Ireland - Dublin - Ballinamore - Canoeing on the Shannon-Erne Waterway
Old Rectory - Ballinamore
The Shannon-Erne Waterway is an artificial canal that connects the river Shannon with the river Erne. It was put into operation in 1860 and was actually closed again in 1869. The emerging railway made the canal unnecessary as a transport route. After extensive repair work, the canal was put back into operation in 1994, mainly for tourist purposes. At the beginning of the 2000s, a report about the canal was shown on German television. When I saw an offer for a canoe tour along the canal from a small active travel provider (Rucksack Reisen - Muenster), I took the opportunity: I've always wanted to go to Ireland - and to go on a canoe tour again.
After a few days in Dublin we (a work colleague and I) went to Ballinamore - a small town in County Leitrim. We stayed there on a farm a little outside for almost a week. The farmhouse was an old, former rectory with a wonderful atmosphere. We went on day trips from there and also extensively attended the music festival in Ballinamore, which takes place every August.
Enniskillen (source: Ireland.com)
The second week took us by canoe along the Shannon-Erne Waterway from Ballinamore to Enniskillen. In Enniskillen we were accommodated in the local canoe club, which is located on a small island in front of the town - so you had to use the canoe to get into town. The tour leader and I went for a few final beers to a local pub in the evening. It was a lovely evening with some Kilkenny and Irish whiskey. So it happened as it had to happen: on the way back to the accommodation we capsized with our canoe and ended up in the Erne. Luckily the Erne was just about 1 m deep at that point, so we quickly got the canoe afloat again. At least we were pretty sober after the involuntary bath. And the moral of the story: canoeing drunk is a stupid idea and can ruin your best pair of boots.
-Simplicius Simplicissimus
