I got an invitation from John at Wild Wet Adventures to join them for a dawn summer solstice paddle on Lough Talt, Co. Sligo. We were to meet at 4am and I didn’t know whether I was brave or daft but I decided to say yes (and this is from someone who needs at least 8 hours of sleep to function!) Not only did I say yes but Lucy decided to join me as well. So there I was up at 3am and taking Rocket-dog for a walk (he wasn’t impressed at all). Lucy probably had the right idea and didn’t sleep at all. Hence why she turned up in full make up and the rest of us looked like we had just stumbled out of bed! I have to admit I was a bit sceptical when John sent me a message saying did I want a kayak or a double sit on top…I thought it was some kind of innuendo š it turned out it was a boat!
There was a great crowd of people, nice to know I’m not the only daft one. We took the easy option and sat in the inflatable boat while John did all the work and paddled. Lucy was sitting at the front of the boat – it was like a scene out of Titanic, minus Leonardo what’s his face and thankfully minus the boat sinking (sorry if I’ve ruined the end of Titanic for you š ). I did start to worry that I might get seasick. You may wonder how anyone could get seasick on a paddle boat on a still lake but I’m the person who got seasick on a horse once. I needn’t have worried because I was fine (thankfully).
There were a couple of splashes, but I think these were done on purpose, apart from the fella laughing so much when his mate fell in that he fell in as well! Lucy had a go at paddling our boat but she didn’t last very long at it.
There’s something very special about being on a lake at that hour of the morning with just the sounds of the paddles in the water and the birds waking up – and the occasional splash. The sun was hidden behind the clouds so we didn’t get the spectacular sunrise we should have got, but this is what it should have looked like.
I had a really lovely time and when we got back on the shore Celine had coffee, tea, croissants and jam for us. We even got to hear more about the solstice and paganism.
It was a really wonderful morning. Lucy and I are already planning our next trip out and this time we will be in kayaks. I’m planning to race Lucy around the lake, she doesn’t know it yet. I first have to summon up the courage to wear a wetsuit, I really don’t think Sligo is ready for that and you can bet there will be no photos (unless it transforms me into a size 8)! Huge thanks to John and Celine from Wild Wet Adventures, a highly recommended day out.
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