28th - 31st March 2014. Leaving Enniskillen for the last time, en route for The Netherlands.

After three very happy winters in Enniskillen, we are leaving to make our way south to Riversdale Marina at Ballinamore on the Shannon Erne Waterway. We are here approaching the Ardhowen Theatre mooring for a quick tea break with Gerry and Violet, who have kindly come to wave us good-bye.

Shannon is unsure about all this!

Now we are on our way! It has been very hard to leave all our good friends behind. Everyone we have met in County Fermanagh has been really friendly and we unreservedly recommend it to anyone as a place to visit.

Shannon loves to run up and down the roof of The Puzzler while we are sailing across Upper Lougnh Erne.

Trial Bay lies just off the south end of Upper Lough Erne, and we joined Lasalle there at Derryvore jetty.

On Saturday we walked up to Holy Trinity church, which lies opposite Castle Crom, and is the estate church. This splendid dragon lies over the grave of one of the Crom ancestors.

After leaving Trial Bay, we pass Castle Island, which was built as a folly for the Castle Crom estate. There is a good view of it from the old ruins at Castle Crom.

After a pause at Aghalane, on the Shannon Erne Waterway, Maurice and Janet said their last good-byes and sailed away into the rain.

After a walk, followed by a bath, blow dry and trim, Shannon is exhausted and crashes out in her basket. Her coat always looks lighter in colour after a trim.

6th - 16th Sept. On along the Shannon Erne Waterway to Aghalane, then Belturbet. Sally goes visiting in England to Norfolk and Cheltenham.

Carrying on along the Shannon Erne Waterway we saw very few boats, except this penichette, a hire boat from Ballinamore. Bridges still attract boats!

Moving on through Ballyconnell, we had a very wet trip to Aghalane, where the local IWAI branch were having a party in the rain. Once their eight boats had moved on, there was plenty of space for us. Later on the weather cleared up, and Shannon tried out the ornamental ball for size.

At Belturbet there were plenty of boats to be seen, on the private moorings on the opposite bank.

On Monday Sally caught the bus to Dublin airport, and left sunny Ireland to fly to rainy England. Three trains later and I was in Norfolk for some intensive gardening, which was great fun.

Next it was a long bus ride to London, passing close to the Shard, which has been designed as a "vertical city". It is 87 stories high, and is the tallest building in the European Union, with a height of 306 metres (1004 ft). There is a viewing platform on the 72nd floor, and it is worth going to the Shard website to see this view.

On to Cheltenham, where I was lucky to be with Debbie and Matt for a Heritage Weekend. We started with a guided tour of Cheltenham College, which is a co-ed public school, founded in 1841. The chapel is very impressive.

In the Gustav Holst Museum we saw the piano on which Gustav Holst composed The Planets. He lived in this Regency terrace house for the first 7 years of his life, being born in 1874, and the house is furnished in the style of the time.

We all went to see Pittville Pump Room, which is an elegant Grade 1 listed building and is the most famous example of Regency architecture in Cheltenham.

Spa water can be drawn by tap from behind this pump, and is the only alkaline spa water to be found in England. I suppose you could describe the taste as "interesting". It was certainly not to our taste!

From the balcony upstairs, we could see some of the runners competing in the Cheltenham Half Marathon. The fastest time was 1hr07min, which seemed very good to us.

The chipmunks in Pittville park were very lively.

Cheltenham Town Hall was built in 1902-03 to provide a venue for the many balls and concerts which made up the town's social calendar at the turn of the twentieth century. It is still used for many performances, with the Japanese Drummers an eagerly awaited event, coming in early October.

Our last visit of the day was to the Cheltenham Synagogue, which was built in 1839. We were interested that all men have to wear a scull cap inside the building, whereas in other religions it is often women who have to cover their heads. The sacred scrolls, the Torah, are at the far end of the Synagogue.

While I was in England, Andy and Shannon took The Puzzler back to Aghalane and enjoyed the week there.

Although I have enjoyed my visit to England, it was good to see the coastline of Ireland appearing from behind the clouds.

Safely back to Belturbet again.

19th - 22nd April. Plenty of water on the Shannon Erne Waterway.

As soon as we were through Corraquil Lock, on the Shannon Erne Waterway, the higher water levels became evident. There was quite a flow on the Woodford River, needing more power from the engine to make way against the stream.

There is a lovely way through the woods from Ballyconnell, and under the trees, at this time of year, is a carpet of celandine and wood anenomes.

Carrying on beyond Ballyconnell, the tree reflections remind me of pictures seen in an art gallery!

As we head towards Skelan lock, foam from the weir is swirling in front of The Puzzler.

Luckily lock 3 was ready for us, and it was possible to get off the boat, once inside the lock. The water level is so high that even the bollards on the jetty below the lock are under water. The jetty lies between the life belt and the wall. It could have been a paddle to the shore!

On the far side of Skelan lock, the natural mossy look has been left.

There is certainly plenty of water going over the weir, beyond the lock, to create the foam.

The sky over Ballymagauran Lough shows promise of good weather to come.

At Haughton's Shore we are floating high against the wall.

However, our favourite mooring on the far side, is completely under water.

At Ballinamore there is a mooring below the river bridge, off the main waterway. This is handy both for shopping, and for getting diesel from the local agricultural suppliers. We were out of luck this time though as their diesel tank was empty! We will be able to fill up at Leitrim though, at the west end of the Shannon Erne Waterway.

Shannon found this boat, which is more her size, near to Kilclare Upper Lock.

The byflow below lock 15 is just waiting to catch The Puzzler unawares!

What a wet dog! Shannon is learning the hard way that she needs to jump, not step, on to the boat. Luckily she had her lifejacket on when she fell in at Leitrim. Tigerdog would have laughed!

An hour later, after a good towelling and brushing, she is as good as new.

2nd - 7th September. Back down the Lough Allen Canal to Leitrim, then across the Shannon-Erne Waterway through Lough Garadice and on to Aghalane.

We had to wait quite a while at Drumleague Lock as the lockkeeper was busy at Drumshanbo lock. We were considering working the lock ourselves when he arrived, so asked if that would have been OK.            "Definitely not" was the reply! He might have been quite upset if we had already done so!

Hazard ahead! We were just deciding how fast to push this fishing boat out of our way, above Battlebridge lock, when it was pulled in to the side. There was to be duck racing here this afternoon, with the lock sluices being opened to create a flow on the canal. Plastic ducks, by the way!

We turned left to go through Leitrim, and on to the Shannon Erne Waterway. The byflow below the Tirmactiernan lock (lock 15) is always an attractive spot.

At Lisconor lock (lock 12), we caught up with two penichette hire boats which were sharing the lock. It was quite a tight fit for them.

Boat crews walk between locks 11, 10 and 9 as these three locks are close together. Once The Puzzler was safely coming up in lock 10, Sally walked on to lock 9, ready to empty it, as soon as the penichettes had gone, so that Andy did not have to wait when he got there. Andy was to open the top gates of lock 10, once the lock was full, and sail round the corner to lock 9. This stone boat is just below lock 9, and is an interesting sculpture. After preparing the lock, Sally looked at this boat for some time, before returning down the canal to see The Puzzler still in lock 10, with the gates open, but with no sign of anyone on board. Was this cause for concern?

However, as Sally approached the lock, Andy emerged from The Puzzler with two ladies. She was told that they had shown great interest and had been having a guided tour of the boat! As they too were going to Keshcarrigan, they sailed on with us, and were kind enough to bring us some fresh vegetables later on, which were much appreciated.

 It was nice to meet John and Bill again on Celtic Duke at Keshcarrigan. We last met them on Lough Ree, over a year ago.

The sky was different yet again today.

Castlefore lock, has no walkway over the top gates and this makes the lock look rather incomplete.This is the first of eight locks which take us down to Upper Lough Erne. For new viewers of our blog, the control panel in the foreground is the push button method of working the lock. No heavy paddles to wind here!

The Shannon Erne is a waterway with many different parts, narrowing in places through the trees.

Just round the next corner it opens out again into St. John’s Lough.

The reflections are excellent by bridge 18.

The Shannon Erne is certainly scenic, here above Ballyduff Lock.

Church Island looms ahead of us on Garadice Lough. We hope that the old mooring on the far side of the island is free.

We are in luck! This isolated island mooring is one of our favourites.

Next it is on to Haughton’s Shore, where we are having our new cratch cover fitted. These nomadic craftspeople are a real asset to Ireland. Their canine crew is waiting to board.

When we were here last autumn, this jetty below Skelan Lock was completely under water.

This herd of Friesian cattle must be expecting rain.

By bridge 26 a cat is watching the world pass by. This mooring is now in use again.

The bottom walkway at Corraquil lock makes a good picture frame!

Click on this photo to see the brilliant green on the trees in the distance. It is a shame that we have lost the sun on the jetty at Aghalane so early.