31st Dec 2012 - 3rd Jan 2013. New Year in far west Fermanagh.

For New Year celebrations, we are in the far west of Fermanagh, in Cashelnadrea. We went for a walk at The Rosheen, a picturesque spot by Lough Melvin, being well insulated against the inclement weather.

Driving round to the far side of Lough Melvin, we stopped to see the view, but Maurice and Janet were nearly blown over by the wind!

On a clear day the Atlantic can be seen in the distance from this viewpoint.

The view is good, looking up the lough, despite the misty weather.

Don't you agree that this is an idyllic setting for a cottage? This is where we are lucky enough to be staying.

We spent three days celebrating the coming of the New Year, being entertained by Maurice and Janet.

A good time was had by all!

Next morning it was off for more walking, and we passed the romantic centre of this area. The Ballroom of Romance at Glenfarne is the place to go, if you are footloose and fancyfree, so we are told. However, we continued on towards the hills!

From Black Lion we headed six miles to the south, and after a half mile track from the car park, there is a new bridge welcoming us to Shannon Pot.

This pool  is the source of the great River Shannon and the water gushes out of the ground here, Apparently when there is more water coming out, a small geyser is created, but today it is just bubbling gently.

The quantity of water from the pool is still quite impressive, creating this stream under the footbridge in a distance of less than twenty yards. The River Shannon  has a long way to go before it reaches the Atlantic Ocean beyond Limerick.

From Shannon Pot we carried on to the Cuilcach Mountains, and Cladagh River Glen, where there is an extremely scenic walk through the woods, alongside the Cladagh River. We saw several trees, which had slipped to lie across the Cladagh River, but it just carries on, as it has for centuries, to flow under or around them.

The Cascades Waterfall is not a place to lose your footing!

In a very old woodland like this one, the dampness of the climate can be seen in the moss covered trees.

Further on, this is the limestone arch after which the Marble Arch caves are named, due to its similarity to marble in appearance.The Cladagh River probably created the arch originally.

Marble Arch Rising is the source of the Cladagh River, where it emerges from the hillside. The northern slopes of the Cuilcach Mountains are the catchment area for three rivers which flow into the Marble Arch cave system. They meander through the underground cave passages for several miles before joining together to emerge as the Cladagh River, here at the chaotic limestone collapse which is known as Marble Arch Rising.

Beyond the Rising we climbed the path, which leads up to the Marble Arch Centre, and the public entrance to the Caves. When open, in the summer months, it is an impressive underground adventure.

On our way back, we passed Lough Macnean. There is just so much stunning scenery in this part of Ireland. We have had a wonderful holiday.

22nd - 30th December. A quiet Christmas in Enniskillen.

Our Christmas tree is up again, with the angel over it this year.

We saw the Boxing Day Meet passing the Round "O". They meet in Enniskillen, then go round the town, before heading out on this road. As fox-hunting is now illegal, they do not go very far before heading home again!

Boxing Day was extremely wet later on, creating an interesting combination of rain and lights on the windows of The Puzzler.

Every night there are ducks sleeping on the jetty. They wake up before dawn, and chat loudly to each other, making sure that we are awake too!

The geese never come on to the jetty, but keep to themselves. We were glad to see them all present after Christmas. Last year there were two less!

We found this interesting signpost, when walking on the other side of the River Erne.

It is a different view as we look back across the River Erne to the Round "O" mooring.

Looking downstream from Enniskillen Bridge, The Puzzler can be seen on the end of the Round "O" jetty. From here it looks very bleak, but then, appearances can be deceptive!

12th - 21st December. Christmas lights in Enniskillen and Bridge dinners.

Christmas decorations are now up in Enniskillen. This artificial tree looks better at night.

Here we are looking down the High Street in Enniskillen.

These trees are along the river beyond the library.

The most impressive sight is Enniskillen Castle at night, reflected in the River Erne.

In this view from the bridge, Enniskillen Castle is to the left, with a small cottage on the island. The Waterways Ireland building can be seen behind the island.

However at night the cottage becomes much more visible, with a sailing boat on the right of the island.

Bowling continues, with Andy winning first prize at The Forum on Monday.

A week before Christmas, we headed off upstream, passing the Ardhowen Theatre on the way.

We were making for the Killyhevlin Hotel mooring. The Ardhowen Theatre can be seen in the distance, above the stern of The Puzzler.

Reflections today are wonderful.

Looking upstream from the Killyhevlin shows just what a lovely river The Erne is.
We are here for the St Michael's Bridge Club Christmas dinner.

The meal last night was excellent, followed by a good evening of bridge, with prizes for all. Tuesday morning did not dawn bright and clear! The mist was so thick that it was difficult to see anything. However we had to return to Enniskillen, so with all lights on, we slowly cruised back downstream, using the horn at regular intervals, just in case anyone else was silly enough to be on the river in these conditions!

The mist was clear by Wednesday, but there is still a lot of water in the river.

Wednesday night was our second Bridge dinner with the Devenish Bridge Club at Mahon's Hotel in Irvinestown. Another excellent meal, in excellent company.

We mustn't forget the rest of the club.

Everyone was there.

And a good time was had by all.

After the meal it was down to the serious game of bridge, with prizes for all again. We could get used to this!

The Puzzler did not want to be left out, so has some new lights.

2nd - 11th December. Birds and boat movement in Enniskillen.

The geese have come to The Puzzler to see if there is any chance of food. This is unusual as they are well fed by visitors to the Round "O" park, beside the mooring.

The seagulls are hungry too, but will not come any closer to the window of the boat.

There are contractors working at the Portora Boathouse. As they have been clearing wood, we persuaded them to let us help! This jetty normally only caters for rowing boats, but was perfectly adequate for The Puzzler.

A friend was moving his boat near to the Erne shopping centre, so Sally went to help.

The only access to this mooring is by canoe!

Big Red is pushing works machinery on a barge upstream past the Round "O".

On approaching Enniskillen Bridge he needed full power to make any progress at all against the current. We heard later that he came to a standstill between the old and the new bridges.

He must have got through eventually, as we saw him later on, near to the Erne shopping centre, opposite the Regal Pass mooring. It will be interesting to see what work is being done here.

Another barge leaves the Round "O" to go the quarter mile trip to Riverview. As long as he is away for four hours then the wardens will be happy!

29th November - 1st December.

We are now settled in at the Round "O" mooring, below Enniskillen Bridge. The River Erne is running quite fast past us, but as this is a floating jetty, we are safe here. It is good exercise for us, having the walk into town.

As we left The Puzzler on Friday, the pigeons formed a guard of honour for us, and one even thought about flying into the car with us, as we were collected by Janet and Maurice for a weekend at their house.

We drove through Donegal Town and out along Donegal Bay. The views across the bay are stunning.

We carried on to the viewpoint at Carrigan Head, to see the cliffs below Slieve League.There is nothing but The Atlantic Ocean to the west of this headland before you reach North America.

It is lovely to have friends with us to take our photo, with Slieve League in the background.

When we arrived the cliffs were impressive, with a cloud sitting on top of them.

However, by the time we had finished our picnic, the cloud was lifting. The sun had come out and this really brought the cliffs to life.

There were several sheep along the narrow cliff top road. There does not seem to be much for them to eat up here.

There are some lovely sandy beaches along the Donegal coast, but they are deserted at this time of year.

This is one of the few traditional thatched cottages which remain in Donegal.

We drove right to the end of St. John's Point, and looked back across to Slieve League.           St. John's Point is a long thin peninsula, which extends far out into Donegal Bay.

We returned with Maurice and Janet to stay at their lovely cottage in the west of Fermanagh. We all spent the evening at the Cashelnadrae Whist Club. This was great fun too and it has certainly been a busy and enjoyable visit.