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Paddle for the planet

If you are refusing to hang up your wetsuit for another year, and squeeze just one more weekend of frivolity out of these rapidly shortening days, Lough Erne in Fermanagh is calling. Regular readers will know that I am a Fermanaghphile. The cluster of exemplary responsible tourism businesses in this area is inspiring, to say the least. At their core is The Share Holiday Village in Lisnaskea, Ireland’s largest residential adventure centre, and host of the second annual Erne Canoe Rally, 26 and 27 September.

 

This year it aims to spread the word through the most peaceful of watersports, canoeing, that we all need to act against global warming. No better place than Share Holiday Village to promote this message. The first thing you see on arrival is their impressive array of three giant windmills, towering over Upper Lough Erne, where Share nestles into the shoreline. The wind turbines supply electricity to the holiday village, but even more impressive, are the three wood pellet boilers which heat the chalets, swimming pool and arts arena. Combined with the reed bed system and four solar water heating systems, it is not surprising that Share is often the focus of educational visits. Like the Erne Canoe Rally against global warming, its general ethos is to ‘share’ their green message in a fun, inspiring and accessible way. By joining hundreds of other canoeists in school, work, friends or family teams, you too can help spread the green word, and have a great weekend away at the same time.

 

Not surprisingly of Share, this rally is a not-for-profit, canoeing/kayaking event open to all abilities, most ages (minimum age 8), and income groups. The idea is that paddlers must choose and compete in the same boat across all disciplines, which include a long-distance paddle, slalom, sprint and obstacle race. There is even a competitive fancy dress element in the theme of ‘Comic Book Characters’. Teams must comprise of three members, three kayaks or one open canoe and two kayaks. Open canoes must have two team members in each boat and individuals can compete on their own or as part of a team.

 

This weekend is a bargain, with Share offering participants camping facilities, an evening meal, rescue cover, changing facilities, event entry, prizes and party for £35 sterling per adult and £20 for Under 18’s, students and the unemployed. You will need to bring your own camping gear, safety equipment such as helmets and buoyancy aids, and canoes or kayaks if possible, or groups can book one of their chalets.  There is a limited number of canoes available to hire, reserved on a first come first served basis, but best to bring your own. For more details see www.sharevillage.org, or give them a ring as soon as possible on 44-(0)-28 6772 2122. There will also be a number of activities available for visitors who want to stay dry and just cheer from the shoreline, including Leave No Trace environmental awareness sessions, renewable energy demonstrations and introductory bushcraft skills on Share’s own island of Trannish.

 

If you want to get away from the canoeing crowds at night, you could register for the event, but stay at one of my other favourite Fermanagh hideouts which also offer canoes to visitors, such as at the tipi on Orchard Acre Farm at Irvinestown, (www.orchardacrefarm.com), or at one of the holiday cottages at Corralea Activity Centre on nearby Lough Macnean in Belcoo, County Fermanagh (www.activityireland.com). They don’t have canoes, but they do have a shore, so you could put your own boat straight into the water at Little Crom Cottages, located on the shores of Upper Lough Erne at Newtownbutler, www.littlecromcottages.com), or at Rushin Caravan Park at nearby Lough Macnean, which links into the Erne Canoe Trail via the faster flowing River Arney (a Grade 1 Canoe Trail). You could also hire a canoe from my favourite Fermanagh farmer, turned ecotourism manager,  Paddy Jones who runs Boho Eco Hire, at Boho, County Fermanagh (Tel: 00-44- (0)7525-163213). Like I said you are spoilt for choice in this Northwest haven, and if you aren’t a ‘Fermanaghphile’ already, you are guaranteed to come back from this weekend a fervent fan. For more information on canoeing in Fermanagh and its award-winning Lough Erne Canoe Trail, see www.canoeni.com.

 

 

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At home on a bike

kingfisher-shot-optIreland’s first National Bike Week starts tomorrow (14-21 June), which not only gives us the excuse to dig our bikes out from the back of the shed, but also to see where we can enjoy riding them.  At last, the wheels of change are in motion for Irish cyclists, as National Bike Week is part of a new National Cycle Policy Framework, the aim of which is to get as many of us as possible back in the saddle again. For details of this week’s events see  http://bikeweek.ie.

 

I am using National Bike Week to celebrate Ireland’s first long-distance trail, The Kingfisher Cycle Trail,  a must for anyone who wants to discover the hidden gems of the North-West.  The Kingfisher is an appropriate name for it – this elusive little bird is associated with lakelands, and the 370kms trail twists in an out of the extraordinarily endless lakes of Cavan, Fermanagh, Leitrim and Monaghan,  giving the Kingfisher (and us) a superb choice of shores to rest upon. 

 

The Trail is designed as a figure of eight, divided into two loops. The northern loop circles Lower Lough Erne, then moves alongside Loughs Melvin and Macnean, stretching out as far as Ballyshannon in Co.  Donegal.  The lower loop is bordered on two sides by Upper Lough Erne and Lough Allen. A good starting point for the southern loop is Carrick-on-Shannon, from where you can travel east, along backroads through the patchwork quilt-like landscape of tiny lakes. On this route, an ideal picnic stop is at Newtownbutler where, if travelling anti-clockwise, you have to phone the ferryman to help you back on your journey across the lake to Crom in Co. Fermanagh. For the northern loop section, hire bikes at eco-friendly, family-run Corralea Activity Centre (www.activityireland.com), or base yourself here for a few days. Then go further north, and check out the extra Atlantic mini-loop from Belleek or Ballyshannon to the sandy beach at Rossnowlagh. Creevy Cottages, overlooking the sea, are the perfect stop-off for this bit (www.creevyexperience.com).

 

The Kingfisher Trail’s map is excellent (€6, www.cycletoursireland.com), offering several different ways to break up the Trail, as well as day routes and attractions along the way. It also points out some of the busier sections of road, warning cyclists to take caution, but there are few of these. Other fine eco-friendly places to stay along the Trail, which either offer bikes free of charge to guests, or arrange bike hire, include The Old Schoolhouse, Meenaslieve, County Cavan (www.theoldschoolhousecavan.com), or tie your bike up beside the tipi at Orchard Acre Farm (www.orchardacrefarm.com).   Two lakeshore accommodations which offer bikes and a boat free of charge are Little Crom Cottages on the shores of Upper Lough Erne (www.littlecromcottages.com), and Trinity Island Lodge, at a beautiful island hideaway near Killeshandra, County Cavan (www.trinityisland.com). You can have a superb massage after a day’s cycling if you stay at the Blaney Spa and Yoga Centre overlooking Lough Erne (www.blaneyspaandyogacentre.com), and you can reward yourself with some of Donegal’s finest fare at Ard Na Breatha, which won Georgina Campbell’s Best Guesthouse this year (www.ardnabreatha.com).

 

The new Cycling Framework also aims to integrate cycling into the public transport network, and not before time. At present, there are only certain rail routes which cater for bikes, and for details of these see www.irishrail.ie. If you want to leave the car at home, you can also think about taking the bus, as both Bus Eireann and Ulsterbus will take bikes in the boot, if there is room, on a first come first served basis.

 

For some more excellent cycling options abroad, check in with me in a couple of weeks time.

 

(This article was first published in The Irish Times, 13 June 2009)