Swimmers are spoilt for choice in the West

At some stage of our evolution, we humans came out of the water. And the signs are on us. As soon as we get back into it, we become animated, playful, and our minds are at ease. Our skins even take on a glow from the water.

When we eventually emerge, the after-effect lingers. Watch people when they have just got out of the water and they have the smug look of people heading out the gate after their club just beat the neighbouring parish.

Every child should be able to swim, and across our region through the summer many children and young people will have learned swimming and water safety techniques. Could you think of a better job for a young person than to be delivering that training? It will certainly stand to them when they do interviews for jobs once school or college or training is done.

Swimming is for me a late vocation. With little enough else to do during the Covid, I tried the water. I’d hardly come out anymore, though many would say that it is much too cold to swim around here. But that misses another aspect of human evolution: we adapt pretty quickly. If you swim every day even in just the summer in the west, you will actually become what we often claim to be: hardy.

When you swim like that for a few weeks, you can stand under a cold shower without a bother. And if you then don’t swim for a few weeks and stand under the same shower, you’ll regret it.

The very hardiest go in every day, heedless of the calendar. To those people you would have to say, borrowing a chorus from AC/DC: for those about to rock, we salute you. For myself, and those who don’t fancy a winter swim, knowing the calendar is important. The swimming season is a little later than the normal summer, as the water stays warmer into autumn, which is because it takes a long time to warm up, and then that little bit longer to lose the bit of warmth. That means May to the end of October works for me and for people all across the West. You don’t even have to hope for weather in order to do it. A little bit of rain hardly harms you when you are within in the Atlantic.

So, as school has returned and the holidays end, we can still enjoy the ‘swimming summer’ for a while anyway.

Some of our hidden gems will have closed now after the summer, but that is all the more reason to make sure they are on your list for next year. Kilmovee has an indoor swimming pool which is, in my opinion, the marvel of the western world. If you haven’t been in the village of Kilmovee lately, swing by and see what can be done with a small village in the countryside. It’s a very pleasant spot. But the swimming pool isn’t even in the ‘urban’ part of the village. It’s hidden away in the countryside – Google Maps will find it for you – and it is a perfectly good pool, with a roof, which on any summer’s day will be full of people – young people especially – enjoying themselves.

Our outdoor swimming pools are also worth a visit. The one in Charlestown, heated and extremely well maintained, is perhaps the best example. The people of Charlestown have long maintained (and closely guarded) this hidden gem. All throughout the summer months, the pool is packed with morning classes and afternoon open swims. It’s a fantastic resource, as well as providing great employment and work experience for the very responsible young lifeguards who work there. One of the key age profiles it is particularly good for is the slightly younger one: for parents who have 12-15-year-old kids, too young to work, but plenty old enough to be bored, a few hours at the pool each day is a great distraction and activity. If anyone worries about inactivity and lack of fitness or poor mood among young people, a few lengths of a pool each day will go a long way to address that.

There is another outdoor pool in Ballyhaunis, which is impressive, though it’s not heated – at least it wasn’t when I was last there. So Ballyhaunis is where you go when it is warm or when you are hardy, but once you have gotten in, it has the advantage that the temperature will encourage you to vigorous activity. You will not stand still for long. Don’t forget these places next summer.

It may surprise readers to learn that Dublin has nothing like this. Outdoor swimming pools exist in Dublin, but for the size of the population, they are as rare as hen’s teeth. It amazes my Dublin friends when I tell them about their existence west of the Shannon. They must originally have had something to do with how far the place was from the sea, but it is hard to think of any town, anywhere, which does not have an existing pool, where they would not make a great addition to a community. You open it in summer and close it down again over the winter. What’s not to like?

But what if you like the seawater? A gem of an option for those who would like the sea but are more used to swimming pools is the Belmullet Tidal Pool, which only recently celebrated 40 years providing salty swims to Erris and its many visitors. And that is before you mention any of the beaches around Erris, one better than the next, though Elly Bay is my own favourite. Enniscrone at the pier is another favourite spot of mine.

All across our county there is obviously no shortage of spots for sea swimming, much warmer now than they were in June. An additional advantage of a swim from this time of year on is that you are far less likely to encounter jellyfish, which no one likes to come across on their dip.

Louisburgh is a favourite spot for me as it has a beach for every kind of need. Carramore is great for smallies, Carrowinskey for the brave, Cross for those who like the long-isolated walk, Silver Strand for those who want an early glimpse of Heaven. If you fancy a weekend of high adventure, climb Mweelrea (only on a very good day) and finish it off with a swim at the strand. As they say, sell that to Dubs and you will make a fortune.

Of course, there are also beautiful lake spots all across the county, but if you really want heaven, head to one of the islands. A swim on Inishturk before your breakfast is the perfect way to wake up in the morning. Wherever you swim, do it safely, don’t do anything reckless, don’t ever swim in places where others don’t – and enjoy keeping active even as the nights draw in.