2nd - 10th October. Kilglass and Grange. Back up the River Shannon to Drumsna, then Jamestown.

A lot of rain fell during the night and by morning there was about an inch of water in Mini Puzzle. There was noticeably more current too, which made it quite exciting on our way back down Mountain River. The extra flow was very noticeable as the river has many sharp corners. We needed power to turn, but could not go too fast, for safety! The bow thruster was extremely useful.

Once back in Kilglass Lough, the reflections were stunning.

We carried on to Kilglass jetty, which has finger moorings, at the far end of the lough. It is a really isolated place.

Mini Puzzle is still full of water, so is not riding very well behind us, on our return up Kilglass Lough.

Grange mooring lies at the next head of navigation, to the north of Kilglass Lough. We had hoped to explore the river here by dinghy, but it is too shallow, so Mini Puzzler will be deflated now for the winter.
The mooring at Grange is much more informal than most, with the pub very handily placed close by.


The clouds over Lough Boderg were as impressive as ever, as we sailed on, later on Wednesday, once the wind had died down.

Instead of continuing on to the Jamestown Canal, we followed the Shannon River to Drumsna. This is a pleasant wall mooring, with plenty of well manicured grass and picnic tables too.

Catkin spends any spare time asleep! It is quite a squash here by the table leg.

This lifelike statue was poised at the far end of the mooring at Drumsna, ready to dive into the river.

After a few wet and windy days at Drumsna, it is back to the Jamestown canal, and through Albert Lock. Jamestown Canal was built in the 1770s  to bypass the great loop in the Shannon here, and the shallows in it between Jamestown and Drumsna.

At the far end of the Jamestown Canal, we turn right for the short stretch up to Jamestown itself. It is quite a small town, but it has a great history. These graves are within the ruins of an abbey in the churchyard.

As you walk round town these Heritage Trail Plaques are there to identify each point of interest. This one is for Jamestown Weir, even though this is as near as you can go!

Jamestown was once a fortified town. James 1 granted it a royal charter and it was surrounded with a wall 6 metres high and 1.8 metres thick. Jamestown Arch is the remains of the original gateway to the town, the top of which had to be removed to allow for large modern lorries.

O'Beirne's Tower stands at the corner of the original O'Beirne estate.