opencanoe

Hi everyone,

The girlfriend and I like to get out for a few days at a time with our Old Town Discovery.
We like getting out into the wilds, a nice flow but not too mad (Grade 2-3 sufficient), a bit of fishing, a bit of wild camping.

We are visiting Eire in July.
Can anyone recommend some good touring water for us?
We are heading to Carrick-on-Shannon to visit the relatives first, so thought we would spend a few days coming down the Shannon, but a little concerned that it might be busy with motor boats etc.
What sections of any of the Shannon are best/worst?

Any advice very welcome.

Thanks.

Hi Rich,

the Shannon can be quite busy, especially at this time of year. Also you have a fair amount of locks to negotiate, which can be tough with all of your gear in your boat.

It's a bit of a stretch from Carrick on Shannon, but I'd reccomend the Barrow, Nore or Slaney. They're a good bit quieter, and you've more whitewater to keep you entertained.

Have a quick look at the river guides and see what you think.

Barrow:
http://irishwhitewater.com/river_guide/river.php?id=390
Also have a look at this: http://www.iwai.ie/maps/barrow/index.html for the Barrow. It gives you a good idea of where the weirs are if you want to plan a more interesting journey. I'd reccomend Carlow to St. Mullins personally. It's a nice scenic route, with a few good camping spots along the way.

Nore:
http://irishwhitewater.com/river_guide/river.php?id=312

Slaney:
http://irishwhitewater.com/river_guide/river.php?id=378

I've paddled a fair bit on these rivers, if you need any more information give me a shout at johnjb02@gmail.com

Also these guys: http://www.irishcanoekayak.net/ are based in that region and know the area quite well if you'd like some local knowledge.

Best of Luck

Hi John,

Thats great. Thanks very much for the advice and the pointers.

I'll have a good read through and make some choices.

Cheers!
Rich.

Hi Rich .... and John,

I don't know if you're still keeping an eye on this, but thought I should fill you in just in case.

I did a trip down the shannon from Carrick last year, as it happens I've just posted the photos on my facebook today, you're more than welcome to have a look ..

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2 ... 1c1247dd80

I also have to disagree with John ( sorry ), while the river will be busy with cruisers in July, it's big enough that they (or their wash) don't cause you much hassle, they're generally very friendly and helpful, and thankfully MOST of then have the manners and etiquette to slow down and give you a wide berth anyway.

The locks are effortless, big and roomy, all manned, and free for canoes, so you just paddle in, sit there for a while admiring the engineering and paddle out again ! - The big boats hug the walls, and there's generally a perfectly sized canoe gap down the middle, so you don't get squished.

We did the trip from Carrick to Lanesborough in 5 days, I think ? at a nice steady pace. You can see from the photos that we were both solo, so you'll cover more water in a double. It's a very scenic big river, flat and boring in places, you won't find any 2-3 on it and there are lots of various size lakes ! but enjoyable and nice pubs and restaurants along the way

We wild camped, camped at harbours with the big boats and cheated one night in a B&B. So you've got all the options there, while you can go for miles without meeting anyone, you're never TOO far from civilisation, should you need it !

Hope this is of some help, and if I can offer any more advice just shout !

The other rivers John mentioned are really nice too, and have features and moving water, I just wanted to defend the Shannon, 'cause I really enjoyed our trip last year

Grainne

Hi Grainne,
Thanks very much for posting this.
The Shannon looks promising enough, if a little lacking in flow and excitement!
We'll probably give it a go and see.
I'll do a little more research on the Barrow and Nore and make a choice then.
Thanks again,
Rich.

Hulloo!

Well, we've been researching here, using the info kindly supplied above.

I have a couple more questions I hope someone can answer, please.

Blackwater looks like a good touring river.
Anyone been down here?
We thought we could go from Mallow down to the sea at Youghal.
Any hints?

Barrow also looks good - thanks John.
Is there much portaging? There seems to be a lot of weirs.
Could we start at Athy?
What's it like once you hit the tidal part?

What are these rivers likely to be like in late July/August if there is not much rain between now and then?

Thanks for looking.
Rich.

Hi Rich !

I don't now what's happened to john, it's not like him not to have replied by now ... he's usually cruising around in here somewhere !!

In his absence I'll offer my two cents for the time being

I've not done the Blackwater, so can't be any help there, sorry.

The Barrow I've done loads though, and can recommend it too. There are quite a few weirs though, which we usually shoot, only portaging in cases of VERY high water or no water at all. They're not particularily big or scary in the main, and it's a navigable river so the weirs (and rapids etc) are all bypassed by paralell canals with locks. Which, during the summer should be at least partially manned.

If ... and remember it's Ireland ... so it's a big IF , there's no rain, there will be should still be enough water to paddle, I don't think I've ever seen it too low to paddle, though I could be corrected on that, but the weirs would, naturally be dry and force portage if you didn't like the idea of the locks.

Also, not sure about starting from Athy,as I've not done it myself, but I think I've heard it's ok, and the tidal bit at the bottom is fine, nothing to concern yourself about, once you don't end up paddling against the tide and making work for yourself !!

Anyway, like I said, I'm only standing in 'till John gets here !! no doubt he'll have lots more to say, hopefully he'll not overturn everything I've said

Gráinne

Hi Rich
The Blackwater is do-able especially from Fermoy, the next town down. It should be fine from Mallow but I don't know anyone who has done it from there. It takes 2 days from Cappaquin, or 3 if you get the tide wrong.
There is more comment on this river on the thread "access on the Blackwater" on this forum. This is a lovely river but I haven't done it myself.
Eoin

Sorry, Gráinne. I got a real person job, no more internet. Everything that Gráinne said is spot on, plus I wouldn't have the spine to disagree with her.

The Barrow tends to hold its water quite well, keeping the weirs runnable all the time, regardless of the weather. I've never seen it unrunnable. Also, the gradient on them isn't too severe, so you should be able to run them with a fair bit of kit in your boat.

Athy is definitely runnable, I know of a few cruisers that go up there from time to time, so there should be a few people around too. In fact, if you're there around the 9-12th July, the Athy Bluegrass Festival is on, so maybe don't watch Deliverance before your trip. http://www.athy-bluegrass.com/page2.html

Grainne, Eoin, John,
Hullo!
Thank you all so much for taking the time to answer my questions.

Sounds like all systems go to me!
We have decided to abandon the Shannon, and the relatives, and stay down south.
So we'll probably start with the Barrow from Athy for a few days and see where we get to.
The nice lady at the campsite in Athy - http://www.accommodationathy.com/ - said we could leave our car with them while we are on the water. Looks to me like one of us should be able to get the train back from New Ross or Waterford to collect the car while the other waits with the kit/boat.

And then Blackwater, for a few days from Mallow down. Not quite as simple here as the nearest campsite that I have found to Mallow is in Fermoy (maybe we will just start in Fermoy). Same with the campsite there - http://www.alanrogers.com/camping/irela ... est/IR9470 - , we can leave the car. A friend living locally has offered to help us with the shuttle here.

We won't be around for the bluegrass do, sadly.
Still, we'll avoid Deliverance, I don't want any 'sqeal piggy' nightmares interfering with my beauty sleep before we set-off.


We are now hoping for lots of rain over there with ye until we arrive and then blazing sunshine for the 2 weeks we are there.
Self-centred, I know.

We have a fair bit of touring experience but none in Eire.
Looking forward to it in a BIG WAY!!


I'll be sure to post our experiences when we return.

Thanks again for all the help.
Rich.

Best of luck Rich, looking forward to hearing how you get on.

Yeah, good luck Rich, (and nameless Girlfriend)...
Hope you both enjoy it, it looks like a lovely trip. I'm looking forward to hearing all about it too

"Real person job" eh John ?? Does this mean you're a real boy now ?

and Eoin, hope you enjoyed your stay in God's own country... see the nice weather I ordered for you ?

Did anyone hear how Rich got on? Did he make it out of Athy?

Hi John and all,

Well ... Claire and I are back from our Ireland canoe adventure.
All-in-all we had a fantastic time, despite the adverse weather conditions!
We were prepared to be wet ... but the wettest July on record was, we felt, a little unlucky!
It was pretty windy most of the time, too.
Having said that ... we didn't once have to take the tent down in the rain, and when the sun did come out it was hot and dried us out quickly.

I have posted a more detailed run-down of the trip in this thread;
http://opencanoe.freeforums.org/river-b ... 1.html#210

Thanks again to all of you for your invaluable help.

best wishes,
Rich and Claire.