Lough Gill, November 14th ⋆ Kayak Diary

Went on a group trip with Dave Glasgow and around 8 others at Lough Gill today. It’s a really beautiful place. The lakeshore has some stretches that are completely wild, with decades (probably more than a hundred years) of growth. There’s a wide variety of trees and bushes covering the land, with water-tolerant plants and trees growing off the banks. Mosses and ferns cover the rocks and the trees themselves have lichens growing in thick tufts all along their branches.

Lichen-covered trees at the mouth of the Bonet

It was a dull and quiet day, weather-wise, but that had its own charm. We did a circuit of about half of the lake, going part-way up the river Bonet and later stopping on both Inishfree and Church Island; the latter for a lunch stop.

We didn’t see much in the way of animal life; mostly mallards and a heron or two. A couple of people said they saw an otter, but they were far behind me at the time.

This was my first time out on a lake since Paddy and I went to Lough Ennell years ago. I love the placidness of lake water, though it did blow up quite a bit later on, so there were significant enough waves. I also loved the peaty smell I caught a few times, and the tea-coloured water – so different from being on the sea.

One thing that really struck me was how much I would like to live somewhere like that – more isolated, more quiet and closer to nature. I don’t know if it will be possible, but that draw towards silence and immediate access to a peaceful, beautiful location was strong at Lough Gill as well as at Rosmoney on my previous trip.

The people on the trip were great – chatty and friendly and welcoming. Dave was really sound in particular. He had already gotten in touch with me to give me some advice about my Rosmoney trip, and invited me along to the Lough Gill one at the same time. He originally offered to drive me up there too, but I ended up driving us both as his car needed repairs. We chatted most of the time each way, though my hearing made it difficult at times.

When dropping Dave off he showed me his collection of kayaks – about 10. They’re a real mix of styles, designs and ages. If you had nothing but time and nearby water it would be amazing to be able to spend time learning how each one paddles.

I feel really lucky to have such an easy and available way to meet new people and socialise comfortably. It almost feels like I’ve been here ages – maybe it’s just the familiarity with the context; getting kitted up, helping people lift their boats, discussing lunch-stops etc. But it means an awful lot to me to be able to spend time with lots of other people without significant awkwardness.