Contacts:

Warrenpoint Harbour Authority:VHF #12  tel  +44 (0)2841 773381 
Newry Tourist Information Centre  tel  +44 (0)330 137 4046

Warrenpoint is the commercial port for Newry and sits at the top of Carlingford Lough on the east bank of the Newry River; the west bank is in the Republic of Ireland for about a kilometre and a half above Warrenpoint. 

The docks deal with a variety of exports/imports and have a good turn over. In addition to the large commercial docks there is a small inlet known as the Town Dock in which there are pontoons for shell fishing boats; as shellfish are not harvested during the summer months these docks are available for visiting yachties. Information on these pontoons and the depths available can be obtained from the HM on #12. There was an additional pontoon just inside the first breakwater you pass coming in to the harbour area; this is administered by the Newry Tourist Information Centre and is only available with their permission.

If intending to pass up river to Newry via the Victoria lock and the canal you will need a bit of advanced planning. The  Canal is administered by the Newry Tourist Information Centre who require a written application 48hours in advance (so if you want to get in at the weekend you need to have completed application by Wednesday afternoon), along with the fees (£31.75 per boat per week or part week). Click here to download a copy of the form, fill it in and email it to them at the above address; they can take payment by card over the phone. (Remember that Newry is in the UK, if you are calling from the Republic it’s an international call.)  The PDF below  contains much useful information, directions, and a chartlet.

Newry Albert Basin Access Procedures 2021.pdf
 

There are no charts of the river above Warrenpoint but the river has been dredged and buoyed, and there is a diagram of the buoyage in the charts for this article and in the document downloaded above. The draft in the Albert basin is given as 3.3 meters but there is no information as to the depth of the channel in the river outside the canal. Access to the Victoria Lock is limited to HW ± 1hr in daylight hours.  If you miss the tide, tie up at the pontoon at Warrenpoint and give the Tourist Information Centre a ring.

At the Albert basin in Newry you will find access to a large shopping centre (just over the road), and all the amenities of a County Town

There is a dearth of visual information on the canal or the Albert basin in Newry but if you want a virtual look round click below.

Victoria Lock:

Albert Basin:

UPDATE 2021  There are plans to build a Southern Relief Road around Newry.  This would involve bridging the Ship Canal at a point SE of the Albert Basin.  There is quite a discussion going on as to what form this bridge would take and the eventual clearance from next to nothing to an opening bridge.  This obviously would influence the size/height of any boat approaching Newry via the Ship Canal so we will have to keep an eye on this.  It is a complicated process involving the governments in Dublin and Belfast so may take some time to come to fruition. In the meantime it's business as usual.

It is worth noting that tides at Cranfield Point are as Liverpool so ingoing....

..... stream starts at LW Liverpool and the outgoing stream at HW Liverpool.  Out at the Hellyhunter Buoy where your approach will start the tidal streams are coastal and the change to in/out streams occurs as one gets closer in. At their height the currents will slowly increase to 3½ kts in the approach, reaching 4½ kts abeam the Haulbowline Light and further increase to 5kts at Greenore Point.  They then reduce quite rapidly to about 2½ kts between the Watson Rocks and Stalka Rocks and then down to 1½ kts at the Marina. In the bight of the bay off Rostrevor there is very little tide whilst in amongst the shoals at Greencastle you can expect to be anchored in a tideway.

Passage to and through Carlingford Lough entrance is dealt with in our notes on Carlingford Lough, Harbours and Anchorages.

If you have come through the narrows at Cranfield Point you will already be listening on VHF #12 and aware of other commercial traffic in the dredged channel; if making for Warrenpoint from somewhere in the Lough you should call Warrenpoint on #12 and make them aware of your intentions.  It would be wise to ring ahead before departure and arrange a berth at Warrenpoint in advance; they are very helpful and any thing you can do to help them can only work in your favour! 

As has been said, from June to September there are pontoon berths in

...... the Town Dock at Warrenpoint which currently cost about £20 per night midweek and £25 per night at the weekend. The pontoon facing you with no fingers on it as you turn to starboard into the town dock is the one they use for visitors (see the diagram in our photogallery) and you may have to raft there.  There is a notice on the inside of the gate to the pontoons giving instructions for visitors but basically it shows you where they want you to moor and gives a telephone number to ring to get a gate pass (02841 773381). As you have to wait for someone to appear it might be an idea to ring them a few miles south before you arrive (if you are already talking to them on #12 that might not be necessary)

If waiting passage up to Newry then there is a pontoon against the SE breakwater for a temporary stop but be careful there as the dredged channel beside it is very narrow; go straight in and depart stern first or warp round before departure.  This pontoon was out of the water for repairs when our member below visted in September of last year; it's now back in the water

The area between the breakwaters, where you will see yachts moored, dries and is not really suitable for anchoring even if you can take the ground (it’s muddy and there are loads of old disused, unmarked moorings).

There were plans for a marina adjacent to the slips in this area but work has not started on that yet (2015) but it is believed that they have yet to obtain funding.

We have been given a really good report by a member who visited here last September(2021); He preferred the anchorage on the NE side of the Lough in Rostrevor Bay off "The Wood House" and describes the local village as "pretty and welcoming" 
The Carlingford Lough Yacht Club is ashore from this anchorage. It is mainly racing and instruction with a web site at www.clyc.info and a telephone number 028 4173 8604

The Albert Basin up at Newry has alongside berths and plenty of room to turn round in.  There is no significant range in water levels here so no need to allow scope for rise/fall.

At the Town Dock pontoons in Warrenpoint there is water but the shore power (electricity card) is outwith the normal length shore power cables and they have a security gate (for which you need a security pass before you exit). Showers are theoretically available in the Dock Office building close by. In the town can be found all you could need in the way of supplies.  The nearest fuel is on the road past the docks, about quarter of a mile. Basically it sounds as though a yachtie is considered  a hinderance rather than a welcome paying guest here.

However the Albert Basin at Newry is just across the road from a huge shopping centre and down the road from a Sport & Leisure Centre. You’ll find toilets in the shopping centre and showers in the sports centre. Electricity is available on the quay but that has to be booked when you book the canal.  Fuel is not too far away; you need to go to the South end of the Shopping centre, go though their car park, back along Drumblane road to the church and then out on the Dublin Road to the Glenview Service Station.

Both Warrenpoint and Newry are well endowed with pubs and restaurants.  Warrenpoint has an outdoor swimming pool whilst Newry has its sports centre and a cinema in the Quay centre. For listings of pubs click on the links below; Newry has 70 (!!) pubs listed.

http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/results.shtml?l=Newry