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boating holidays on the river shannon lough erne and the lower bann cruise the rivers and lakes of ireland 12 20 nn r fo ba ew wer n o l

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ireland s welcoming waterways have you always wanted to go to ireland for a holiday have you always wanted to go on a boating holiday you can do both by hiring a boat from carrickcraft the shannon and erne offer 700km of unspoilt waterways the longest non-commercial waterway in europe and give you access to sights and sounds not available to the weary landtraveller think of your boat as your cottage on the water everything you need for your holiday is on board kitchen bathroom bedrooms living room just go with the flow and do what you want fish cycle visit heritage sites eat out eat in visit a music pub go waterskiing go horse-riding we have a full range of boats from 2 berth to 12 berth and no experience is necessary in fact half of our customers have never been on a boat before from belleek in the north to killaloe in the south the erne and shannon offer some of the most spectacular cruising in europe you can start your cruise in any of three marinas one on the picturesque erne and two on the mighty shannon one-way cruises are a carrickcraft speciality and mean you can start at one marina and finish at another we also offer limited access for the smaller boats to take the grand canal to tullamore you can book 3 4 5 6 7 10 11 or 14 days starting on any day except sunday we appreciate that the flights you wish to take may not always be on a saturday so we can now offer transfers from dublin airport to carrick on any day of the week apart from sunday not necessarily in low season the boats are priced as a 3-day minimum and then an extra per-day price so stay longer and make the most of the wonderful waterways or you could start at our new marina in coleraine to cruise the lower bann with very few boats and remote scenery the lower bann is a completely new cruising area be one of the first to try it connecting lough neagh to the sea the river offers tranquil cruising and excellent fishing with only six boats kilkenny and carlow class availability will be very limited and you will be close enough to visit some of ireland s most famous attractions including the giant s causeway dunluce castle and the bushmills distillery for your convenience we have divided the waterway into four distinct areas the erne the upper shannon the lower shannon including the grand canal and the lower bann we advise that each of these is considered a week s holiday you can travel further if you wish but that means being in a hurry which is not really the point of a relaxing holiday in ireland.

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getting to ireland and carrickcraft coleraine t city of derry r lowe bann jttj travel to ireland has never been easier with flights from every major european airport to dublin and many more to shannon and belfast many airlines fly direct from the usa and canada to dublin carrickcraft can organise coach transfers from dublin airport most days of the week and from belfast and shannon airport every saturday making your journey easy to plan the journey from dublin takes 2 to 3 hours to our marinas there are also several ferry services across the irish sea with crossing times as short as 1 hour irish roads are much better than they used to be with many new motorways now open your journey time will be about 2 hours from dublin to carrick or banagher and about the same from belfast to tully bay or coleraine belleek tully bay lough allen t knock lough ree galway t river shannon lough erne enniskillen belfast carrick-onshannon athlone tullamore t dublin j lough derg banagher killaloe t shannon rosslare j cork t j

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the shannon and erne kesh belleek tully bay lower lough erne enniskillen lough allen drimshanbo lough key boyle upper lough erne ballyconnell ballinamore belturbet leitrim travelling times from tully bay belleek kesh enniskillen belturbet ballyconnell ballinamore leitrim travelling times from carrick-on-shannon leitrim drumshanbo boyle dromod rooskey lanesborough portrunny glassan athlone tullamore 2 hours 2 hours 2 hours 8 hours 9 hours 12 hours 20 hours 1 hour 3 hours 3 hours 3 hours 4 hours 8 hours 9 hours 11 hours 12 hours 2 hours 3 hours 5 hours 9 hours 3 hours 4 hours 7 hours 7 hours 9 hours carrick-on-shannon dromod rooskey kilglass lanesborough portrunny lough ree athlone river suck glassan river shannon clonmacnoise shannonbridge ballinasloe banagher portumna terryglass lough derg mountshannon scarriff garrykennedy killaloe travelling times from banagher shannonbridge clonmacnoise athlone tullamore portumna terryglass mountshannon garrykennedy killaloe:

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lower bann new for 2012 giants causeway dunluce castle bushmills carrick-a-rede ropebridge coleraine x mountsandel loughan island cutts lock castleroe wood running from toomebridge on the shores of lough neagh to coleraine the lower bann is a beautifully scenic river with an excellent navigation system and an unspoilt environment it is anticipated that a 7-day holiday will allow travellers to see all of the river and to have some extra time to discover the hinterland on the river there are only four locks all manned by helpful lock-keepers the river is easily navigated with the same navigation system as lough erne so will be familiar to many of carrickcraft s clients there are many interesting attractions along the river including the ancient fort at mountsandel in coleraine where archaeologists have found evidence of a human settlement more than 9,000 years old this makes mountsandel the oldest known human settlement in ireland the main towns along the way are toomebridge home to the crosskeys inn the oldest thatched pub in northern ireland portglenone kilrea and coleraine there is also an excellent watersports centre at drumaheglis and plenty of opportunities to try a bit of fishing from the town centre marina at coleraine it is only a short taxi-ride to some of northern ireland s biggest tourist attractions such as the giant s causeway bushmills distillery carrick-a-rede rope bridge and dunluce castle and of course the world-famous royal portrush golf course travelling to coleraine is easy being only 90 minutes from either of belfast s main airports and less than an hour from city of derry airport we recommend that you hire a car at the airport and drive the spectacular antrim coast road to coleraine camus recreation area drumaheglis carnroe lock vow movanagher lock kilrea hutchinson s quay portna lock portglenone portglenone forest park newferry lough beg x toomebridge

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the upper shannon the marina at carrick-on-shannon was the first marina opened by carrickcraft over 30 years ago the town has changed but move a mile up or down river and it could be the same place as 1974 the north shannon is probably the most lively section of the river there are plenty of small villages along the way with good moorings and facilities north takes you to lough key one of the most scenic areas of the shannon reached via a meandering river and one manned lock visit rockingham forest park and climb the tower for spectacular views of the lake head up to boyle with its pubs and restaurants for the evening an alternative northwards journey takes you to lough allen along a narrow canal and through drumshanbo please note that our larger boats will not be able to traverse the lough allen canal ask for details or head up to lough erne through leitrim and the shannon-erne waterway if you travel south from carrick you will go through the jamestown canal built to bypass jamestown and drumsna travel through the albert lock and into lough boderg where you can choose to continue down the shannon or head off into the inner lakes remote even by our standards further south is the little village of dromod or you can continue to rooskey another lock but don t worry all the shannon locks are operated by a lock-keeper and easy to use lanesborough is your next port of call the entrance to lough ree one of the two large lakes on the shannon you can head into portrunny with a new larger harbour or head south towards glassan with its fabulous lakeside golf course or tie up at the award-winning wineport restaurant for a gourmet delight straight across the lake is hodson bay with a modern hotel and facilities and home to athlone golf course see later for information on golf the southerly part of this section is at athlone the largest city on the river shannon with shops restaurants hotels pubs cinema sports facilities and more.

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the lower shannon you can t beat banagher goes the old saying so that s where carrickcraft based their southern marina banagher in county offaly is ideally placed to cruise the shannon south from athlone but a whole week could be spent happily cruising lough derg with mountains sweeping down to the water derg is quite different to the cliffs of lower lough erne or the flatlands of lough ree quaint villages such as garrykennedy mountshannon and terryglass have award-winning pubs and restaurants on the western shore take the tiny winding scarriff river to scarriff village the journey up the tree-lined river with branches hanging over the water is an experience in itself just watch out for boats coming the other way a few hours more takes you to killaloe and ballina the most southerly part of our navigation two villages one on each side of the river connected by a long bridge are of historical interest and well worth a visit it s also a good place to stock up on supplies as you ll have eaten all the food you bought in banagher at the start of your holiday and when you ve had enough of lakes head north through banagher and take the river suck to ballinasloe the newlyopened harbour has good mooring adjacent to the town with it s pubs restuarants and shops head back through shannonbridge with it s long multi-arched bridge and an old fort transformed into a modern restaurant next stop is one of the most popular attractions in ireland let alone on the shannon and it is much better to approach by water than by road clonmacnoise renowned throughout the world this is an early christian site founded by st ciarán in the mid-6th century on the eastern bank of the river shannon the site includes the ruins of a cathedral seven churches 10th -13th century two round towers three high crosses and the largest collection of early christian graveslabs in western europe there is also an excellent visitor centre follow the river north and you should have time to call in to athlone the largest town on the river with shops and restaurants meander slowly back down to banagher for your final night with its great choice of pubs and restaurants and a lively night-life.

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lough erne and shannon-erne waterway carrickcraft s marina station on the erne waterway system is at tully bay on lower lough erne and from here a vast network of interconnecting loughs rivers and backwaters unfolds that would take a lifetime to explore these waters are framed by magnificent country lush green rolling meadows give way to craggy uplands with spectacular cliffs that then lead on to uninterupted open moorland this is truly breathtaking lakeland unrivalled throughout europe from the loughs the night sky is jet black and studded with a panorama of brilliant stars the long summer days are so peaceful hardly another boat will interrupt your calm there are numerous free moorings along the waterway many on uninhabited islands just you and your family lower lough erne the most northerly of the two loughs is a great expanse of open water fringed by mountains and dotted with islands upper lough erne is filled with dozens of islands so it is more like a meandering river than a lake some islands have jetties and offer perfect lunchtime picnic stops heritage features high on the lough erne tour a perfectly preserved 12th century round tower on devenish island is easily reached by boat and if you like your heritage older there are some 6th century carvings on white island and for something more active there are watersports centres on both lakes offering sailing waterskiing and kayaking enniskillen lying between the two loughs is a picturesque market town and fascinating heritage centre by day this busy town brims with shops museums a sport centre and castle by night enniskillen comes alive with happy holiday merriment from the wealth of original pubs and restaurants that offer delicious international culinary delights the ballinamore and ballyconnell canal was re-opened in 1994 and links the erne to the shannon the canal itself is a delightful cruise meandering through a series of rivers canals and loughs with the odd colourful pub and eating place along its banks there are 16 locks along the canal but they are all hydraulicly controlled so life couldn t be any easier.

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angling fishing is very popular and there is no close season there is no rod licence for coarse or pike fishing on the river shannon or lough ree a share certificate will be required for game fishing fishing from your cruiser allows you the option of moving to where the action is and when you find a good spot you can stay there think of your cruiser as a cottage that moves there are literally hundreds of places to tie up and plenty of pubs and shops for when you re finished the popular coarse fish species in ireland are pike bream roach tench hybrids roach/bream rudd/bream rudd carp perch eels once large bream are encountered it is not unusual to get bags of 150lbs to 250lbs and for the pike angler starting in banagher fishing is often very productive especially around meelick where fish up to 20lbs are reported quite frequently there is no need to bring your own bait as there is a network of bait stockists around the region and we can pre-order and deliver your bait for you most of our angling visitors prefer the sedan-style boats as they have aft cockpits from which you can fish safely these include the tyrone and carlow class and for the discerning customer the wexford class we can also supply fishing dinghies up to 14 long and outboard motors so that you can explore the smaller inaccessible tributaries and creeks prices from 100 for an extra dinghy with outboard per week heritage ireland is awash with fascinating heritage sites dating from the 6th century to provide protection from invaders many of the fortifications were built on islands or at river crossings for the normal land-based traveller these can be tiresome and difficult to reach but with your own private motor cruiser you can just tie up alongside and view at your leisure on lough erne you can visit devenish island with its spectacular round tower white island with a selection of 6th century carved figures or enniskillen castle travel up to lough key where you can visit boyle abbey and cruise past castle island on the shannon you can visit portumna castle and the christian settlement at clonmacnoise but maybe more interesting than these are the random towers and ruins along the waterway seemingly forgotten for centuries the napoleanic tower at banagher and old crom castle are just two such examples of ireland s rich history and of course the industrial heritage which you will use every day the locks quays and bridges which were built to make the river into a usable commercial waterway many of the sites have excellent visitor centres or museums where you can discover more about the site and its past there are few holidays which give you such unrivalled access to ireland s unique history and heritage.

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when to come and what to bring when should you come much will depend on when you are able to come school holidays work commitments etc july and august have the best of the weather and everything will be open april and may are popular with fishermen and being early-season the rentals are that much cheaper june is delightful with the sun getting warmer the river will be less crowded and most of the tourist attractions will be open september is one of the best times to come historically the weather has been dry the water is warmer and it s not crowded october offers exceptional value but the days are shorter and it can get cold during the day but you will have the river to yourself and if you want to get away from it all this is the place and time to do it what should you bring the irish weather can be unpredictable so the safest option is to bring a variety of summer clothing warm jumpers and rainproof gear with you jetties and cruiser decks can be very slippery in wet weather so non-slip footwear is a must to avoid unnecessary accidents basic deck shoes can be purchased at the marina a torch and alarm clock may be useful remember to pack a pair of good quality sunglasses and sun-cream to protect from uv light reflected from the water and lastly don t forget a couple of good books and a pack of cards for evenings out in the many restaurants and pubs found in abundance along the waterway bring smart casual clothing equipment we supply on your cruiser on board equipment includes cutlery crockery glasses cooking utensils bed linen and hand towels a radio/cd player and a pair of binoculars bath towels can be provided on request onboard services include galley with gas cooker oven and grill fridge shower room flushing lavatory and hand basin hot and cold running water and hot air central heating if required bicycles and outboard motors are available to hire but prebooking is essential what happens when i arrive before you arrive we will send you our holiday planner which gives details of all the pubs restaurants sights and activities along the river on your arrival at the marina you will be given a short classroom session and safety briefing followed by a hands-on instruction on the boat we will give you a detailed chart of the entire waterway which is simplicity itself once you are comfortable with the handling of the boat you are cleared for departure on-board power the only on-board electrical power supply is from a 12 volt cigarette socket similar to the system found in cars you should bring a 12 volt charger for your mobile phone and/or camera the roscommon waterford wexford and tyrone classes have a limited 240v supply from an inverter on board storage adequate on board storage space is provided for clothing but large suitcases and non-essentials can be stored at the marina base and collected on your return if you have booked a oneway cruise we can arrange for your luggage/cases to be transported to the finishing base free of charge.

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i ve never drive a boat before by this stage you may be saying to yourself i can t navigate i can t even drive a boat don t worry many of our customers are in the same position and have never been on a boat before when you arrive you will be asked to watch a short 8-minute video on safety and the basics of boat handling then you will attend a short classroom-style session where we will go through all the rules of the river how to navigate and how to go through a lock or if you have internet access you can do our online boat craft tutorials and save the classroom session at the marina the tutorials are great fun and end with a test on each chapter we will also show you our chart of the river and you will begin to realise that this is not so difficult after all we will also issue you with lifejackets it is a legal requirement in ireland for children to wear a lifejacket on deck or when in the dinghy this is a sample page from the chart as you can see there are lots of places to go and the channels are clearly marked the entire river is marked with poles to show you where to go and warn you of shallow water simply stay between these markers and you will be fine on the shannon the markers are black or green keep on your left going down river and red keep on your right going down river usually they are in pairs so just go between them some of the markers have an arrow showing which side to pass on lough erne the markers have a red side and a white side always pass on the white side and you won t go wrong you will be given a copy of the chart to keep and you will soon learn how to read the different symbols and what they mean each page is about one hour s cruising time inishcrevan 29c 29d creaghancreesty island p26 corradillar derryad dangerold slipway 29a bockan island trannish share holiday centre 25 n w e 29b 28a 28d 28e 28c 28b 28ji 27ai 27a corradillar x lisnaskea boat club private derryad s inishrath crom castle dernish island hare krishna visitor centre trasna island x geaglum popular with water skiers inish rath 27b x 26a 26b national trust tea shop ruins walks geaglum dernish island bun bridge 25ai 26c private mooring 25a bleanish 25b island x navigation notice warning bun bridge x trial bay 24a x inis he rk keep east of markers 23c 24c 24b crom castle x 23g 23f 23a trial bay 23b 23c 23e 23d inishfendra srameen galloon island 23k 23j x p24 corraquill lock lock no.1 see page 19 20 for using these automated locks shannon erne waterway cp x 22a x 22b 22d 22c low bridge x 21b x navigation notice warning watch course when entering lake 22e 22f x x x 5 e s ali fo dge bri 5 x fo s alie t cu w r ie x ba rr ie r 21a x quivy marina tel 028 6674 8976 048 code from roi corraquill lock x wo odfo rd r iver galloon island lock no.1 bridge no.30 x agalane senator george mitchell peace bridge lock opening times aghalane sb river erne summer opening hours 09.00 to 20.00 every day bridge no.31 not really a bridge at all just the two supports on the banks x belturbet £ atm smart x x sp x x 0 0 1 6 2 km 3 4 24 5 30 © carrickcraft 2006 x belturbet ibra showers/toilets x 10 mins walk to town centre 12 minutes 18

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on-the-water demonstration after your classroom instruction you will be taken for a demonstration run in your cruiser as you can see in the picture the controls are simple you steer as you would in a car although you have to remember that it all happens a bit more slowly in a boat and you make the boat go faster using the throttle control the black lever in the picture also boats have no brakes so proceed slowly and go into reverse when you want to stop don t forget that the boats only travel at 11kph so you have lots of time to change your mind remember the golden rule of a boating holiday on the shannon and erne there s no hurry some of the boats have a bow-thruster which swings the front of the boat to the side which makes coming into and leaving a mooring very easy we can show you the few basic knots you will need and if you have any questions just ask your demonstrator and finally if you start on a saturday sunday will be a bit daunting as you get used to the controls tying up with ropes and going through your first lock but with help from the lock-keepers you will soon get the idea and other boaters will help you when you come in to a jetty by tuesday you will wonder what all the fuss was about as you glide gently into a new harbour have a look around decide where you are going to tie up and proceed slowly towards the wall your crew who by now are much more comfortable with their duties step ashore and tie up the cruiser you shut off the engine and relax it is a good idea for the crew to have fixed duties when coming in or leaving a mooring and the children love being part of the whole boat-handling experience we recommend that you fill up with water at every opportunity as you can quickly use up the water on board on most of our boats you will start with enough diesel fuel to last your entire holiday and there are numerous shops along the way so filling up with food and drink is not only easy it s a pleasure.

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2012 prices coleraine in £stg start date kilkenny three days 10th mar to 13th apr 14th apr to 27th apr 28th apr to 4th may 5th may to 11th may 12th may to 18th may 19th may to 25th may 26th may to 1st jun 2nd june to 8th jun 9th jun to 15th jun 16th jun to 22nd jun 23rd jun to 29th jun 30th jun to 6th jul 7th jul to 17th aug 18th aug to 24th aug 25th aug to 31st aug 1st sep to 7th sep 8th sep to 14th sep 15th sep to 21st sep 22nd sep to 28th sep 29th sep to 26th oct 607 638 668 698 729 759 789 820 850 880 911 941 972 941 880 820 729 668 607 607 kilkenny extra day 79 83 86 90 94 98 102 106 110 114 118 122 126 122 114 106 94 86 79 79 kilkenny one week 923 970 1012 1058 1105 1151 1197 1244 1290 1336 1383 1429 1476 1429 1336 1244 1105 1012 923 923 carlow three days 347 364 381 399 416 434 451 468 486 503 520 538 555 538 503 468 416 381 347 347 carlow extra day 45 47 50 52 54 56 59 61 63 65 68 70 72 70 65 61 54 50 45 45 carlow one week 527 552 581 607 632 658 687 712 738 763 792 818 843 818 763 712 632 581 527 527 coleraine holidays available as follows monday to monday friday to friday monday to friday friday to monday and saturday to friday.

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2012 prices lough erne in £stg start date waterford three days 10th mar to 13th apr 14th apr to 27th apr 28th apr to 4th may 5th may to 11th may 12th may to 18th may 19th may to 25th may 26th may to 1st jun 2nd june to 8th jun 9th jun to 15th jun 16th jun to 22nd jun 23rd jun to 29th jun 30th jun to 6th jul 7th jul to 17th aug 18th aug to 24th aug 25th aug to 31st aug 1st sep to 7th sep 8th sep to 14th sep 15th sep to 21st sep 22nd sep to 28th sep 29th sep to 26th oct 732 769 805 842 878 915 952 988 1,025 1,061 1,098 1,135 1,171 1,135 1,061 988 878 805 732 732 extra day 94 99 104 108 113 118 122 127 132 137 141 146 151 146 137 127 113 104 94 94 clare three days 598 627 657 687 717 747 777 807 837 867 896 926 956 926 867 807 717 657 598 598 extra day 76 80 84 88 91 95 99 103 107 110 114 118 122 118 110 103 91 84 76 76 kilkenny three days 553 580 608 635 663 691 718 746 774 801 829 857 884 857 801 746 663 608 553 553 extra day 71 75 79 82 86 89 93 96 100 104 107 111 114 111 104 96 86 79 71 71 wexford three days 557 585 613 641 669 697 725 752 780 808 836 864 892 864 808 752 669 613 557 557 extra day 71 75 79 82 86 89 93 96 100 104 107 111 114 111 104 96 86 79 71 71 tyrone three days 347 365 382 400 417 434 452 469 486 504 521 538 556 538 504 469 417 382 347 347 extra day 44 47 49 51 53 56 58 60 62 64 67 69 71 69 64 60 53 49 44 44 carlow three extra days day 316 331 347 363 379 395 410 426 442 458 473 489 505 489 458 426 379 347 316 316 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 62 58 54 48 44 40 40 the above prices are for bookings starting in tully bay on lough erne for one-way hires to carrick-on-shannon see the shannon price list.

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2012 weekly prices lough erne in £stg start date waterford clare kilkenny wexford tyrone one two week weeks 523 553 578 604 629 658 684 709 734 760 789 814 840 814 760 709 629 578 523 523 831 882 921 961 1,000 1,050 1,090 1,129 1,168 1,208 1,258 1,297 1,337 1,297 1,208 1,129 1,000 921 831 831 carlow one two week weeks 476 499 523 547 571 595 618 642 666 690 713 737 761 737 690 642 571 523 476 476 756 793 831 869 907 945 982 1,020 1,058 1,096 1,133 1,171 1,209 1,171 1,096 1,020 907 831 756 756 one two one two week weeks week weeks 10th mar to 13th apr 14th apr to 27th apr 28th apr to 4th may 5th may to 11th may 12th may to 18th may 19th may to 25th may 26th may to 1st jun 2nd june to 8th jun 9th jun to 15th jun 16th jun to 22nd jun 23rd jun to 29th jun 30th jun to 6th jul 7th jul to 17th aug 18th aug to 24th aug 25th aug to 31st aug 1st sep to 7th sep 8th sep to 14th sep 15th sep to 21st sep 22nd sep to 28th sep 29th sep to 26th oct 1,108 1,165 1,221 1,274 1,330 1,387 1,440 1,496 1,553 1,609 1,662 1,719 1,775 1,719 1,609 1,496 1,330 1,221 1,108 1,108 1,766 1,858 1,949 2,030 2,121 2,213 2,294 2,385 2,477 2,568 2,649 2,741 2,832 2,741 2,568 2,385 2,121 1,949 1,766 1,766 902 947 993 1,039 1,081 1,127 1,173 1,219 1,265 1,307 1,352 1,398 1,444 1,398 1,307 1,219 1,081 993 902 902 1,434 1,507 1,581 1,655 1,718 1,792 1,866 1,940 2,014 2,077 2,150 2,224 2,298 2,224 2,077 1,940 1,718 1,581 1,434 1,434 one two one two week weeks week weeks 837 880 924 963 1,007 1,047 1,090 1,130 1,174 1,217 1,257 1,301 1,340 1,301 1,217 1,130 1,007 924 837 837 1,334 1,405 1,477 1,537 1,609 1,670 1,741 1,802 1,874 1,945 2,006 2,078 2,138 2,078 1,945 1,802 1,609 1,477 1,334 1,334 841 885 929 969 1,013 1,053 1,097 1,136 1,180 1,224 1,264 1,308 1,348 1,308 1,224 1,136 1,013 929 841 841 1,338 1,410 1,482 1,543 1,615 1,676 1,748 1,808 1,880 1,952 2,013 2,085 2,146 2,085 1,952 1,808 1,615 1,482 1,338 1,338 the above prices are for bookings starting in tully bay on lough erne for one-way hires to carrick-on-shannon see the shannon price list.

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