesborough, the Shannon is about 300 m wide. At the Lanesborough Bridge, it narrows, which leads to a considerable flow velocity. We speed under the bridge and see the pump station directly behind the bridge, passed. In the following small lake, we turn around and moor against the current at the pump station and finally get rid of our wastewater.

Shortly afterwards, we reach Lough Ree, the largest lake on the Shannon. It is 25 km long and up to 10 km wide. And even though it is so big, only a very small part of it is navigable. In addition to the rain, it became foggy, so we had to navigate from one buoy to the next. Due to the weather and the forecast of increasing winds, we cancel our planned detour to the Inny River and head straight for our destination, Coosan Point at the southern end of Lough Ree.

Unfortunately, the pub right next to the marina is closed today. So it's leftovers for dinner. But we still have three bottles of beer and one and a half bottles of wine, so we won't go hungry.

Thursday, 27.07.2023

The weather this morning is cloudy, no rain; light wind and good visibility.

Today is sightseeing day. We have only a short trip of 6 km to Athlone, where we arrive at 11:00 am, just behind the railway bridge at a brand new mooring. A short walk and we reach the Church of Saint Peter & Paul. Directly opposite is Athlone Castle and behind it Ireland's oldest pub, Sean's Bar, which is already full at 11:00 am. We walk through the old town, buy bread and cake for afternoon coffee and are back at the boat.

We pass the lock at the southern edge of the city, the largest and most modern on the entire Shannon, and continue south. After about 1.5 hours, we reach Clonmacnoise, Ireland's national shrine, a monastery founded in 650 where 8,000 to 10,000 people lived at its height. The monastery was plundered and destroyed 50 times by Vikings, Normans, and Irish kings over the centuries. After the last destruction in 1552, it was not rebuilt. The high crosses made of sandstone are remarkable. We first visit the multimedia show in the visitor center and then explore the ruins.

After coffee and cake, we set off for our destination harbor in Shannonbridge. Unusually for us, the harbor is already full. We find a place at the old harbor right by the bridge. For dinner, we go to Luker's Pub, which is within sight of our mooring. From here, we watch the sometimes unsuccessful attempts of other boats to moor somehow.

Friday, 28.07.2023

Today is a leisurely day, we have another good hour's drive by boat to Banagher, where we arrive at 11:00 am. We orient ourselves in the small town, look for a pub for tonight, and the bus stop for tomorrow morning. The bus leaves at 11:00 am, the stop is at the library, there are no signs or timetables, but we find them in the library. Then the organizational matters, refuel and tidy up the boat, return at the reception, pack suitcases, etc.

In the evening, we go to Flynn's Bar & Restaurant. The food is not that great, the patty in the burger is so hard that the fork bends. Disappointed, we leave the place and turn to J.J. Hough's Pub, where live music is scheduled for tonight. Unfortunately, the door is locked, that can't be. After rattling at the door for long enough, someone opens it from the inside, too stupid to open a door. The pub is 250 years old and it looks like it. Nothing seems to have changed here since the beginning, except for electric light and a modern cash register system. We quickly find a beer we like, Smithwick's Irish Red Ale, and make ourselves comfortable, the music doesn't start until 11 o'clock. A band consisting of two guitarists and a keyboard player makes great music, the pub fills up and the mood goes up. The Irish are heavy drinkers, we can't keep up with them. Although it's so crowded, the landlord doesn't overlook it, at half past midnight he comes to our table and says we have to drink more, after all, he has to pay the band. So we ordered another pint, then that's enough, we leave the pub at one o'clock and retreat to our boat.