These are the adventures of Andy and Sally Rawnsley on their narrowboat "The Puzzler". We have been living on the boat for over nine years now and are still loving it. Our Ulster born Shih Tzu, Shannon, has grown up, and has taken over the boat! After three wonderful years in Ireland, we transported The Puzzler to The Netherlands, and spent a year there. In 2015 we went southwards, to reach the north of France by June. After glorious weather throughout the summer, we arrived in Roanne in late October, and enjoyed our winter in this friendly port. We cruised extensively in France in 2016, 2017 and 2018, returning to Roanne each winter.


Sunday, 1 December 2013

13th - 30th November 2013. Castle Coole, Enniskillen and Devenish Island. Zone Bowls.



The house at Castle Coole looks quite eerie in the mist.



Autumn colours are certainly here now.


Everyone who visits the boat remarks on the comfort of our chairs. Shannon finds them just the right size for a dog!



On 20th November the water in the River Erne, beside The Puzzler at The Round "O", was quite rough.




However two days later it was like glass. We are looking upstream to Enniskillen from the Portora Boathouse.



Portora Castle looks good in the autumn sunshine. We have been so lucky with the weather recently.
The Puzzler can be seen below us, moored on Devenish Island. It was calm on Thursday, but very windy overnight. We were glad that we had not moored on the west side of the island, where it would have been rough.
James and Teresa were with us and we had a great time, recalling happy memories of our times at craft fairs together in England.



The steps up to the top of the tower are steep.



The classic Round Tower does not look so tall from up here.


Meanwhile, Sally and Shannon explored the lower levels.
We went to the Zone bowls match in the Unionist Hall in Enniskillen to support the Western Team. They were playing against the Lisburn Team.
It turned out to be a needle match, with plenty of work for the umpires. No, Blaney is not asking for spiritual guidance! This was one of the crucial measures to decide which team's bowl was closest to the jack. In this instance, after several minutes of deliberation, using the feeler gauges, it was not possible to separate them. Although Western had a strong lead at half time, Lisburn fought back and the final result was a win to Western, with 60 points to 58.

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