Inland Cabin Cruising
Driving around Ireland is a superb way to appreciate the country, but why not embrace some adventure and cruise your way down the longest navigable waterways in the British Isles? Inland cabin cruising is perfect for everyone from giddy families to amorous couples.
No Licence Required
You don’t need a licence to operate a cruiser or barge. Experience in handling a boat is useful, but not essential, and full training is provided. You’ll learn the ropes with on-board teaching sessions for your whole team, and you’ll be taken for a trip with an expert tutor. When you’re ready to take control, you’ll also be given navigational charts and a captain's handbook. Aye, aye, Captain!
Navigating
Linking the island are five main waterways: the River Shannon, the Shannon Erne Link, the Erne Waterway, the Grand Canal and the Barrow Navigation. Made up of a huge variety of connecting canals, lakes, rivers, and inlets, you’ll be faced with a constantly changing environment on your trip. Moorings are close to each other, so you’re never too far from the next stop.
- The Lower Shannon
The Lower Shannon stretches from Killaloe to Athlone, and takes in Lough Derg famous for its idyllic little towns and villages with small harbours and moorings that fringe the shore. On the northern shore, is Portumna Forest Park which is certainly worth a visit. Beyond Lough Derg the mighty River Shannon has slowed down on its way to the Atlantic ocean. The town of Banagher is also a key mooring. The stretch of the Shannon between Banagher and Athlone takes in the ancient ruins of Clonmacnoise. The top of the Lower Shannon is the bustling town of Athlone which claims to be at the very centre of Ireland.
- The Upper Shannon
Lough Ree, a fishermans paradise forms the start of the Upper Shannon before moving up to the county town of Carrick-on-Shannon, a veritable hub of boating activity. Moving upstream from Carrick-on-Shannon, leads upto the Boyle River and into Lough Key with its magical forest park, worth visiting for the splendid nature trails, before moving onto the Shannon Erne Waterway, gateway to the mighty Lough Erne.
- Lough Erne
The Shannon/Erne Waterway provides the link between the river systems of the Shannon and Upper and Lower Lough Erne and provides the connection between the these two great waterways passing through the towns of Leitrim and Ballinamore. To fully explore this magnificent system of rivers would take a lifetime. Upper Lough Erne is surrounded by lush green rolling meadow lands and the lake itself contains hundreds of small islands. The town of Enniskillen lying midway between the Upper and Lower loughs is a picturesque market town and a fascinating heritage centre. The town brims with shops, museums and is dominated by a large castle. Lower Lough Erne is the most northerly point of the navigation and is a great expanse of open water fringed by mountains and craggy uplands with spectacular cliffs that lead to uninterrupted open moorlands. The town of Belleek, famous for its fine china can be found at the very top.
- The Grand Canal and the Royal Canal
The Grand Canal and the River Barrow provide some of Ireland's most interesting boating and fishing waters. Restoration of the Royal Canal continues to open up new stretches from Dublin towards Longford and the River Shannon. Beauty, tranquillity and a rich heritage are the standard attributes that make these waterways ideal for holiday boating.
More than 130km of classic cruising takes you through 43 locks from downtown Dublin to Shannon Harbour where the canal joins the Shannon system. Once a busy artery, the Grand Canal is now exclusively confined to leisure boating but relics of its former glory days are evident at every turn. Edenderry is a busy spot en route to the cruising centre of Tullamore, where the quay used to load the once legendary Irish whiskey, Tullamore Dew.
- The River Barrow
Irelands's third longest river meanders through wooded landscape, passign histroic towns and villages such as Carlow, Leighlinbridge, Bagnelstown, Goresbridge and Graignamanagh and to the very tip of the Barrow Navigation system, the old religious centre of St Mullins.
For more information on cabin cruising in Ireland including comprehensive details of all Irish Boat Rental Association companies, call 0800 039 7000 and request your FREE copy of Ireland's Welcoming Waterways.
