River Severn

River Stour

River Thames, St Patrick's Stream, River Loddon

The three of us, Colin Graham, Dennis Rice and George Bryans, are long-term members of the Banbridge Kayak and Canoe Club, better known as BKCC. In February 2007 the three of us were kayaking on one of our Saturday paddles when George decided it would be a good idea to paddle the circumference of the largest fresh water Lough in the British Isles.

We started training and doing long day trips on the coast and the loughs in N. Ireland and decided to do the paddle to raise money for a Down’s syndrome football club in the city of Lisburn.

History of the lough
Lough Neagh is an amazing sight. It's Britain's biggest area of freshwater at 20 miles long and 12 miles wide. The lough has an average depth of almost 40 feet, which is relatively shallow for its enormous size, has six major rivers flowing into it, collectively drain more than 40% of Northern Ireland and holds approximately 3.5 million million litres of water, which is more like an inland sea. Its sheer size makes it a great place to see wildlife. This large expanse of water is ice-free during winter making it a number one holiday destination for wintering birds escaping the Arctic cold of Greenland, Iceland and Norway.

Day two
The day had finally arrived. We started to place all our gear into the sea kayaks from dry clothes to first aid equipment. At 11am we called the coastguard for the local weather update and to tell them what we were doing for the next few days. Friday’s forecast was for clear skies with rain later on in the evening, Saturday dry and low cloud, which made the air pressure high and Sunday being dry with light winds.

So we started to paddle out of Kinnegoe Harbour, a 15-minute paddle to the edge of the Lough. We set out into the Lough and if the weather report was to be correct it was to be an enjoyable paddle to the first of the day’s pit stops: Coney Island. We had a light head on wind, which was most cooling. After lunch we were off again and after an hour in the boats we could see some dark clouds heading in our direction. The water was still calm with light side winds and showers of rain to cool us down, however, for the last two miles the sky darkened and we had a downpour. We finally made it to the end of day one and had covered a third of the trip, which placed the three of us on a high.

Day two
The Lough was very calm (too calm) and with no wind and warm air we could bring the short sleeves out and put the wet gear away. Day two was going to be the hardest (mentally). After paddling for two hours in calm waters and no noise to be heard we got to the small town of Ballyronan. From this point we had to cross the shipping area outside Toome, which is the northern point of the Lough.

As we got to the other side we paddled in and out of the bays trying not to disturb the wildlife. The clouds had lifted and the sun was out and we were getting closer to the place in which we where going to have lunch, stopping at a small jetty in Cranfield Bay. As soon as we got out of the kayaks the rain started, however it didn’t stop us from resting and getting some food. The rain calmed and we started off again. So far we had paddled 13 miles and with six miles to go before stopping for the day. As we approached Randalstown Forest we had to ferry glide across the River Main, which was in flood. Going on around the next corner we could see our destination of Antrim Sailing Club, three miles in the distance. Sometimes the only way to help each other was to break up the time and have a bit of harmless fun on the way.

George led the way into land and thanks to a dear friend of his we could use the facilities the sailing club. The best part of the day was the nice cool pint at the bar (and free too). After two days of paddling we had covered 44 miles in total.

Day three
The morning of day three was not what we wanted. The wind was coming across the lough with a Force 5/7, which was to calm down to a 3/4 later. At 9.30am we set off with the point which we were aiming for seven miles away, which should have taken us just over two hours. However, after two hours we had 2.5 miles still to go. With the strong wind hitting us on the side it was basically a couple of strokes and then low brace over the waves. I could see a small group of rocks and tall trees on top and thought we could rest behind them for a moment. As I was the closest to the isle I surfed in backwards which I didn’t mean to do. George paddled in from the bank and three minutes later Dennis finally landed. At this stage the wind was picking so we kept close to the edge of the lough but we had to paddle out 200 yards to get around the rocks so we could get into the bay. Some people do not believe us when we tell them that the waves at this point were about 10/12 feet. The only fun part after the rocks was to surf into the bay.

Rams Island was in sight and with it being one mile in length it gave us good shelter for a while. We had lunch and changed into wet gear for the last seven miles and two points with bays. The only thing between the points and the bays was the white water in the lough.

Tolans point was ahead, where on a good day you can paddle the section in 30 minutes but with the weather it took 80 minutes to get back to the entrance of the harbour. The smiles on our faces were full of relief as we paddled the last mile in calm waters.

The whole 70-mile trip took 16 hours 30 minutes of paddling time and three hours in lunch stops.

George, Dennis and I would like to say thanks to all who help in many ways.

Colin Graham

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