2023 LCC Celtic Sea Kayaking Trip Day 11 Tuesday – Ardgroom Harbour to Coornagillagh by Andy Garland
We had completed ten days of paddling amongst the wonderfully diverse coast and waterways of Ireland. However, I have to admit that my memory is not as good as it used to be, and each day started to merge into another. The following description might therefore contain some inaccurate recollections. It might also contain some bits that I’ve blatantly made up!
We had camped for the night on a spit of land that formed a natural breakwater to Ardgroom Harbour. The day dawned with a bright blue sky (possibly) and I was soon tucking into a breakfast of scrambled egg and smoked salmon, washed down with orange juice and freshly ground coffee (or it might have been a Morrisons Breakfast Bar that had disintegrated in its wrapper, with some instant coffee – not too sure).
Anyway, we had soon broken camp and packed everything into our kayaks for the final leg of our four-day trip in the Kenmare Estuary. The sun beat down mercilessly as we made our way out of the harbour (or then again it might have been chilly with a touch of drizzle). Steering a straight course was not easy as we had to constantly dodge pods of Orca and/or seaweed covered rocks (it was one of the two, but can’t exactly remember).
The views were superb – to our west lay the Atlantic Ocean, with the Statue of Liberty clearly visible on the horizon (maybe) while to the north the hills of the curiously named MacGillycuddy’s Reeks rose into the cloud. The MacGillycuddy’s Reeks includes most of the highest peaks and sharpest ridges in Ireland, and the only peaks on the island over 1,000 metres high (that bit wasn’t made up).
The miles slipped away easily, and the party was in good spirits because of my endless supply of novel and hilarious jokes (that bit’s definitely true, probably).
We stopped for Elevenses at a sheltered beach near Ardea Castle, and the group eventually allowed me to land, as long as I promised not to tell any more jokes. After a leisurely rest, we carried on to reunite with our vehicles at Coornagillagh Beach. The boats and kit were quickly loaded onto and into the cars and we set off on the next part of our Celtic adventure.
