“Every minute I stay in this room, I get weaker, and every minute Charlie squats in the bush, he gets stronger.”
“What was that? Who’s getting stronger?” my wife asked me, wondering why I was talking to myself in a gravelly American accent while at the wheel of our boat. Meandering north from Carrick-on-Shannon, we were now in the section of the trip where Co Cavan was on the bank on our starboard (right) side, and Co Fermanagh on our port (left) side.
It seemed like an appropriate moment to recall some of Martin Sheen’s lines from Apocalypse Now, from his journey into unknown waters up the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. The Woodford river felt equally mysterious that morning – eerily quiet as the sunshine lit up the green landscape around us, bathing the scene in cinematic colour.
This was day four of our trip, which had begun in Carrick-on-Shannon in Co Leitrim. We were seeing how far north we could go (and come back) within a week. Enniskillen seemed a bit of a push, but we were hoping to at least make it into the open stretches of Lough Erne.
The first thing you learn about cruising on a canal or river is to take it slowly. You simply cannot rush and that, in essence, is the beauty of this experience. When you do get glimpses of roads, the cars that whizz along them seem to be rushing at a ridiculous pace, while you’re moving steadily through the landscape, following a course created by time and nature.
You’re at the level of a multitude of wildlife – from tiny kingfishers flitting from riverbank to riverbank like the fairies the ancient Celts believed they were, to flocks of swans grazing in large groups, before taking flight in a majestic cacophony of beating wings and honking beaks.
That’s the kind of privilege you feel as you realise your boat is in a rare position that people normally aren’t in. You are in the livingroom, hunting ground and back garden of all these creatures and you see them in a completely different light. Even the cows, sheep and donkeys grazing close to the water seem surprised to see you here, floating past what they thought was their own private domain.
The first stretch of the journey north from Carrick-on-Shannon brings you to Leitrim village in about one hour. Here, you leave the Shannon and join the Ballinamore canal that links the Shannon to the Erne, via the Woodford river.
Leitrim village is the kind of place you could easily pass through without noticing had you come by road. Arriving by boat, however, Leitrim feels exotic, ancient and alluring. You’ve a choice of mooring spots, and an array of lively pubs and eating options.
The best restaurant in town, however, is usually on board – whether the weather is kind enough for dining out on deck, or downstairs in the spacious lounge. The boats for hire come with a fully-equipped kitchen (or galley, as we sailors call it) to create your own special dining experience.
For negotiating locks on the Shannon-Erne waterway, you use a smart-card system. You buy units (credits) to see you through the journey before departure, with top ups available at any shop along the way. With the card, you can activate the electric control panel that operates the lock gates. It’s cheap and easy to use, and if you’re lucky enough to have some of the Waterways Ireland employees assisting you as you go through the locks, it’s easier and cheaper again. In any case, you don’t need any experience to either drive the boat or operate the locks. It’s all explained by videos and in a short real-life tutorial by the Emerald Star reps before you cast off.
Our next stop was Ballinamore, where we moored in the town centre, right beside its bridge, theatre and main street. Despite the heavy cold rain that fell as we moored up that afternoon, we were in high spirits. We sauntered up the main street and breezed into one of the local pubs like the two delighted tourists that we were, jovially saluting all present. “Here come the Yanks,” we heard one man at the bar say as he nursed his stout, one eye on the horse racing on the television.
Several entertaining conversations later, we rejoined our floating home-from-home for a good night’s sleep.
The next morning, we awoke early to the sound of excited birdsong and the sight of sunlight and mist on the water. After a hearty breakfast on deck, grinning from ear to ear in our coats and woolly hats, we set off again, excited to see what lay ahead.
We stopped for lunch and a water-tank refill at a place called Haughton’s Shore. It looked like an inconsequential pier on the map (or, as we sailors say, the “chart”) but it was a little piece of heaven, with the sunshine really showing it off at its best.
After overnighting in the centre of Ballyconnell, the sun came out yet again the following morning as we headed along the aforementioned cross-Border stretch. By the time we entered Lough Erne, the rain was lashing down, forcing me to navigate from inside the boat for the first time. We could still appreciate the vast open space of the lake. Lough Erne is dotted with islands, one of the most dramatic of which is the tiny Gad Island, occupied almost entirely by the 19th century folly Crichton Tower.
We had a brief lunch stop at the moorings by Woodford Cottage and turned back towards Cavan. By midafternoon, we were back in Ballyconnell where we moored up for a break.
On our way back down south to Carrick-on-Shannon, I noticed that at a certain point, you change from going upriver to going downriver. It fairly puzzled me for a while. Had we sailed up a mountain of water and then down again? Kind-of, I suppose. Ireland is a watery island.
The beds on board are comfortable and each cabin has its own en suite shower and toilet. You get a superb night’s sleep on a craft that rocks at a gentle, almost imperceptible rate after so much of the day enjoying the great outdoors.
Conor Power stayed on a Crusader boat, courtesy of Emerald Star (emeraldstar.ie), who operate on the Shannon until October 31st. A seven-night self-catered cruise starting from Carrick-on-Shannon is costs from €799 per boat (not including diesel).
