Hung up!

Woohoo! A bit of excitement at lock 40. As I was winding the sluices open on the tail gates I heard this creaking and as I looked round there was poor Claire hanging on for dear life.
The stern rope had got caught in the gap between two blocks and the boat was rapidly heading for the bottom of the lock.
Panic.... Me, never!
Close the sluices, open the top land rack at Olympic speed and all is well again.
Lesson to be learnt... Always have a knife beside you when descending a lock!


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Location:Unnamed Rd,,Ireland

Skellys

Discovered a gem of a place in Ballymahon, Skellys bar. Great spot for food and drink and they have a music festival in the back yard every summer.
The Canal is full of surprises!


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Nearly sunny!

It's not raining, quick get the canopy down!
Lovely day on the canal and it's nearly sunny.
We're in Ballybrannigan hbr. very well kept indeed.





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Location:Ireland

Abbeyshrule

In Abbeyshrule, still raining! Went over the Inny aqueduct and through the bog up to the Blackwater one. That's as far as we go on this trip.
I would have to recommend the Royal to anyone who hasn't been on it and Abbeyshrule is lovely but be warned....no shop and no bins!
We head back down the canal tomorrow but we will definitely be back to do the circular trip through Dublin and back down the Grand canal to Banagher.





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Location:Ireland

Popeye!

Woke up to the lovely sound of RAIN.
Ah well, things to be seen, rain or no rain.
The royal canal is stunning the further up you go but the locks are hard work. I'll have muscles like Popeye after this.





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Location:Ireland

Mosstown

Mosstown harbour A quiet little mooring on a bend in the canal near the village of Keenagh. Still raining and galing. Only one thing for it.....PUB!
Hopefully the sun will shine tomorrow. Ha! Chance would be a fine thing.














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Location:Unnamed Rd,,Ireland

Bridges galore

Through the 1st. lock with help from Phillip the lock keeper and we weave down ( or is it up?) the canal with a following wind, hard to steer going so slowly and through the bog railway bridge and on to the lifting road bridge at Begnagh.... Wait for the green light, I'm warned, hard when the gale is shoving us along but up she goes courtesy of Phillip...again and then grrrrr! Vibration in the prop shaft.... The weeds have attacked.
So now, who's getting in to the water to clear it..... Hmmmmm no takers. Let's try the boathook first.
It worked.....phew. Off we go again.

















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Location:Begnagh bog.

What bloody awful weather

Its like a winter's day.
This can't be July!
Set off (in the rain) from Richmond hbr. at lunchtime to a gale force wind and horizontal rain.


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Location:Cluain Na Sibhe,Killashee,Ireland

Richmond harbour

At last! We are moored up in Richmond harbour with our lock Handle and permit all set to tackle the Royal canal....well, some of it anyway.
We'll start in the morning and are hoping to meet our friends Nicky and Joe on Winter Solstice on the way. Can't wait.
And so to bed!




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Location:Ireland