Ireland's Secret Gem: The Majestic River Shannon | World's Most Scenic River Journeys

[Music] escape with us on a legendary journey along Ireland's longest river through an emerald green landscape of Rolling Hills and Sparkling Waters The River To Me is my life at your troubles noow away with the water discover how Vikings monks and medieval kings have left their mark on this important Waterway Ireland's greatest High King Brian Buu from here he could basically rule the river we'll meet and travel with the modern day adventurers who live and work along this River even in the after you could say misery out here it's kind of exhilarating all the way to the dramatic Cliffs where this Mighty river meets the wild Atlantic [Music] Ocean this is one of the most scenic River Journeys in the world Ireland's River [Music] shamon this mountain range in the north of Ireland 177 km Northwest of Dublin is where our Journey Begins the rain that falls here will become the Waters of Ireland's longest and most important river carving through the country from North to South the Shannon has been a crucial route connecting the center of Ireland with the rest of the world for thousands of years and the first Glimpse you get of it is right here at the Shannon pot one person who knows this impressive landscape above and below ground is geologist Martina O'Neal as Nature Reserve manager it's her Dedication that keeps this special Park open to visitors all year round so we're standing here now at what's known as the Shannon pot this dark pool of water which looks relatively innocuous when it in fact is exactly the opposite this body of water is the rising of the mighty River Shannon this is the first occasion where you'll actually see this River on the surface as it begins its journey to form the Fantastic river that it then becomes up until now the water has traveled underground until pretty much this exact point the reason being if we were to see below the ground and beneath our feet the rock type tier actually changes from Limestone to a mixture of sandstones and cell Stones now these are much harder rocks and in that way they actually Force the water upwards onto the surface as opposed to traveling underneath she may be a scientist by training but as a local Martina has a passion for the myths and stories that surround the River Shannon areas of significance like here at the shanan pot are staked in mythology in history and in Legend and typically those are not that far removed from the actual reality the scientific reality behind the situation here we have some Hazel trees you normally associate Hazel with the lovely alkaline Limestone soils Legend has it that there were actually nine Hazel trees that surrounded the Shannon party the tale goes that hazelnuts fell from these trees and fed a salmon who became wise shaan the granddaughter of the Celtic god of the sea Lea came here in search of wisdom but when she arrived the wise salmon was angry and made the waters rise drowning the girl and her body flowed all the way down to the Sea forming the river that we now call the Shannon it is a fascinating place it is a place of intrigue and I think in that respect a very fitting start for the Shannon which waves and meanders its way through the fabulous landscape [Music] here from the Shannon pot the river takes us to its first Lake Lo Allen then to caracon Shannon the cruising capital of Ireland we head past Lanesboro to Loch re and athlone through banaha and onto the mystical islands of Lo durg we'll discover historic KERO and the immense ardner Crusher power station before the Shannon carries us through the estery to Loop head where it meets the Atlantic [Music] for the first leg of our 370 km Journey we can't simply jump in a boat we have to wait for this small stream to become a navigable river trickling south from the Shannon pot down through the iron mountains the Shannon becomes a river when it passes under this bridge it marks the first settlement on its course the village of daa then 8 km Downstream it flows into its first Lake Lo Allen is 14 km long and 5 km wide but Rocky and shallow in places not a great lake for boating but one perfect for exploring by paddle board we're joining these experienced borders from the local town of drumshanbo they favor this sheltered stretch leading south from Lo Allen known locally as the drum Shaman did you ever look at the reflection but look at it so hard you don't see the water looks like it belongs in the Amazon yeah the [Music] jamazon [Music] after a 16 km paddle Downstream we reached the town of caric on Shannon a lively County Town it's the biggest in the area it's a key stop off point for visitors to isands heartlands who want to sample life on the river Caron Shannon has become known as the cruising capital of Ireland our transport for the next leg of our journey is the Moon River built from scratch 25 years ago here in town she's equipped with a 210 horsepower engine and has a cool cruising speed of 9 knots an hour for the next 47 km we're in the safe hands of Skipper Michael brehany who's been sailing up and down the Shannon since he was 17 I described the Shannon as a series of lakes joined together by a river I think you can get lost on this River get out of the way of everyone and just have your own time peaceful I've spent all my work in career on the war the appeal for me was it was a different way of life uh because most people of my age went into construction and buildings and all that sort of work but coting was a new way of Tourism here in the 60s and a new way of life especially for a guy like me it was so [Music] different go together to the wild Mountain around [Applause] you I love the scenery it's deluscious green and all the different shades of green that we have here on the river for me it is is terrific this to be I think and that's just uh that's just [Music] me we're traveling the length of the Shannon climbing aboard different boats as we journey from source to Sea to discover how ancient civilizations have made their mark on this vital world Waterway stretching for 29 km north to south the second Lake on the Shannon's course is lo re surrounded by Reed beds it's an important winter stop off for wild foul making their annual migration sitting at the north entrance to lri is the town of Lanesboro home to 1500 people who have taken on an unusual Town mascot and he's out for a spin on the lake today Legend has it that a fearsome sea serpent lives in the depths of lri it's a monstrous tale that goes back to the earliest records the Legends pred day 600 AD the first account of a haunting party chasing a deer and the deer went into the lake and swam across cross to one of the islands but nobody in the hunting party was willing to follow for fear of the monster or the creature in the lake to baring them local artist Stephanie hanlin decided the lockery monster story needed updating so this 5 m homage to upcycling is now the centerpiece for the annual lock re monster festival and the festival itself was just a great idea to bring the community together a bit of crack a bit of phone and to bring a spotlight to the Village [Music] here tell us what it's of the legs the locals here may be unafraid of their less than fearsome mascot but with water as deep as 36 m in places there are real risks to exploring this Lake as search and rescue volunteer fergal knows only too well we've a very active local community a lot of clubs I'm a member of lck subaca Club search and Recovery Unit so we'd be called out to help people who've had incidents in boats you know fishermen have gone missing in storms and we'd have to go down the lake at speed maybe in the dark um we've often been searching in uh zero visibility conditions sometimes when I'm down there in the depths you'd sometimes wonder about the lockery monster am I going to get my my face chewed off you know from my trouble the legend of the Beast of Loi endures as we continue our journey southwards there's another mystery to uncover an abandoned settlement dating back to the 13th century on this Headland jutting out into the Shannon there was once a busy medieval town the bustling Trading Post of RN dun grew up around a Norman castle built in 1227 historian Dr Regina Donlan has been walking these ruins for decades to discover more about the people who once called this place home so where we're standing right now we're completely surrounded by water on two sides and a defensive wall across the land boundary on the peninsula this was really really significant for defending the province of kuk from the water side a key vantage point with views Up and Down the River this Castle was well protected against attacks from the water the problem with the peninsula was that it was bounded on one side by a town wall and this was definitely the weak link on four occasions between 1229 and 1274 the famous galic tribe the OK coners they managed to breach the wall and attack the castle I think that's an interesting thing this one piece will make 52 layers watch on mobile devices or the big screen all for free no subscription required this structure right here is the former gate house now this was the essentially the main entrance into the town so you would ride up up here on your horse have a chat with the guard tell him what your business was in the town and then he would decide whether or not to give you entry this was the main land boundary that defended the town so there were three defensive Towers all the way along the wall like when you think about the engineering of it for the 13th century it's it's really quite phenomenal rendon's strategic position on the River Shannon meant it prospered as the main Trading Post for the area home to Merchants a military encampment and a boat builder Workshop so one of the key buildings on the side is the old church we're not exactly sure of when the church itself was established probably sometime just before the castle um but what we do know is that it was still in existence in the middle of the 14th century the church itself could accommodate about 800 people so experts suggest that the population of the town at its peak was somewhere between 8 and 1200 people so this was quite a prosperous busy little place back in the 14th [Music] century so as we're walking across you can actually see where all the walls exist today and what a lot of the historical experts have suggested is that the fields as we see them today are where the civilian settlements were when the town was at its height and the stone walls are roughly plotted along where the streets existed when the town was at its height and as I'm walking across here here I can really kind of get a sense of the area looking at different ridges in the land wondering what type of buildings were there and I can almost hear the chatter of the people as they went about their daily business the importance of the castle site of the renun dessert medieval town is really uh something unique to the area and something that everyone in Laro ISS very passionate about [Music] we're voyaging down Islands River Shannon from its source all the way to its wide estery which leads to the crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean from Loch re we're following the River South through Athlon the largest town in the region we'll stop off for a drink in banaha then head into the third and final Lake the Shannon flows into Lo [Music] dur for the next leg of our journey we're crossing the lake to board a boat tour that's been inspired by the Shannon's Viking [Music] past it's absolutely a beautiful morning a little bit on the chil side but it's the sun is shining and we're heading south now into the town of at laon Michael McDonald known locally as you guessed it Viking Mike has transformed his 21 M Wooden Boat into a replica of a Viking Nar I always loved history in school and most books you'll pick up on Viking history will mention hair Island on the lake where there was a substantial horde of Viking treasure found there uh the last one being in 18 or2 who regarded as the biggest uh horde of Viking Gold arm rings ever found in Europe the Vikings sailed up the Shannon in the 830s and terrorized the settlements of central Ireland up to 1,500 Vikings would attack the monasteries along the river and plunder them for valuable artifacts today we're not going to R R sack the local Monastery instead we're picking up a tour group in athlone the largest town in the Irish Midlands I'm now 21 years operating the boat and it's turned out to be the the biggest tourist attraction in the town athlone grew into a principal Trading Post because of its popular route for crossing the Shannon today we have to pass through the athlone lock one of the largest locks on the river the town's lock wear and roadbridge were all constructed by Shannon navigation Commissioners in the 1840s so now the lock keeper has closed the gates behind us and when we get to the same level as The Far Side uh the lock the lock keeper then will open the gates in front opening up what's the next stop America is it [Music] [Music] it's quite tranquil it's very quiet and I think also the Meandering of the rivers as well is fabulous cuz the boat slowly kind of Curves in between them and I think that's part of the the joy of us they call it the Majestic Shannon I suppose it's my passion you know and I'm still fascinated with the different things that you can see what's on the shoreline every day as we go by and the shoreline is never the same there's always something different to see [Music] there Mike's tour ends here at the impressive monastic settlement of Clon mcno established in 547 ad it grew into an important center of religion and learning because of its Riverside location it also came under attack from Vikings not least in the year 845 ad when a scribe notes in a medieval manuscript that Vikings rampaged throughout the central Midlands and plundered and burned Clon [Music] mcno in the 1960s visitors of the less bloodthirsty kind started to flock to the Waters of the Shannon as Goods barges made way for pleasure Cruisers tourism was embraced by the many small businesses along the river not least where we're headed to next JJ Hawks Pub of banaha where they've been serving drinks for some 380 years J Hawk the current owner of this establishment likes to continue a thriving musical tradition started by his forebears my grandfather bought this Pub in the 1940s pubs were a very conservative Place back then I mean back then there was no music no cursing no bad language you're all very conservative but then my granddad his kids they were all top music so he brought a piano down from upstairs in the Parlor and they started to sing away the reason for Ban's existence is the River Shannon then tourism started on the River Shannon around the early 60s and my Grandad would stand outside with a whiskey and he'd look down the town and when he'd see tourists he'd get them all quick start playing and uh start drawing in uh tourists there's a great tradition of great Irish musicians around here they just love the music here and love the crack and you know it's it's that connectivity it's the open mic style of entertainment that anyone can join in I mean there's guys from all over the world that have joined in in the music sessions here over the years so it's you know everyone is [Music] welcome [Music] [Applause] [Music] Che Ed by traditional music or maybe just the refreshments we continue down the Shannon towards the sea 20 km south of banaha the river now opens up into its third major lake Lo durg covering an area of 80 Square kilm Lo durg is the third and largest lake the Shannon flows into an exquisite beauty spot peppered with small Islands 376 of them to be exact one man who's devoted his life to exploring these islands is Gerard Madden a passionate local historian and [Music] fisherman I've been coming here to years and I still find it fascinating there's always something new to find out here today we're hitching a ride with him over to the western side of the lake to one of Ireland's most famous monastic sites inish calra or holy Island that's my favorite view by a mile look at that is that beautiful River Rens nest on the tower this 25 M round Tower is a remnant of the Shannon's Viking past built by monks these towers had a door on the first floor accessible only by ladders when Viking Raiders were cited the monks would grab food and monastic treasures and Retreat up the tower pulling up ladders as they climbed Gerard is the go-to guide to Holy island and has an unrivaled knowledge of the ancient artifacts preserved by the monks who once lived here the and was the jeel carriageway the only decent roadway in Ireland everybody traveled by water it was very unsafe to travel by by land as all the chieftain and along the way they were all Waring with with one another so the monks knew this so they built these monasteries along the Shannon and the temptation to pull in here I'd say was huge these sheep are not supposed to be in here they enough grass outside but it's hard to keep the m co sh sh sh there are the ruins of seven churches on hly island this one St cayman's church is the oldest built some 1,000 years ago it was roofed in the 1990s to protect some of the Island's most important artifacts now here in St K's church we have grave markers from the 8th Century to the 12th century we have a stone here which is a swear stone that does does markings are sword marks two Chieftains making peace and they mark their that's really their signature it secluded position has enabled it to survive like in such a perfect state of preservation and there are very very few places left in the world as as pristine as this this is known as a bargaining Stone people come here and the they shake hands through the stone and they make a deal and War weti anyone that breaks the deal that's made at that stone lots of people come nowadays and got actually married at the stone the Vikings came here and three occasions they stole everything and took off but of course they were raided as many times by the Irish themselves as by the Vikings these mons were a center of wel music and where they had scriptores those they really the only bit places where there was a civilization in this in this country leaving this ancient place of sanctuary to its woolly Guardians we're heading across Lo [Music] dur on the bank of the lake there's a sheltered moing that's hiding the prized possessions of one boat mad group of locals welcome to my family's weird Obsession epha Burke and her relatives have been renovating Heritage barges for the last 30 years and they built up an astonishing collection so we've got my dad's my uncles mine my brothers and two fairs which is always necessary ignore this lovely new shiny one and I'll show you my old rusty one at just 21 epha bought her 1926 motor barge at auction it had been left to Decay for decades so transforming this empty rust bucket into a living space has been a labor of love the longterm aim is to just have it as a holiday house that I can use every summer the boat will be 100 in a couple years time that kind of gives me the push to get it finished and I'd really love to have it done for then and have a big celebration it's the people on the Waterway way that have really shaped me and helped me grow into the person that I am and it's the love of this that bonds me with some of my best friends because we have that much passion for it that it's just a part of our blood it's part of who we are once a common sight up and down the Shannon motor barges were the perfect vessels for delivering Goods all over the country used by Guinness for delivering barrels of the black stuff it said that when the barge men arrived in town the locals would follow them to the pub as they'd be sure to know who had the best pint in the area here we go epa's barge isn't just a museum piece this boat is fitted with a Scottish designed Kelvin 75 hor power engine today we're joining her and Mom Geraldine to head to the south of lock dur but at 18 M long and 4 M wide these are not easy boats to drive it's lovely like you miss it when you're away you really miss being out and like just the open space I don't have my ballast fully done because I haven't done the front of my boat so my boat does tend to rock quite a lot I'll just let him off there for a minute we have a life ring we're GR even in the like absolute you could say misery out here it's kind of exhilarating at the center of the lake the wind picks up the everchanging weather here can often test epa's boating skills no hold on hold on hold on hold on yeah okay worst moment in 7 years but I'm still here we're going to work a bit for a minute now and then we'll stabilize yeah we're uh we're out of the worst of it there my flag is the most important piece of equipment on my vat for my engine um when we were starting to rock there you put your nose to the wind especially on a flat bottom boat but from my flag I know where my nose needs to me to stabilize my boat it does take kind of years of knowing the particulars of your own boat leaving the Burks to their beloved barges we're continuing our journey down the Shannon towards the sea we've reached the town of Kiloo here the Shannon widens as it meanders through the foothills of County [Music] clar Today kayaking expert kilan omara is giving local historian arene white A New Perspective on a town she knows so well it's amazing to see even some of the historical features you just don't see when you're walking around so yeah it's a fantastic way to see things kilo is famous for being the ruling seat of the legendary medieval King Brian Buu celebrated for ending the Viking dominance of the Shannon he United the country and here in this wooded outcrop was his fort behind us here we have Bri Bru's Fort or Bale Buu in Irish and this was the homestead of Bri buru who we say is Ireland's greatest High King he was born here in the Hills behind the fort and when he became High King in 10:02 he actually broke with tradition and decided to rule the country from his Homestead in Kiloo um so Kiloo was the capital of Ireland from 102 to 1014 from here he could basically rule the river the threat of Viking attack was always present really limr was a huge Viking city um so from here as you can imagine there any sign of of Viking boats or or attacks coming up through the river he could plan ahead and stop it from happening from 1002 until his death by Viking sword at the Battle of clona in 1014 Brian Buu reigned from Kiloo although it was Ireland's capital for just a short time his base here on the Shannon enabled Buu to become one of the most successful and unifying monarchs in medieval [Music] Island we continue our journey 18 km Down River from kilo is an extraordinary feat of engineering which would change the Shannon and Island Forever The ardner Crusher Power Station a 100 years ago the newly independent Irish state had a rural economy and only 1% of its population had access access to electricity in order to modernize the country the government decided to build a record-breaking hydroelectric power station here at ardner Crusher Professor yoim Fischer is a specialist in its extraordinary history just behind us we see AR Crusher power station and uh this is really the core piece of the Shannon scheme the Shannon scheme was uh built between 1925 and 1929 9 and it was a hugely important project at the time uh it was the beginning of the electrification of Ireland the Shannon is diverted and uh brings the the water down to the power station here and drops about 30 m there and drives four turbines which generate the electricity at the height of the Shannon scheme about 5,000 people were working on this project it cost about 20% of the budget of the state in 1925 so it it was a huge economic project an economic gamble despite delays and Rising costs this project was a great success by 1929 the new Power Station was capable of providing electricity to all of Ireland but at first people were nervous of this new fangled Wizardry so the government had a new challenge to persuade people to use the energy they were generating it was very difficult for people to imagine that electricity was actually needed in the country in order to increase consumption the electricity supply board ran advertising campaigns especially directed at women to engage women in the purchase of electric cookers for example you know it's is good as a new PA of last to have a light like that in the house the electric pump brings running water to the most isolated dwellings making it possible for the country folk to enjoy the benefits of Modern Sanitation for this relief much [Music] thanks today we're hopping aboard the boat of the man tasked with looking after the river around ardner Crusher Pat lat The River To Me is my life you know what I mean great to pass away the time [Music] on bread for the mind let your troubles Flow Away with the water I would live any place else Pat's work maintaining the waterways means he's rarely found out of his robust 5 m Pioneer boat any excuse does me to come on the river I go to town by boat mostly to avoid the traffic today Pat's taking us through the giant Power Station lock we're approaching the the lock now Not only was the power station the largest infrastructure project the country had ever seen Crusher its construction also required the creation of the deepest lock in Ireland descending 30 m in two Chambers it takes one full hour to pass through here by boat which gives Pat time to reflect on the realities of life for the people who worked on this immense project it gave great employment at the time the wages were very very small I think just 32 Shillings a week and of course the Irish pettes they lived under very tough conditions here they lived in coeds Pig St you know anything for to live near the site finally the vast electronic Gates let us through to meet the waters rushing out from the turbines towards the sea we've traveled 260 km from the source of the River Shannon on our journey towards the sea after the ardner crusher Power Station the mighty River becomes a wide tidal estery sweeping through the land for 113 km until it reaches the Atlantic lined with mud flats the shelter of the Esty provides a unique breeding ground for marine life and is home to a great array of sea birds and wildlife but it's not just migrating birds that pass through here the Shannon estery is one of the most important shipping lanes in the country with feries fishing boats and commercial ships vying for space sat on the estery amongst the industrial Port buildings is the town of FS an unlikely spot to have a glamorous history fines is classed as a new town by Irish standards and we had one street village uh but it's in a strategic position because of the river because of its location in a sheltered but deep stretch of the Esty foins was the ideal spot for landing flying boats these aircraft with a large Hull that allowed them to land on water are the passion of Margaret oesi flights had just started into fins in 1939 when the second world war broke out and that changed everything because Ireland became a neutral country so if you wanted to get to Europe from the United States or Canada you had to come into to f Minds we were the kind of Transit Point Ireland and Canada were the two countries that facilitated all transatlantic flights in the 1930s and 40s these extraordinary aircraft brought in the top a-listers Bob Hope Was Here John F Kennedy the late president was here yudi Menin the violinist was here Gracie Fields everyone and anyone you can think of at that time transited fins over the 10-year period that we were flying airport I would love to have been here at that time cuz to me it was uh what I say like another Casablanca you're just about to go on board the world's only fullscale replica of a Boeing 314 flying boat the Yankee Clipper as you can see cockpit is huge it was the biggest cockpit of any aircraft at that time but they needed it because you had The Navigators here you had the radio officer and you had the engineer if there was an issue with an engine during the flight they'd open this hatch this would open and they could climb out to the engine inside in the wing to check out what was wrong and behind us here is the cockpit where you had your two pilots pilot co-pilot a ticket to fly from New York to fins in the late 30s early 40s was 33 $7 One Way 675 return that was a huge amount of money in those days but you could had you the necessary Finance book the honeymoon suite which was a special ticket and you got this beautiful honeymoon suite at the back with its own private bathroom all the food prepared on board and it was food that you could possibly get in a five-star hotel this was your daytime layout for traveling you see the journeys they could take anything anything from 12 to 17 hours it all depended on the weather conditions how long the flight would take so you actually went to bed and you left your shoes out for the uh staff to polish them shine them lay them back for the morning if you it was the height of [Music] luxury shoes freshly polished we're heading west from foins the final part of our journey takes us past the fishing boats heading out of Harbor to the ex exact spot where the Shannon flows into the sea the stunning Loop head Peninsula marks the point where the Shannon finally meets the ocean here at top dark Cliffs that give way to the wild Atlantic is an extraordinary landscape of Rocky outcrops Martin Hawk grew up here on the peninsula and and knows all there is to know about this distinctive landscape of exposed rock caused by the pressures of converging continental plates some 300 million years ago why I like coming here it's it's so remote and it's as a as remote As spot as you're going to get in irland we're at the tip of bloop head and on your left hand side you have the wild atantic the don't call the white authentic for nothing and on the right hand side you have the mou of the Shannon so you come down the Shannon a lot Cammer breaching into the Atlantic Ocean so you have the Atlantic ocean meets the Shannon River the loop Head Lighthouse that guides ships into the sheltered Waters of the Shannon is just one of the features that links this spot with the rest of the world but the next touch is Boston the last Pub to New York or Boston was Keaton's Pub down here in the village Village the a sign which was put in during the second world war it was like a grid reference up and down the coast and this area was Era 45 so anybody that was flying over knew exactly where where they were the last view of home for many Irish people and a welcome sight for others this epic Headland is a fitting end to our journey [Music] we've followed the Majestic River Shannon all the way from the mountains of central island to the spectacular Cliffs of the Atlantic Shoreline to discover how this important river was navigated by ancient civilizations and how it continues to connect people who live and work along the River today our Voyage down Island's longest river alongside the locals who call the Shannon home has been a truly magnificent River [Music] [Music] Journey [Music]

Channel: TRACKS - Travel Documentaries

Views: 57,768

Keywords: Discover Ireland, Irish landscape, Nature wonders, Nature's beauty, Outdoor adventures, Rich history tours, River Shannon, River Shannon beauty, Soulful travel, TRACKS - Travel Documentaries, Travel escapade, Viking legacy, exploration series, monks, must-visit destinations, sparkling waters, travel chronicles, travel enthusiasts, travel exploration, unique travel experiences, wanderlust adventures

Id: kb-iMZ6Th-w

Length: 47min 0sec (2820 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 08 2024