In Ireland with the Wanderer Samphire

It is hard to envisage just how big the River Shannon is. From its source in County Cavan to its mouth at the Atlantic, it flows over 200 miles. Its catchment covers a fifth of the island of Ireland and provides something like 800 square miles of cruising water in the navigation.

It is a broad river travelling through much of the midland plain of Ireland which was created by retreating glaciers during the ice ages. Given that much of this land was liable to flood, or be covered in dense scrub, the river provided a valuable means of communication to early inhabitants. Later raids by invaders also made use of the river.

Commercially, it was developed to carry cargo and passengers, and is joined by the Grand Canal and the Royal Canal from Dublin. However, whilst the navigation was complete in 1840 its life was short and confined primarily to distributing Guinness, brewed to mature in the cask on its way to Limerick by barge. The railway soon made the waterway redundant, and but for the formation and active campaigning of the Inland Waterway Association in the 1950s, the navigation would have been lost together with the canals.

The Shannon today is a purely recreational waterway. Many of the old barges still move about carrying people, or are tied up as floating retreats. The old hotel at Shannon Harbour, where thousands of emigrants from Dublin must have paused at the end of the Grand Canal before taking the Shannon to the Atlantic and a new life in the New World, lies ruined with many old warehouses, as a reminder of times past.

We began our cruise at Lough Derg Marina at the southern end of Lough Derg about 15 miles north of Limerick. The marina staff were helpful and friendly. It cost us only £5 for launch and recovery, two nights in the marina and parking for car and trailer for two weeks. We paid no other mooring fees during the cruise. No license appears to be needed. The only other costs were £1.50 for each passage through a lock or swing bridge — three in our case. Food was readily available on each of seven days from small shops in the many villages beside the river and its loughs, many open until nine in the evening. Food prices were similar to home. Beer was a similar price but wine was a lot more expensive. Most of our food and a wine box were already stowed aboard, so we actually spent little once there.

In planning we contacted the DCA librarian who sent us a copy of Bulletin 27, our only reference. It revealed that two Wayfarers had trailed from Suffolk to Fishguard, ferry to Rosslare, and trailed to Killaloe, in 1965. Our drive was identical, about 500 miles, but whereas they spent £9.00 on the ferry, it cost us £376.00!

We had been advised to sail north, to make the most of the predominately south-westerly winds, given that the current was only slight. In fact, the wind was mostly from the north and west during our visit. On the loughs this presented no problems but gave us a wet ride. On the river sections, progress was slow, and in fact the wind totally died for most of one day. The current was much faster than we expected, perhaps due to unseasonably wet weather prior to our visit. Given unlimited time, we should just tie up and wait. However, we wanted to make progress upriver, and resorted to our 2 hp engine for help on a couple of occasions. Indeed, we could not have made progress at all at Athlone where the current from the weir was so strong going into the lock, that we could not have paddled or rowed against it. Cruising without an outboard, I should certainly head south.

The river widens into several loughs. Lough Derg, where we launched and recovered, and Lough Ree some 30 to 40 miles north are the two largest. Lough Derg is about 24 miles long and 2 to 3 miles wide on average. There is a long arm which crosses the lough making a total width of nearly 10 miles at one point. Mountains surround both of the southern shores, whilst forest and the midland plain open up from its northern end. It is deep, and the waters do become rough. There was a considerable swell on our first day as we headed into the northerly force 4-5 wind. Where it widens at Parker Point the waters are often confused, and as we bounced over we thought of a barge of 45 metres which sank whilst being towed, drowning the three bargees on a stormy night in 1946. The event aroused much local in interest and scandal. She was raised after 30 years from 100 feet of water and, once restored, was the subject of a film retracing her journey from Dublin to Limerick.

There are several small harbours around the lough. We stayed at Dromineer, Terryglass and Portumna. Mountshannon was the most attractive of the ports with is colourful cottages near the waterfront. Garrykennedy harbour is built inside the remains of castle, and made exit interesting. The short canal to Scarriff led to some woodland walks, with ample signs of fox, badger, pine marten and what is reputed to be Ireland’s oldest tree, a 1000 year old oak used by Brian Boru first king of all Ireland. We camped aboard each night, but camping on grass beside the harbour was allowed at most harbours. As the harbours were built with barges in mind, and now used mostly by large cruisers, it was a bit of a struggle from our Wanderer tent to scale the sides at some of them.

Lough Ree is more forgiving. It is about 20 miles long, and as wide as Lough Derg but without the depth and surrounding mountains. The waters did not become so rough and we became less wet. Many rocks lie just beneath the surface of the loughs, and beaching requires very careful approaches to avoid damage. We used our inflatable rollers to haul Samphire out on the shores of Lough Ree for one evening, and camped on the beach. I was surprised how easily we moved her, covering 10 metres with little effort. It was a beautiful sunset and we spent hours watching the still water hoping to see an otter.

The loughs are scattered with islands. Most have a small stone jetty. Few are inhabited although some are used for summer grazing.

The large hire cruisers cannot reach these landings, but we could pick and paddle our way in and explore the islands. The flowers were glorious, with many fen and meadow species abounding. Grass of Parnassus, which I have only rarely seen in England was abundant. So too were the remains of monastic settlements, many dating back to the 5th century. The early monks were great travellers and great recluses, and these lonely islands suited their way of life. The remains of several characteristic round bell towers still stand. Holy Island, Inishcealtra, on Lough Derg was by far the most interesting and we spent some time exploring the remains. Although uninhabited, the site is still used by locals as a burial ground to this day.

The river section between the two loughs contrasts the views and the sailing. It is as wide as the Thames in its lower reaches. There are only two locks and a swing bridge to deal with, although there are a few road and rail bridges where we dipped our mast whilst underway. The land surrounding the river is low, flat meadows, which flood in winter. They are known as callows. Unlike British water meadows they have not been improved and still have a rich flora. Birds abound along the banks which are mostly reed-fringed. Herons are very abundant and much more vocal than in Suffolk The rare corncrake was heard in a couple of places and we saw kingfishers and had a brief glimpse of a harrier. I counted 120 individuals in one flock of mute swans near Portumna.

The villages were always welcoming. The bars were friendly and the people helpful. We walked to visit a peat bog which was being systematically removed to feed a power station next door. It consumed nearly 400,000 tons of peat per year and in 25 years it will be gone. A sobering reminder of the fragile habitat in which the Shannon flows. Clonmacnois is a centre of pilgrimage and history. It lies at the junction of the river and the Esker Road, a glacial feature which provided a trackway across Ireland similar to our Ridgeway. We spent some time at the interpretative centre and amongst the castle and monastic remains. The one city through which we passed was Athlone. Sadly, it had a reputation for crime such that we were unwilling to leave the boat unattended. The town quay is supervised, and a large supermarket is nearby.

We sailed for twelve days and covered 234 miles travelling north up Lough Derg, along the river and to the northern end of Lough Ree before returning. The northern section of the river looks just as attractive, and the link to Lough Erne is due to open this year extending the navigation.

Aboard Samphire we carried our tent, waterproofs and dog beneath the deck. Heavy items of food were stored in two bags slung beneath the thwart, and in the MD conversion of the side tanks inside BDH bottles. Spare clothes, sleeping bags and other food were kept in the aft locker. The outboard remained on its bracket. When we got wet through the day, a sponge and leather soon had the boat dry enough to put up the tent and start cooking. We rarely stayed wet for more than a day, and it was not cold in August.

We used charts printed by Emerald Star one of the cruise firms, in conjunction with the Shell Guide to the River Shannon which had a wealth of information about the river, its natural history and navigation information. Local radio give regular forecasts that were reasonably accurate.

The River Shannon gave us two weeks’ most enjoyable cruising. It was interesting country, the sailing was demanding at times, and there was always something new to see. I hope we shall return.