Lough Beg Paddle, 13th March 2007
Michele Strong with Aidan Dolan, George Starr, Philip Leith and Kevin Harrell.
On Tuesday 13th March 2007 the intrepid team who conquered most of the Lower Bann a few weeks before (see previous report) decided to complete a further segment of what has now developed into a quest to journey as much as possible from Carlingford Lough to Castlerock by kayak!
We all met at Toome Lock Jetty and set off for Lough Beg at around 11am.
Metcheck had forecast moderate westerly winds and a bit of rain which was ok.
After paddling for about ˝ an hour past the eel traps and under a couple of bridges we reached the lough and made our way around the western shore towards our first stopping place, Church Island.
So much for Metcheck (again) because as we got towards the island the sun came out, and for the rest of the day the predicted rain never arrived!
Church Island is not actually an island any more except in times of flood, but it's a very interesting place.
A monastic settlement was founded here around the 5th century.
St Patrick is said to have visited and left the impression of his knees and hands on a stone by the water's edge. Despite extensive searching we were unsuccessful in locating this, however!
The ruined church which can be seen today dates from the 12th century. It was burnt in the early days of the Ulster Plantation and was already in ruins when the spire was added in the late 1700s by the Bishop of Derry who apparently wanted to look out and see a church spire from the house he was building at Ballyscullion!
After a bit of an explore and some refreshment we headed up to the north end of the lough, by which stage the wind had shifted north west which was an ideal help.
Our next stop was the public slip across the river Bann from the Newferry Waterski Club (the starting point for our previous trip)
The return paddle down the east side of the lough was also assisted by the wind so we made good progress, however once back on the river leading to Toome going against the current was very hard work!
Lough Beg is a great place for a paddle.. In fact because there're no roads along its shore and it is very shallow in places kayaks, canoes and dinghies are the only ways to see it!
It's a natural wildlife haven, full of migrating birds and wildfowl.
It's only about 3 miles long and just over ˝ a mile wide but there're plenty of bays and islands to explore so a whole day can be easily spent looking about.
All in all highly recommended!
More pictures of this trip, taken by our official photographer, Philip Leith, can be found in the photos section of the web site.
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