From: Brian J Goggin 
Newsgroups: uk.rec.waterways
Subject: Trip report (very long): Grand Canal 1
Date: Tue, 09 May 2000 00:56:32 +0100

On Saturday 6 May, Anne woke me at 7.30am. I fumbled for my glasses,
found them, and then looked for a thin black lace with a plastic grip
at each end. Yes, a glasses band, to stop my glasses from falling
overboard (I did lose a pair once, when a flogging sail hit me in the
face on Lough Derg): a sure sign that the boating season, and thus the
summer, had begun.

Our boat is an Elysian Discovery, 33' before we added a
bathing-platform to take the gas-bottles, built in 1967, with a
Mercedes 42hp diesel and a hydraulic drive. We had left our boat at
Lowtown Marina, where the Grand Canal meets the Barrow Line, for the
winter. A couple of weeks earlier, we had brought some stuff up to the
boat (about 100 miles from our house); I had fixed the forward loo (my
favourite job) and admired the respray job, which was half-finished by
that stage. That was our first time to see the boat since October: one
weekend after another had got used up with committees, kids'
activities, school stuff, extra work and whatnot. All our good
intentions of doing some work ourselves had come to nothing.

Still, we had left the boat in good hands at Lowtown. The previous
winter (1998/99), we had had an osmosis job done by Shannon Yacht
Fitters at Portumna; now we were getting the rest of the fibreglass
filled, cleaned and sprayed, so that the boat would be retored to her
youthful glory. Over the next few years, we intend to work on the
interior.

On Thursday 4 May, Caroline Few, who with her husband Robert runs
Lowtown, had phoned to confirm that we wanted a weed-cutter (we did)
and to say that the boat would be relaunched that day. On Saturday, I
left home at 9.00am with the Volvo, stuffed with boat-cushions, food,
drink and general boat-gear. I stopped in Nenagh to get some cash and
to buy some food for the weekend. The weather already looked
promising, so I got picnic-type stuff that would require no cooking: a
cooked chicken, ham, soda-bread, various salads and some good cheeses.

On the way to Dublin, I got a phone-call from Anne's brother, Robert,
who is a barrister. The previous day, I'd got a bit nervous about an
article I'd written for *Inland Waterways News*, the IWAI newsletter,
and I'd asked Robert to cast an eye over it, even though the whole
newsletter had gone to the printers. He advised rewriting it, and I'd
done so overnight, faxing the revised version to him for comment.
Happily, he reckoned the revised version was OK, so all I had to worry
about was whether I was too late to get the printers to change it.
Still, it was a relief to find that I was unlikely to lose a court
case ....

I got to Lowtown at about 12.30 and found Robert Few in the bowels of
the boat, working on the engine. I hovered about, trying to wash some
of the dust off the decks (the boat looked magnificent underneath!)
and handing things to Robert when required. I was pleased to find that
he thought the engine would last another few years: I'd prefer not to
have to spend several thousand on a new one just yet.

Every so often, Robert had to go off to get something, and invariably
got intercepted by several other people on the way back. I chatted to
some of the many others working on their boats: there is everything at
Lowtown from old wooden boats to modern, fast, twin-screw, sea-going
vessels with all-singing, all-dancing electronics.

I learned a lot by watching Robert at work. We agreed that some jobs
could be carried out when we return to Lowtown in some weeks time: for
instance, I want the diesel tank to be cleaned out, and it needs it,
but that's going to require cutting a hole in it and inserting a lid.
Robert added some magic potion to the oil, the fuel supply and the
hydraulic reservoir and adjusted the engine so that we'd have a lower
tickover speed for the canal.

Anne arrived with Ian (11) and Goldie (hairy dog) mid-afternoon: Ian
had been playing in a soccer match that morning (they won, 1--0). As
Robert finished off, Anne and I tidied up and Ian emptied the cars and
brought the stuff to the quayside so that we could load the boat. I
disinfected the water supply: at the IWAI Kildare Branch's rally at
Rathangan some weeks ago (we'd attended by road), a family had been
taken to hospital in the middle of the night, probably because their
water was bad.

We decided to move above the lock (Lock 19, 7.9') so that we could get
away early on Sunday morning (we get those strange ideas from time to
time. They never work, but they sound good at the planning stage). I
chatted to the lockkeeper and bought a permit for the canals for the
year (IR£100). Then we went through the lock on to the summit level
and tied just around the corner.

Then Niall Galway came to see us. Niall is Secretary of the Dublin
Branch of the Royal Canal Amenity Group, RCAG webmaster
<http://www.rcag.8m.com> and webmaster of the new online boating
magazine <http://www.irelandsboating.com/>; I have an article on beeer
in the first issue. Robert Few is financing the magazine and there had
been a meeting of the main people involved that evening. Niall is a
very sound bloke, who has done websites for many waterways-related
businesses; he has great energy and vision and is always stimulating
to talk to.

Niall had a cup of coffee and we were chatting away when Eileen
Battersby arrived. Eileen is a journalist on the *Irish Times*,
usually writing about literature and the arts. But Anne and I knew her
years ago: we worked on the same road (though for different employers)
and Eileen used to drop in and discuss intellectual matters with us.
We never knew exactly what she was supposed to be doing, but her
visits were a change from whatever boring tasks we were supposed to be
working on.

Now Eileen was a prominent journalist, living in Rathangan on the
Barrow Line. She had become interested in the threat to the
Pollardstown Fen posed by the Kildare motorway bypass and had heard
that I was interested in it too; she dropped in to exchange ideas and
was still the same Eileen, fizzing with energy. She was accompanied by
Karen Klinkenberg, who runs a hire-firm at Rathangan.

Eileen and Karen went off and then Robert and Caroline Few came past;
we invited them in for a drink. We learned that they had been farming
on the Isle of Wight until five or six years ago, but had felt that
farming didn't have a future. Robert had been an officer on deep-sea
ships years before and had always wanted to run a hire-firm; they now
have a small hire-fleet and a large boatyard business at the most
important junction on the Grand Canal.

We had managed to feed Ian during the evening, but Anne and I didn't
get to eat until all our visitors had gone, which was about 10.30.
There was jsut time to read the papers before bed: I had bought all
the local papers to get the reports of the attempt at Vicarstown
(village on the Barrow Line) to get into the Guinness Book of Records
with the biggest Riverdance in the world. No, I don't understand it
either, but it seems they had about 2,500 people stretched down the
banks of the canal, all dancing in unison for a minimum of five
minutes.

On Sunday morning the alarm (Anne) woke me at 7.30am. After some
coffee, and a successful ssearch for a mooring-pin (long story), we
got the cars from the yard and drove both of them to Hazelhatch, 16
miles (by canal) closer to Dublin. It took us about 25 minutes to get
there; we dropped one car and returned in the other, stopping for
ice-cream and newspapers. Another hot day was in prospect.

It was 10.00am when we left Lowtown and headed east along the Grand
Canal. Hazelhatch is close to Dublin; quite a few boats park there. We
intend to leave the boat there for a week and be in position for the
start of the Dublin Rally on 13 May.

Lowtown to Hazelhatch is 16 miles, with 7 locks, one of which we'd
already passed and one of which is a double. Robert Few had been
interested in the few figures I'd kept on oil pressures and so on, so
I determined to record the three readings regularly every day. I'd
have recorded revs too but the rev counter died years ago. So we left
Lowtown with 90, +15, 100F, heading east on the 5.5-mile summit level.
The water was as clear as it always is up here; may it remain so when
the Kildare bypass is built.

On the short run into Robertstown, we saw the slipway on the right and
eight or ten semi-detached holiday cottages: I wish the developer well
in this attempt to attract visitors to the area.

We reached the bridge at Robertstown at 10.16, made our way through
the ducks and past a couple of cruisers, the *Eustace* (52M) trip-boat
and another old canal-boat (90, +20, 120). It was very sunny, but
there was a strong wind slightly off the starboard bow, meaning that
we had to go slightly faster than I'd have liked to do. We also had to
be careful with the steering.

There is a mile-long straight stretch to where the Blackwood Feeder
used to join the canal. The canal itself is on an embankment above the
surrounding countryside and there are reeds along both sides. The
yellow furze (gorse) was most attractive. We passed a small narrowboat
tucked into the reeds about halfway down, near the turning point
(winding hole); no sign of anybody on board.

At the end of the stretch, just before Bonynge (Healy's) Bridge, we
passed a swan and chatted to some affable anglers; in fact all the
anglers we met --- maybe twenty or so in 16 miles --- were very
friendly and happy to chat about the weather.

After Bonynge (10:38: 60, +15, 130) we were into shelter: the land was
higher, there were trees on both sides and the canal surface was
unruffled, although that did mean that cut reeds bunched up in places.
The water was a bit muddier here but the fish were still visible.

Along this stretch is the Hill of Downings, which apparently has good
clay for lining canals. The traces of the old workings are still
visible near Burgh (Cock) Bridge. The trees on both sides need cutting
back: our precious new paintwork was in danger of being scratched.

At Burgh Bridge (1:00: 50, +15, 130) we met two cyclists pushing their
bikes: the towpath is fairly rough along there. Then we reached the
first falling lock, Lock 18 (5.1'), at 11.15 (50, +15, ?). We
disturbed two young lovers, who decided not to hang around. I filled
the chamber and we were just hauling the boat in when the lockkeeper
came along in his van. A friendly young chap, he worked us through
Locks 18, 17 and 16. All his locks seemed to be well greased. One
feature of those three locks is that the water comes to, or very near,
the tops of the chambers, so (especially in a plastic boat) it's wise
to keep an eye on the boat's position as the water-level goes down.

We were through Lock 18 by 11:30 (50, +20, 135) and passing along the
lovely peaceful stretch to Landenstown Bridge. Cyclists shot past on
the road that borders the canal, exchanging friendly words; a man
walked greyhounds and an alsatian; cows, sheep and birds contributed
background noise; the sun shone. There was a tree in the canal,
covering half the surface from the right-hand bank; I think the same
tree was there last year, but we got past with no problem. The keeper
operated Lock 17 (8.0') at Landenstown, and Ian decided to walk to the
next lock. The keeper was closing and filling the lock as we left,
saying that it was always kept full; we went on and met *Bri Cualann*
(which left Lowtown on the Saturday, and which we'd met on the Barrow
the previous summer) on a bend; we got past, but they may have been
disappointed to find Lock 17 closed against them.

We passed two affable anglers with three long poles between them (50,
+15, 135) and reached Lock 16 (8.9') at Digby Bridge at 12:05, some
time after Ian got there. Several cyclists, walkers and anglers stayed
at the lock to watch, and a chap drove up with an aged and infirm
passenger and helped him out to watch us too. We told the keeper that
we'd be stopping for milk in Sallins and passed on (70, +25, 130),
into a wind that was now quite strong.

The stretch from Digby Bridge to Sallins is full of interest; IWAI
Kildare Branch has produced a leaflet describing the points of
interest for the sake of walkers. They include the side-chambers at
Digby Lock itself, the pots (some sort of overflow mechanism), the
island, the only one on the canal, at the junction with the Naas
Branch and the Leinster Aqueduct over the River Liffey. There were
several anglers, cyclists and walkers along the way; we exchanged
greetings with everybody.

There's a house being built opposite the pots; interesting to see that
it's being thatched. There were herons and swans, and a lazy chap
walking his dog from the car: the dog was walking and the man was
driving. We passed the island at 12:49 and noted that there was an
excavator working up on the Naas Branch. At the bend, the strong wind
tried to blow us sideways; extra welly was required. But then we
passed the travellers' site and came to Sallins almost bang on 13:00.

We nudged into the bank on the far side of the bridge --- very
carefully, as I had discovered that our reverse was giving very
llittle power: must get that fixed before heading for the Shannon.
Anne and Ian went for ice-cream while I checked the prop (some cut
reeds; nothing to signify) and the water-filters (one and a half
full). The shut-off for the forward filter is not working; add that to
the snag-list.

We left Sallins at 13:38 (50, +10, 120F) and passed under the
railway-bridge and along the cutting. Lock 15 (8.6') was the furthest
east we had reached in 1999) the upper gates and racks were very
stiff, despite having been greased (14:30: 50, 0, 60C). However, the
lower gates were too loose: as soon as Ian and I closed hem they blew
open again, with the wind clowing straight up the canal. We had to let
some water down to close them. I could open only a couple of racks,
and even then had to use my foot, which I don't like doing, so filling
and emptying were slow, even with the help of a couple out for a walk.

Lock 14 (7.1') came very soon afterwards; it was slightly less stuff
--- and Harry Sheehy (IWAI Kildare Branch Charman) and family came
along and let us down through the lock. Harry's wife had had a
birthday party the previous night. We got through at 14:55 and then
had a long level ahead of us. Unfortunately I had to prepare and eat a
sort of late lunch, so I didn't get to see the scenery along this
stretch. We felt the force of the inflow from the Morrell feeder,
which was the main source of drinking-water for Dublin in the first
half of the 19th century. However, I missed the old quay  and
Oughterard round tower.

We arrived at Lock 13 (double; total 16.1'; unmanned) at 15:55 (48,
15, 130), after passing under some very low wires. There was a
spillover above the lock and more water spilling over the tops of the
gates. This was the worst lock we had encountered: extremely stiff
gates and racks and the flow over the tops making life difficult. The
upper chamber seems to hold much more water than the lower one.

Three young men, out walking, helped us; without them, we would have
taken even longer to get through. As it was, we were there until 16:38
(75, 15, 130). Much of that was because the racks were so stiff that
some could not be raised at all and others could not be raised fully.

Two ducklings got into the cut below the bottom gates of the lower
chamber, but paddled rapidly out when we let a little water down.
There were two old wooden hulls here, one on either bank, mouldering
away. We got away eventually, and pottered slowly on. There was an
interesting wooden boat hidden below the lock, looking like a
miniature Dutch sailing-barge converted to motor, with a small forward
wheelhouse. Further on, in theturning point, a couple sunbathed on a
small cruiser. On the right-hand bank, we saw entrances to Lyons
House, and later the house itself: a massive (by Irish standards)
mansion, owned and currently being restored by Tony Ryan of Ryanair,
at a cost of millions: that day's *Sunday Business Post* had an
article about the restoration and some photos of the house.

We passed a family of ducklings before going under Aylmer's Bridge and
then we were on the last stretch to Hazelhatch. On the left was a rtow
of deserted cottages; could they not be restored to help relieve
Dublin's housing shortage? Or is someone planning to build whole
fieldsful of houses? Lots of people walking and fishing along this
stretch.

We approached Hazelhatch just on 17:00 (50, 15, 130). As we did so, a
large steel cruiser emerged from the lines of boats on both sides of
the canal, did a bit of backing and filling and then came past us. As
it did so, we realised that that was only the second boat we'd seen
moving all day, on one of the sunniest days of the year. Moored boats,
yes, some even with people on them, but very few moving. We did see a
third later on, moving through Hazelhatch, but that was it.

Hazelhatch itself consists of a bridge over the canal, a pub on either
side of it (lots of people drinking in the sun) and a nearby railway
station. It's between Celbridge and Newcastle so the railway serves
both towns.

Because it's near to Dublin but outside the danger zone, lots of boats
stay there, especially over the winter; there were numerous
canal-boats and *Misneach*, with her stern-galleys, as well as a few
narrowboats and several cruisers of different types. We went to the
easternmost end of the line, tied up and packed up, but it was 18:00
by the time we loaded the car and headed for Lowtown, where we picked
up the second car. Robertstown was very crowded with young folk, so we
went on to the pub at Milltown, beside the Milltown Feeder: a very
pleasant pub with a restaurant attached. There had been a narrowboat
tied nearby the previous day: anything under 6' tall and 2' 6" draft
can get up the feeder from the Old Barrow Line and up to the
Pollardstown Fen. My sister tells me that our father's mother's father
used to work there, unloading boats that brought goods for the stores
on the Curragh.

Then home after a busy day. The boat is now in position for the Dublin
Rally, which starts at Lock 12, just down from Hazelhatch, on Saturday
13 May at 9.00am. Then we have to get through the badlands on the
outskirts of Dublin ....

bjg