Category Archives: Ashore

[I’m practising Ulster Scots in a spirit of parity of esteem and such.]

I wrote the other day about a Sinn Féin campaign to have the Strabane Canal foisted upon the unfortunate Waterways Ireland (as though it didn’t have enough trouble already, what with smooth newts and mooring permits).

I once went looking for the Strabane Canal but I couldn’t find it (and wasn’t allowed to spend enough time searching). I don’t know that area at all, so I thought it would be useful to send a drone [well, actually, I used Google Maps in Photos view] to capture an aerial view of the Foyle. I was particularly interested in the likely demand for the Strabane Canal and I thought the number of pleasure craft on the Foyle might be a useful indicator.

This might be the Google view of the downstream lock on the canal.

So I flew the Googledrone down one bank from Strabane to the sea, crossed the mouth of the estuary and came back on the far side. And as far as I can see, there are very few pleasure boats on the Foyle. Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners have a small marina in Stroke City, Lough Foyle Yacht Club races dinghies and Foyle Punts from Culmore Point and there is a port at Greencastle, but that seems to be about it. I saw no serried ranks of motor cruisers, narrowboats or barges parked anywhere. It is of course possible that I missed them in my flyover, but where are the boats to come from to sue the Strabane Canal?