Paddling beneath the soaring 600m cliffs of Slieve League put a lot of things in perspective for GARY QUINN
INCOMERS HAVE a passion for a locality that is hard to replicate. Finding yourself at home in a place rather than being born to it is a privilege, it seems. These people discover a beauty in landscapes that for others have become ordinary and find adventure in journeys that have somehow become mundane. And they give you this very Irish adventure with excitement, it’s wrapped up in them and they are it.
It’s been a delight to experience this as I’ve travelled around Ireland this summer – the Dutch woman running a dive centre in west Cork, the German potter who helped me find my way in Kerry or paddling with the Welsh postman who has made his home in Antrim; everywhere I have been I have found an incomer wedded to the sea.
Brian Forrest of Northwest Sea Kayaking in Donegal is one of these. He is wed to an Ardara woman, too, but the sea is in him, as is his starting point in Scotland, not too far away. He came from the mountains to the sea, finding in paddling the same mix of risk management, adventure, trip planning and natural beauty that had brought him to some of the highest peaks in the world. So it’s a rare treat to have him bring me on one of my most-anticipated paddles – beneath the soaring cliffs of Slieve League in Donegal.
Slieve League is a gentle giant. Standing some 600m tall, it soars almost three times higher than its more drama-prone cousin, the Cliffs of Moher (214m), and quietly dominates the Donegal coastline. Get beneath those cliffs in a kayak though and there’s no doubting which is the more powerful branch of the family. It has stood for millennia but feels as though it could uproot and engulf you at any moment.
Rockslides and collapsed caves prove that life still rages slowly beneath its surface but, bizarrely, it’s the tiny dotted sheep that have somehow found their way halfway down a sheer cliff face in search of richer grass that cause the most concern – perhaps only because you can appreciate how vulnerable they are when you are perched just as perilously upon the rolling Atlantic ocean.
And what an ocean. The Atlantic swell is magnificent here and I always look forward to it. As the sea rises beneath us again and again Forrest asks me if I find it intimidating – many people do. I don’t. I find it incredibly exciting to see this body of water rolling towards me, each huge wave gently lifting my boat and setting it down again as the water makes its endless passage to the coast. It’s not an experience you can fight.
AS A KAYAKER, learning to ride these waters is essential, Forrest explains. Calm the fear within and trust your training. It’s as much about conquering the psychology of the sport, he believes, as building skill and stamina.
He works with groups all across Donegal, including Gartan Outdoor Education Centre and knows the coastline intimately. So much so that one of his pet projects is to map the caves, islands and sea stacks around this area. No mean feat in one of the most pockmarked parts of the Irish coastline.
It’s this complexity that makes any Donegal paddle exciting and why paddlers dream of coming north. Forrest often hosts international groups here. It’s great to bring foreign paddlers here, he says, but it’s often more exciting to show local people their own coastline. He speaks with pride of bringing three men out to an island that they had watched from their homes on the mainland all their lives and the sense of responsibility he conveys to Donegal itself.
The sheer beauty of this part of Ireland is striking, he explains, but is at a remove to many in other parts of the Republic, isolated as it is in this far northern corner of Europe. This creates a beauty in itself – we’re alone on the water, free to take in the colours and light, the majesty of the hills, the fierce crashing waves and the sheltered glass-like bays.
I follow Forrest as he pushes in to the edges, skirting crashing waves, bouncing around rocky passages and reversing deep into caves. We have followed a relatively short route – around 14km in a circular passage out of Teelin pier, which sits on a beautiful bay in Teelin, some 20km from Killybegs.
We lunch on an isolated beach, unreachable to most other craft without swimming to shore. It’s a surf beach – the sea dumps onto the shore in huge breaking surf. It’s not my first time on a beach like this so I know not to be enticed by its beauty. Time the waves poorly and you can find your kayak spearing the sand. I watch Forrest, and try to replicate his rhythm as he chases a wave to shore. I time it a little off, the surf catches me, lifting me up and onto the shore. I watch my boat begin to spear the land, fearing for my fiberglass hull, but manage to pull it back and broach the land safely, pebbles scattering like rain all across my deck.
It’s a fabulous place to rest: beneath the cliffs themselves, literally between a rock and a hard place, where eagles soar and the rolling surf taunts us as we already begin to plan how we might escape again. And escape we do, facing into rain, then sunshine, then dark Donegal clouds until suddenly blue skies and hardly a breeze: the never-ending magic of Donegal weather.
We make it back to Teelin in perfect time. As we’re packing up our boats, a car pulls up with kayaks on top, its occupants arriving in Donegal after the long haul from Dublin. They’re delighted to find Brian Forrest on the pier. It’s not just the excitement of arriving in Donegal, they’ve also stumbled on an old friend – a Scotsman that they know has Donegal in his blood.
* northwestseakayaking.ie
All about Slieve League cliffs, Co Donegal
THIS IS one of the premier sea kayaking trips in Ireland.
The 13km stretch of coast from Teelin to Malin Beg is a fine example of exposed and committing Atlantic kayaking.
After leaving the attractive harbour at Teelin, the route leads westwards toward Carrigan Head. The views explode on the eyes as one rounds Carrigan. The cliffs are magnificent from sea level as they arc their way westwards in a kaleidoscope of colours.
Slieve League is the gateway to Donegal sea kayaking. The combination of quartzite and gneiss geology has resulted in a wonderful visual mixture of weathered scree slopes amid the greens, yellows and purples of western gorse and heathers.
The sea has eroded a myriad of coastal features. Caves, cliffs, stacks all vie for exploration by the kayaker. Waterfalls tumble off sheer cliff faces to the sea and provide a welcome drenching on a warm day.
There are beautiful storm beaches tucked away under the cliff edges, many perfect for a quiet coffee or a swim. This coast deserves time to savour and many kayakers start and finish at Teelin just to prolong the enjoyment!
On a good day, one may be lucky to have a close encounter with basking sharks or sunfish at sea while high above on the cliffs peregrine falcons, rock doves, chough and the elusive ring ouzel may be seen. As walkers on the upper slopes struggle on One Man’s Pass to gain the summit views, the sea kayaker below has a unique perspective on this special place.
The Slieve League route requires good planning from sea kayakers as the exposed coast is open to Atlantic weather and swell, and reflected waves off the cliffs can weaken even the strongest stomachs!
Visiting kayakers need to be of level three-to-four standard, fit and experienced in handling big sea conditions.
* Seán Pierce is a level-five sea kayaker and selected the routes for this series. E-mail Sean@shearwaterseakayaking.ie.
SEÁN PIERCE