After a very stressful and difficult week, we decided that since the salmon were running, it was time that a little break from normal life was called for. So we packed up the camper and headed to Easkey in Co. Sligo, for a final trip away before the kids return to school next week. I have posted about Easkey before, saying that it was my most favourite place in the world and that is still the case.
When we arrived we parked in our usual place right along the coast next to the rocks. From here the sea can be deafening at times when the tide comes in and the waves beat against the rugged rocks a mere 7m from the camper. The picture above is what is visible from the right hand window of the camper. It is the wildness of the sea that makes here the only place where I can find true peace and tranquillity. I can empty my mind and just let it go with the ebb and flow of the tide.
I love to sit on my favourite rock with a cup of tea in my hand and the dog leaning close against my legs, face into the sea and let be free from any stress. I close my eyes and let the wind carry me up high into the sky like the gulls where I can soar and glide with them in the powerful Atlantic winds and watch the salmon waiting in the bay for the next high tide so that they can swim up the river and return to their birthplace to spawn. I can hear the waves beat below me and feel the fresh salty air in my lungs.
People I know have come here with their kids and returned to tell me that it was boring with nothing to do and no proper shops in the tiny little village. But if they just opened their eyes it is all here for the taking. Nature in it's rawest from. The ocean on one side, the mountains towering behind, a beautiful river running down the centre and some of the friendliest people I have ever met.
The men in the family head off to the river to chase the elusive salmon and sea trout, hoping that this will be the day that they will catch the big one on the fly. Myself and Lucy head off down the coast on our bikes with my camera in hand ready to shoot. We walk the cliffs and rocks and search for fossils, which are in abundance in this area. We also have started a new collection of sea glass this summer and this is proving to be a lot of fun as it is much harder to find in this around here. We have all been very competitive to see who could find the most and who had the biggest array of colours.
To say that I find this place magical would be a major understatement. I love being this close to nature and what I love even more is that my kids adore it too. As soon as the summer holidays start, they begin to beg to visit here and we do come as often as we can. Our hearts break for it when the end of the season comes in September knowing that we will not be returning until the following May.
We have been coming here for about ten years now and every time that I visit, I fall in love with it even more. Can you tell??
Rosie xx
PS The only thing that I would say about sleeping in a camper so close to the sea means that I could literally wee for a national team!!! The sound of all that water!!
