Boundary at S end of Lough Shark (Down, Armagh)

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Via Maria Long from Julia Dunn.

The current VC boundary crosses the shore of Lough Shark at around J 0642 4093 when it is expected to across at J 0636 4099. This is more important than it seems, as there are some 8 figure records from the southern tip of the Lough which are apparently in the wrong county.

The boundary here as created follows the old line of the County Down Armagh boundary which diverges from the Newry Canal at around J06284026, crossing from the east bank to the west bank and then diverging westward from the canal a few tens of metres further N to met the railway line, thence N along the railway line to about 250 from the Lough where it then follows the boundary between what looks to be a modern plantation and a field which is either marshy or very overrun with rushes. This latter stretch runs parallel, but about 50 m west of the line of the canal.

Current mapping looks more or less right, but needs to be checked.

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Closer inspection of older shape files reveals that County Down had got slightly displaced: just enough for it to be noticeable at this location. The following image shows the older shape file line (in dark red) and the current boundary (pale yellow). As can be seen the offset is consistent.