Time out in Ireland

 We have just returned aboard Antiope after four weeks catching up with freinds and family in Northern Ireland and England. It started with an invitation to cruise the Irish waterways with boating folk we have come to know while cruising France. Our home for a week or so was their current craft Paper Moon cruising Lough Erne, one of the large inland expanses of water in the United Kingdom. Very different from cruising in France as despite the vast expanses of water, there is sometimes be less than 2m of water in some of the

navigation channels. If we get the chance again perhaps we will get to cruise further South down the Shannon. Thank you to our hosts Colin and Joy, we had a great time despite the challenging weather. 

Paper Moon, the ideal craft to cruise the Irish waterways 

Annie on channel watch. Note the warm clothes.

Soft morning light on Lough Erne

Enniskillen Castle, the gateway to Lough Erne

A refreshment stop, soup perhaps? Note the warm clothes.

                                                      

                                                    A bit of Irish !

Cots, traditional river transport, nowadays they race them !! 

Not all of our time was spent afloat, our hosts drove us along the Northern Irish Coastline to walk the 'Giant's Causeway'. No pictures can fully depict the scale of this rocky outcrop

The Giant's Causeway, truly awe inspiring

Our host and guide Colin. Note the warm clothes

For a day out, Annie and I took the train into Belfast, to visit the 'must see' Titanic experience and other sights. Belfast is a bustling city, working hard to put the past and the pandemic behind it. We had no safety concerns and met only freindly faces. We struggled a bit with the strong Northern Irish accents.

 

The Titanic was built on this slipway, still impressive.

Just another Belfast landmark.

Another day another visit.

Part of the 'America's Cup' folklore are the multiple 'Shamrock' challenges made by Thomas Lipton.

We were privileged to be shown into the Lipton room of the Royal Ulster YC and be dinner guests in the clubrooms.

The Lipton room, members only

Behind Annie in the picture are the lipton cup trophy winners, including our own Peter Blake.

All too soon it was time to catch the Ferry across the Irish sea.

Farewell Belfast

Hello Liverpool.

The England bit now.

We had set ourselves a tight schedule in order to see freinds and family across the country, where possible pre-booking hotels, flights, ferries and trains. We regularly covid tested ourselves and amazingly all the connections worked and we avoided catching the bug.

In the past we have hired cars to get around, but on this trip we have used only public transport and by playing the 'Senior Card' have saved both time and certainly cost. Frequently we were the only ones wearing masks on our travels and despite the alarmist news reports of impending strikes and disruptions we were impressed by the speed and efficiency of the services we used. 

The Nightingale pub in 'Mobs Hole', a haunt of Dick Turpin. 

We headed for London first and stayed in the genteel Victorian suburb of Wanstead where I had spent my early life. My local pub back then was the Nightingale which now claims historical links with the highwayman Dick Turpin and his gang in the area, then known as 'Mobs Hole' It is interesting how notoriety has now become a selling point. 

On our cultural day out in London we found 'Antiope' 

In contrast to Ireland the heatwave in London was gathering steam. The National Gallery seemed like a great place spend a morning in the cool. Here we found the greek goddess 'Antiope' being oggled by Jupiter as imagined by the Dutch painter Hendrick Goltzius.

The Lamb and Flag in Rose St, Covent Garden

Another way to cool off was to revisit the pub where I also misspent some of my youth.

The Deben river at Felixstowe Ferry, here lies the hulk of a once proud vessel.

We took a train to the Suffolk coast and another of my old haunts, the Deben river. The sea breeze very welcome after the trapped heat in London

At Shepperton, a little exercise on the Thames

Up to London once more and staying with sailing freinds Thameside at Shepperton before heading home.

'Swan uppers' heading past counting the Queens swans

In July it is a long established tradition for grown men to dress up and row up the Thames counting swans on behalf of the Queen. On the day they passed us, temperatures in London topped 40c and they were permitted to take off their jackets.

The same 'Swan uppers' in the lock

For our return to France we chose the Eurostar train through the channel tunnel, hassle free, cheaper and probably quicker door to door than flying.

If  you are going to build a railway station, do it in style. The Gare du Nord, Paris

Evening, back aboard Antiope. All's well and just as we had left her.

On Monday we start our passage to the Netherlands and our winter berth.

Cheers Charles and Annie