This article is from page 20 of the 2012-03-06 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 20 JPG
EAST Clare could soon become Ireland’s destination of choice for canoe and kayak trails following new proposal to first map, and then open up the scores of rivers and lakes in the area to tourists.
North Clare canoe enthusiast and businessman, Fergus Brogan, is currently at an advanced stage of negotiations with LEADER and the Clare LDC and, all going well, a canoe trail could be up and running in area before this summer.
“There was a book published last year, the first major list of canoe trails in Ireland, and there was not one trail at all in Clare. That got me thinking. It is crazy that a place like Clare, that has so much water, has no real canoe infrastructure. There is 30 lakes within a 10 mile radius of Peppers Pub in Feakle – 30 lakes and not one of them has ever seen a canoe,” said Fergus. “That is just one area. This is a major major resource that is not being tapped at the moment. I would estimate that there must be more than hundreds of lakes in East Clare alone – along the path of the Scariff River. I am going to be the first person to paddle the full length of the Scariff River.
“I know that the English tourists would absolute love to come to East Clare and go canoeing with their family. I am talking about an area between the M18 and the River Shannon – this is an area which at the moment has very little tourism and something like this could really get it going.”
Fergus is hoping to begin by developing between 10 and 20 recognised canoe routes in East Clare. This would require mapping the routes as well as collecting some valuable information for the canoeists such as the distance and time needed for each route, a details description of the routes and any points of interest or facilities along the way.
“I have been talking to LEADER and they do seem keen about the idea. The beauty about this is that with a very reasonable amount of investment you could have a product in place and ready to go very quickly,” continued Fergus.
“You don’t need signpost or things like you might need for a walking trail. It would be very very each to get this off the ground.”