Beauties and Antiquities of Ireland: Being a Tourist's Guide to Its Most Beautiful Scenery & an Archæologist's Manual for Its Most Interesting RuinsRussell, Thomas O'Neill
History
Beauties and Antiquities of Ireland: Being a Tourist's Guide to Its Most Beautiful Scenery & an Archæologist's Manual for Its Most Interesting Ruins
Russell, Thomas O'Neill
Ireland -- Antiquities; Ireland -- Description and travel
Loch Erne is divided into upper and lower lakes. The clean and thriving
town of Enniskillen is situated on the straight, or narrow river, that
joins the two lakes; but it may be said that there are not two lakes, but
only one, for Enniskillen is situated where the lake narrows into what
might be called a river, but a river full of islands and bays, just as the
upper lake is. Its multitude of islands is the charm of Loch Erne. The
best authorities say that there are a hundred and nine islands in the
lower lake, and ninety in the upper. It is a shame that a small steam-boat
does not ply regularly, at least in summer time, from one end of this
noble sheet of water to the other. If Loch Erne, with its marvellous
variety and beauty of scenery, were in any other European country, there
would be not one but half-a-dozen steam-boats on it. It is strange that
the inhabitants of Enniskillen do not make an effort to establish a line
of light draft-steamers on Loch Erne that would ply on both upper and
lower lakes. A small steamer does sometimes, according to report, ply in
the summer between Enniskillen and Beleek; but it does not appear that any
steamer has ever navigated the waters of the upper lake, which is the more
picturesque of the two. Nothing could more plainly show the backward
condition of Ireland than the fact that there is no regular line of
passenger steam-boats either on the Upper Shannon or on Loch Erne.
Tourists, or those in search of picturesque localities, will never go to
places where there is not proper accommodation for them. No matter how
beautiful the scenery may be, it will not be visited by any large number
of people unless they can have comforts in travelling and lodging.
Switzerland attracts more rich people to visit it in summer-time than any
other country in the world; but, with all its marvellous beauties of
mountain, lake, and river, it would never attract the multitudes that go
there every year if they did not find good travelling and good hotel
accommodation. In Switzerland there are steam-boats on every lake and on
every river where there are beautiful sights to be seen. There are lakes
in it that are visited every year by crowds of tourists, who would find
sights as beautiful on Loch Erne or on Loch Ree, and who would visit those
lakes if they knew that they could find on their waters, or on their
shores, the travelling comforts and the hotel comforts they find in
Switzerland. It has to be frankly admitted that the reason why the
beauties of Ireland are so comparatively little known is largely owing to
the Irish themselves. Let them provide better accommodation for the
travelling public, and Ireland will attract people who heretofore have
never visited it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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