At the height of lockdown, the options of things to do were pretty limited. Paint, do up the back garden, watch box sets, eat too much chocolate, or go for a walk. That was what my lockdown looked like anyway.
I love walking, and I'm really lucky to live close to the Dublin/Wicklow mountains where there are endless options when it comes to walking. Pre-coronavirus, if I ever wanted to get out for some fresh air and a stroll, the mountains were my go-to spot.
However, when the 2km travel limit was in place, I had to make some changes and, as it happened, Tymon Park was the next best option.
It was somewhere I quickly learned to fall love with. A place of total calm in the middle of the strangest situation we’ll all (hopefully) ever go through. Somewhere away from the news, or twitter or incessant WhatsApp notifications.
It was one day when I was in Tymon park that I crossed over a small stream. It’s a stream I had passed over every day during lockdown, and probably hundreds of times in the few years previous too, but while trying to distract myself from the events of 2020, I began to let my mind wander.
"I wonder where that river actually goes," I thought, walking home. Once I got through the front door and picked up my laptop, I quickly realised that I didn’t even know the name of the river.
Google Maps informed me that it was The River Poddle.
Fast forward a couple of months and that little thought I had while walking in Tymon park is now an episode of our new series Go Outside and Play - Local Adventures. You’ll see from our episode that the River Poddle was an interesting choice of rivers, to say the least.
As soon as I began to follow it, I realised that a lot of its course actually flows underground. The clip below will give you an idea of the game of hide and seek I ended up engaged in with the River Poddle:
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So in a year where we’ve all spent a lot of time exploring our localities and holidaying at home, I want to make a case for why following a river is such a great adventure. You see, it’s not just a case of finding out where the river ends up - it’s about the places it will bring you along the way that you might not realise were even there.
By their very nature, rivers are bodies that will take you to interesting places. Cities and towns are built upon them, but because we now have networks of Motorways and Dual Carriageways, they’re often places we bypass in course of our day to day lives.
You don’t even need to follow a river from its source to its mouth if you don’t want to. Even if you decide to stroll along one section, it is almost guaranteed to bring you somewhere new, somewhere interesting, somewhere beautiful.
The other great thing is that I would bet my house that there’s a river very close to you wherever in the country you’re reading this. There are over 3,000 rivers in Ireland and over 70,000km worth of waterways to explore.
If you’re looking for a pre-planned route that’s ready and waiting, your local river is probably a good place to start.
I really hope watching our episode of Go Outside and Play - Local Adventures on RTÉ Player will help convince you why this is such a worthwhile adventure to undertake. And if it is something you think is right up your street, here are some tips to help you along the way.
1. Plan ahead
When I say this, I mean doing some research to see what you’re getting yourself in for. Will your route take you through towns, or over mountains. This will help you dress accordingly. Similarly, do a recce on Google maps to see what parts of the river are safely accessible.
2. Consider your transport
This is important to consider, depending on how you want to explore your chosen river. For example, if you plan on walking, how far do you think you’ll go? Will there be transport that you can take to bring you back? Do you need to organise a lift? If your chosen river will be suitable to explore by bike, then that may help in terms of the homeward journey. The main thing is to consider all these things before setting out so that you’re not caught short at the end of your journey.
3. Make sure you have permission
Rivers by their very nature are meandering beasts that can take you everywhere and anywhere - including on to private land. If that’s the case and you don’t have permission to be there, consult your map and see where the next accessible point to follow the river is and make your way there. This is where research online will be key. As you’ll see from our episode of Go Outside and Play I learned this the hard way.
4. Scale up or scale down
Similar to the other adventures in our series, this one is completely scalable. You could choose to follow the stream at the back of your house which might only bring you a few hundred metres. You could choose a smaller tributary that might take you a couple of hours to explore. Or you could use a larger river as the route for a walking or cycling holiday, spending a number of days following its course.
5. Stay Safe
This is the most important piece of advice. The most important part of undertaking an adventure like this is to never ever put yourself in a dangerous situation. This is where research beforehand will be crucial. Most rivers will have large sections where there is plenty of paths/roads you can safely explore them from. Never ever interact with a river unless it’s at a designated viewing/crossing point. It’s just not worth the risk.
Watch the full series of Go Outside and Play: Local Adventures on RTÉ Player now.
