Paddle Back in Time – The Monks, the Vikings and the Smugglers of Strangford Lough
Event Details
This award-winning event (National Heritage Week 2021) will take you on a kayak adventure to Mahee Island following a traditional smuggling route undertaken by Daft Eddie and the Merry Hearts.
In Whiterock, you will be kitted out with wetsuit and buoyancy aid and briefed by local guide and kayak instructor Rory Martin. Rory grew up on Strangford Lough and has a real affinity and knowledge of the area, its waterways and heritage.
At Mahee Island Dr. Sarah Baccianti – researcher in literature and history of medieval Scandinavia – will guide you through the ruins of the monastic site of Nendrum, life in the monastery in the Middle Ages, and the role played by the Vikings in the Strangford Lough area between the 9th and 11th centuries. Dr Frances Kane – linguist fluent in Irish language and a researcher in the origins of Northern Ireland’s place names for the project Place Names NI and OS200 – will guide you through the stories behind the place names of the area.