Our second winter, and this time the Big Freeze has arrived even earlier. Moving Hawthorn, or doing work, becomes impossible so I amuse myself with a trip to the dentist. This brings the shock of just how much more expensive health care is in Ireland than England.
The Hawthorn Blog
Liveaboard life and general wanderings on the Irish Inland Waterways.
2010
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Dry docking at Shannon Harbour proves to be some challenge. We do succeed in getting some more bitumen on and adding some fendering to the bow and stern 'corners' that have been taking some impacts in our travels. Then we head east - back up the Grand Canal for what seems like the thousandth time. Moored at Robertstown I borrow a bicyle and cycle down the towpath to join an HBA boat headed the other way. Using a tiller again is some reminder of our narrowboat and so much easier than wheel steering.
The journey from North to South across the Shannon Erne Waterway and down the Shannon. Much of this is made in high water levels, which makes life interesting at times. With the levels so high we take the short cut into the Brosna...
A weekend of classic sail boats and steam launches with the vintage rally at Crom castle. We spend the weekend amongst company initially in a floating flottilla at anchor against the reedbeds but then motor on to explore beyond Quigleys Marina.
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Lower Lough Erne
More familial visitors and a great week on the Ernes. We borrow a speedboat and get a rush.
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Lower Lough Erne
We join the HBA for their summer Cruise in Company: a mass cruise of nearly sixty boats into Grange Lough. Here we organise a day out with dinghys and canoes exploring the 'lost' waterways of the Rockville Navigation. The week's madness culminates in an evening of drink, song and jollity at Carnadoe.
With more family members joining us, we meet them in Lough Key for a couple of days of woodland retreat before heading on d
We make our way into Kilglass Lough where we are stunned by the content of the 'information' board in the car park at the moorings.
Reflections on some of the differences between boating in England and Ireland. And our summer in the North begins with an upriver run from Derg to Ree.
More Derg wanderings: we begin to understand why there are folk who never take their boats beyond Portumna.
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Lough Derg
The good weather arrives with serious intent and Derg enjoys a long spell of settled weather which we have to keep telling our guests is not the norm! We explore some of Derg and even head up the Scarriff river.
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Lough Derg
Athy to Lough Derg, with a little excitement on the way.
Determined to get clear of the Barrow in time to make Shannon Harbour ahead of family arriving from England, we drive on hard. More bangs and scrapes punctuate our upstream run than did the downstream journey.
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The River Barrow
Milford to Graigeunamanagh, where we stop having had enough of the banging and scraping and being in need of a rest.
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The River Barrow
The middle section of the river is as much hard work as the upper!
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The River Barrow
This post is not quite in the same spot as it was on the original website - it seemed a good idea to put the blogs in chronological order now that I had to move them.
We make friends with WI as they dredge the river for us priot to our being able to get out of Ardreigh Lock. Once out we find the water challenging but beautiful.
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The River Barrow
We head out onto the Barrow, but not for long! The Barrow, already known to us as a bit of a bitch to navigate, proves to be more of a challenge than we anticipated, and that was only the first lock and mile! Waterways Ireland come to the rescue and a deal is struck: they will help us down and we will 'survey' the river for them.
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The River Barrow
We depart winter's company to explore the River Barrow. Between Lowtown and Athy, the start of the navigable river, lies the Barrow line - a mixture of the best and worst of Ireland's canals.