28th - 30th July. Richmond Harbour, Roosky, Dromod, Carnadoe, Kilglass, Jamestown and Carrick.

It was strange to see Richmond Harbour with no boats. They have all been cleared out to make room for the National Canoe polo championships which are to take place this weekend.

We stayed on our mooring below the lock and enjoyed a morning's entertainment. There is no quarter given in the mens' matches, as the canoes slide over each other as players try to reach the ball.

On leaving Richmond harbour we set off up the Camlin River, to rejoin the River Shannon and continue northwards. The Camlin River is as pretty as ever.

It is back to reality, as we reach Roosky Lock, going through with more boats than we met on the whole of the Royal Canal.

Dromod Harbour was busy when we arrived. However, friends of ours very kindly  moved their cruiser out to let us moor inside them, against the wall.They could then use our roof for access to dry land.

Near to the harbour, our crew enjoyed the flowers.

The donkey carrying peat is very traditional.

On leaving Dromod, the weather is looking promising, with blue sky behind the clouds.

However, within ten minutes the sky has clouded over, and the rainbow ahead warns us of the rain to come. For a while we were steering quite blind, as no markers at all were visible, through the driving rain.

Half an hour later it was a glorious day again, as we left Lough Boderg to approach Carnadoe. This is so typical of Irish weather!

At Carnadoe Quay, a crew of about thirty sea scouts were preparing to leave. They had been camping overnight. It certainly would not have been a peaceful mooring here last night! A cruiser and  several other small boats helped to transport those who were not canoeing today, on the next leg of their journey to Dromod.

On Kilglass Lough, the clouds were gathering again, but we kept dry this time.

Kilglass jetty is one of the most isolated moorings on the Shannon river system.

On returning to the River Shannon, we continued upstream, through Albert lock and the Jamestown Canal, to visit the Jamestown Rally. The barges are nearly right across the river, but there is still room to pull in to tie on to the outside barge.

We are the seventh boat out from the jetty, in the second of five rows of boats.

After a brief visit, it was back to the end of the Jamestown Canal for a game of boules.

The Irish skies continue to amaze us.

While the reflection is just as good.

Elaine has enjoyed taking the helm.

At Carrick once again, we are still longer than most other boats on the mooring.

The view out of the porthole is interesting, looking upstream towards Carrick Bridge. Elaine and Mary  will leave us early tomorrow morning to return to England.

26th - 27th July. Along The Royal Canal to Richmond Harbour, to complete the Green and Silver!

Travelling westwards after leaving Abbeyshrule, the Royal Canal is almost parallel to the River Inny for a while and we catch glimpses of the river, off to our left. We were soon passed by traffic on the towpath, well, a tractor anyway! It was nice to see some movement by the canal, even if there are no boats to be seen. This lovely canal is severely under used.

The weedcutters have been doing a good job so far on the Royal, but on this section they have cut, but not collected, the weed. It is the first time that this has been a problem for us, so it was slow going.

There was a great deal of this pretty plant in the water, but we could not identify it. Any ideas, anyone?

Foigha Harbour was a lovely place to spend the night.

In the morning the skies were rather threatening as the canal passed across Cloonbreany Bog. We have left the River Inny behind us as the canal is now heading more to the North, so as to avoid Lough Ree, and join the River Shannon much further north, just to the south of Tarmonbarry, at Richmond Harbour, Clondara.

In lock 43 it was a case of "keep to the left" in the lock, as the right lock wall was extremely leaky.

At Benagh Bridge we had to call for the lockkeeper to open the lifting bridge. The old bridge can be seen behind it.

Soon after that comes the Bord Na Mona lifting machinery bridge, where peat from the bog is carried over the canal.

Our man was determined to see us through the next lock, even though we had told him there was no need. He wants us through Richmond Harbour as soon as possible, as it is officially closed to boats from 2pm today, and we are already later than that.

Once down lock 46, The Puzzler winded and backed downstream to moor below Richmond Harbour, half across the weir. The boom is a good place to tie the stern!

We have now completed the Green and Silver. We already have the burgee, and in due course we will have a certificate and plaque too. The Green and Silver is a waterways triangle, comprising the Grand Canal, the River Liffey, the Royal Canal, the Camlin river and the River Shannon. The Green and Silver was completed by LTC Rolt in 1946 on Le Coq, the boat which is shown on the burgee, and he wrote the book called Green and Silver. The Royal canal was closed for about 50 years, to be reopened completely in October 2010.  To find out more about it, go to dublin.iwai.ie/greenandsilver.html.

26th July. Abbeyshrule.

As we approach Abbeyshrule we are greeted with this mural.

Looking back to our mooring, some of the flowerbeds can be seen. Abbeyshrule is trying to win "Best town in Europe" in the competition next week. Last year they won best village in Ireland and they are trying very hard this year.

Downstream of the bridge there are several more tidy boats.

Mary, Elaine and Andy found this sculpture of fish made out of bog oak.

Further on there is an aeroplane.

The resident donkeys are very friendly.

Elaine and Sally liked this cute little house.

But Andy preferred the tractor.

The original abbey of Abbeyshrule lies on the outskirts of the village.

The modern church of Our Lady of Lourdes was dedicated in 1980. It has been built right in the centre of Abbeyshrule.

It is beautiful inside the church.

The Puzzler can just be seen between the houses while, to Elaine's left, the ladies of the village move on to do more weeding elsewhere in preparation for the big competition day next week.

Even this bicycle outside the pub has been beautifully decorated.

There are not many places where it is possible to see pictures like this on the wall of a garage.

At Corncrake Meadow the birds looked very lifelike!

On the way back Andy and Elaine rested by the flower garden.

This was our first Irish hedgehog. He wasn't any more friendly than English ones!

Back at The Puzzler after a delightful visit to Abbeyshrule.

20th - 25th July. From Mullingar on down The Royal Canal towards Abbeyshrule.

The Cathedral of Christ the King in Mullingar is a splendid building.

It is impressive inside too, with seating for over 1000 people.

We spent five nights at Mullingar, including a weekend, and had no trouble at all. As long as you have a key for the gate, you can use the most secure part of the mooring. Mullingar is quite a big town and we enjoyed watching greyhound racing as well as Gaelic football during our stay here.

Andy's sister, Elaine and our mutual friend Mary, joined us at Mullingar on Tuesday, and we cruised on along The Royal Canal to Coolnahay Harbour. There were a few boats moored here, and it was a very well kept lock, with many flowers about.

We were particularly impressed by the "flower boats".

Having a keen crew, we are now working the locks ourselves. Elaine is finding the paddles a bit stiffer than those in England, but it is not a problem.

Here at lock 31 is another attractive lock cottage. On The Royal Canal most of these cottages are inhabited, unlike The Grand Canal.

We had not yet decided where to spend the night, but a crowd of youngsters by the quay in Ballynacargy made that an undesirable spot. A wild mooring further on was very pleasant. There is no worry here of boats passing too fast and pulling your mooring stakes out. We have only seen one other boat moving so far! Wednesday evening brought an interesting mackerel sky.

This developed into another lovely sunset.

On approaching Bog Bridge we were intrigued by the apparent lack of any access road to it.

I found the reason for this. The hump over the bridge is extremely steep!

Andy and Elaine waited patiently down below!

We sailed past Ballymaglavy Bog, where work was in full progress. The cut peat is being stacked and covered, to allow it to dry out.

As we cruised along we were treated to an air display of aerobatics with the plane travelling along the canal with us for about half an hour. The dictionary definition of aerobatics is "feats of expert and usually spectacular flying and manoeuvring of aircraft" and this was certainly true! We felt very honoured to have a private display as he practised his moves in the air above us.

As we approach Abbeyshrule, the canal crosses the Inny River.  Look closely to see The Puzzler and crew on the aqueduct! This river flows into Lough Ree and the Royal Canal could have ended there. However it was decided that as Lough Ree is not suitable for barges in windy weather, then the canal should now head north, to join the Shannon at Richmond Harbour in Clondara. We visited the River Inny from Lough Ree in late May, but did not venture this far upstream.