Paddling in Co. Longford

Longford sits in the Irish Midlands, deep in the Shannon basin, and the water here is overwhelmingly flatwater — lakes, canals, and slow-moving rivers that spread across a low, boggy landscape. It's not a whitewater county.

What it is, is a place where you can link genuinely significant waterways into multi-day journeys, or simply get on the water for an afternoon without any prior experience.

The big water is Lough Ree, which forms much of Longford's western boundary and is the second largest lake on the Shannon.

Paddlers who've only seen it from a car have no real sense of it — it's wide enough to behave like an inland sea, with conditions that can shift fast.

The source material is direct on this: don't paddle it in more than a Force 3 or 4 unless you're experienced, check the Met Éireann inland lakes forecast before you go, and plan for weather to change overnight.

A northeast wind is your friend on the crossing, giving you a helpful push. The islands reward the effort — there's camping, historic ruins, and the kind of quiet that's hard to find closer to Dublin. The River Inny is the county's moving-water highlight.

Graded 2 to 3, it's one of the more popular grade 2 runs in Ireland, partly because access is straightforward — there's a car park and concrete slipway at Newcastle Bridge — and partly because it's genuinely good paddling.

The classic run to Ballymahon Bridge is mostly brisk flatwater with small rapids, pour-overs, and features worth practising on.

At higher water, a wave-hole forms downstream of Ballymahon Bridge near the old meat factory site that's retentive enough for freestyle but flushes you out if things go wrong.

The landowner at Shrule Bridge has allowed river access — treat it accordingly, take your rubbish out. The Royal Canal connects Longford to Dublin across 150 kilometres of calm, historic water, finishing at Clondra on the Shannon.

It's the quieter, more contemplative option — guided night paddles run here, which tells you something about the pace. Lanesborough, where the Shannon flows into Lough Ree, is the put-in for guided day trips on the river itself.

Inventure Water Sports runs skills courses and lake trips on Lough Ree, including a regular programme on the Inny for those wanting to step onto moving water with some support. Inny Kayakers is a local club based along the river.

Alan's Yippee Kayaking covers the canal and the Shannon at Lanesborough, including those night tours. Longford won't satisfy anyone chasing big drops or technical whitewater.

But if you want to paddle a looped route that takes in the Shannon, Lough Ree, and the Royal Canal over two or three days — camping on islands, reading weather windows, moving at the pace the water sets — this is a genuinely worthwhile corner of Ireland to do it in.