England and Ireland, September 2016

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Just back from a fast paced visit to Devon, narrowboating the Ashby Canal and a self drive circuit of the Republic of Ireland, packed into 2 weeks.

Hopefully the photos will tell the story.

Click on each one for details.

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Photos

Both friends AND Rellies!
Trev & Jean showed us around Devon, a part of England they know and love. We could have never had the same great experience travelling alone.

Lynmouth
We rented a beautiful cottage in Lynmouth by the sea and used it as a base to explore the countryside.

Portlock
A feature of the area is the huge tidal range...up to 15 metres...sailboats have specially designed keels to allow them to rest upright in the mud.

Devon
Around every corner was another spectacular view.

Good advice
This 11th century church in "Lorna Doone" country laid out the 10 Commandments.

Rugby
We took trains to Rugby where our 4 day Narrowboat adventure was to begin. Our accommodation was in Brownsover Hall stables...nicely converted and no lingering horse smells.

Chanelle
These were one the means of carrying goods the length and breadth of England, before trains and trucks. 50 feet long and just wide enough to allow 2 to pass in a canal...bridges were one way only.

Pat & Richard
Our friends from Winnipeg who we had met while sailing in Florida joined us for the rest of the trip. Here they are negotiating the boarding plank on the Ashby Canal.

Pubs
We had breakfast and lunch aboard but always managed to find a great old pub by the canal for dinner...most of them hundreds of years old.

At the tiller
Steering the 19 ton barge was a bit of an adventure but judging from all the dents and scrapes we weren't the first to clip a stone bridge or another boat.

Hawkesbury Junction
Near Coventry...the only lock on our route...some canals have up to 100 locks, we decided to avoid spending all day managing locks.

Ashby Canal
Our cruising speed was similar to a walking pace so enjoying the countryside was very easy.

Dublin
We took train and ferry to Dublin where we spent 2 days before heading to Galway.

Guinness gallons
The view from our hotel room! That's lots of pints of Guinness in those silos!

St. Patrick's Cathedral
the hop on - off bus was a good way to get around the narrow congested streets of Dublin.

Connemara
The wild beauty of west country Ireland

Towing alternative
Parking anywhere was a challenge and these wheel locks meant business.

Kylemore Abbey
A magnificent setting for this spectacular building in Connemara

Galway restaurant
Galway was our favourite city of the stops we made...it had a laid back friendly feel yet lots of atmosphere and interesting pubs and restaurants.

The Cliffs of Moher
On the wild west coast these cliffs are a favourite place to visit.

Blarney Castle
A challenging climb to the top to kiss the famous Blarney Stone.

Irish whiskies
Quite the lineup and price range.

Comments

[Garry Rasmussen]

Great Tour
What a great trip & wonderful memories! Some of those shots (e.g. Cliffs of Moher) would do a professional photographer proud!

[Nancy Gansser]

Wish we were there!
Hi Ian and Marlene - Loved seeing your pictures! You both look great , guess all that wine and beer on vacations is keeping you healthy, works for us too! We loved England and Ireland and would go back in a heartbeat. Seeing your photos reminded us a lot of our time there. So nice to see that you are still travelling, there is so much to see out there! Happy travels! Nancy and Dietrich

[imras]

Thanks!
There is so much world still to be seen!

[David Christie]

Florida
Are you coming down this year. We will be down Nov 1. This looks like you had a lot of fun!

[imras]

No, we plan to be in Oz & NZ Jan. - April. US $ hurts right now.

[Anne Robinson]

sheep. Happy Thanksgiving.

[David Christie]

Worst nightmare
Very wise and its about to get worse if the Clintons get back in the White House. Nova Scotia sounds pretty good right now!

[imras]

does that make you a supporter of the Donald!?

[Lorraine Runstedler]

T T R ...Tracking the Rasumssens
..............and I found them yet again - how wonderful these pics. are - I am going to share them with my friends, Dr. Ken McNeilly and his wife Philomena(Phil) they go back to Ireland every year - just came back as a matter of fact - she will love them and love you guys for sending - keep sharing your travels with me Ian and Marlene - you two are the best!!!xo