SPECIAL OFFER! Our Five for Five special offer applies to all weekend – bring four of your rowing friends to enjoy 5% off! Do a little crew or club bonding with rowing travel.
This is a reminder, right now, for those of you who are working too hard, that you need to change things up sooner than later and start doing more of what you love. Also, why shouldn’t hard work be about physical exertion and fine food consumed in a bucolic setting. So, we’d like to turn your attention to four fabulous weekends worth living for. Spoiler alert: rowing is involved.
Depending on where you live, you can row somewhere beautiful and different with virtually no time off work. It may be easier to join us on your own if your spouse doesn’t row, so there is no need to forego longer shared holiday plans.
Our weekend rowing trips run in Ireland, Canada or France in June, September or October. We promise three or more days of rowing on magnificent waters, and typically, two nights’ quality accommodation, two breakfasts, lunches and dinners, use of quality rowing shells, guide services and tour support, all starting at US$233/€190/day.
Ireland Weekend: Galway and Lough Corrib, June
How much can you pack into one weekend? A lot if you are travelling to the western reaches of Ireland and the counties Galway and Mayo. In just three days we will move between city and country. First we will enjoy time in charming and colourful Galway, where the pubs pulse with traditional music and friends sharing a pint of Guinness or a local ale. Then, we move on to the wild and rugged countryside of Connemara. This is some of the most famous and stunningly beautiful scenery in this country of spectacular sights. Big rounded mountains fold into valleys winding to nowhere, lakes and bogs fill the creases in green hills, and everywhere stone walls enclose sheep dotted with colourful splotches. Even the rowing is a study in contrasts. We begin with a spin on the shortest river in Europe. The setting is urban. The next two rows are on the Republic of Ireland’s biggest lake. The feel is much more remote. All in one weekend!
Canada Weekend: Prince Edward Island, June/July
Famous for lobster suppers, potato fields and Anne of Green Gables, Prince Edward Island, affectionately known as PEI, is Canada’s smallest province. We have packaged up a small sample of the best of PEI: red cliffs and green fields, friendly people and wonderful food. We will row, eat very well, visit local sites and attractions and also have time to relax and enjoy our restful surroundings. Though this trip is five days long, ending on Canada Day, it is still a short and sweet summer rowing holiday.
The coastal waters of PEI are our playground with many options to choose from. Enjoy two nights in the capital and two nights at a provincial park and resort. We will launch right in downtown Charlottetown and row the harbour, seeing this historical city from the water. Then off for a little Island living, to explore the stunning red shoreline, stroll high sand dunes, smell the salty air and listen to the waves washing in on the many expansive beaches of this small island province. Did we mention lobster?
France Weekend: Lot River, September
We spend three days descending the Lot River, rowing through an ancient landscape of dramatic cliffs, perched villages, walnut farms and vineyards. The Lot used to be used for transportation, and as with so many rivers, was supplanted by railways and roads. In the last few decades, navigation has returned to the rivers, with locks re-opened allowing us to explore one of the most beautiful rivers in France. We begin in the Parc Naturel Régional des Causses du Quercy. Cave entrances can be glimpsed and you can imagine pre-historic hunters and gatherers who left mysterious paintings of mammoths, antelopes and their hands, hidden deep in the rocks. The most famous castle is Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, a stunning site best appreciated from the water. Walnut groves fill the few flat stretches before we reach the vineyards named for the city of Cahors. The spectacular Pont Valentré is over 700 years old and classified as a UNESCO world heritage site, just another of the many features packed into this weekend.
In a country famous for its food and wine, the Southwest is particularly renowned and September is the perfect time. The hearty but refined food of duck confit or magret de canard, patés, and walnut pastries is perfect for our fall row. Cahors wine is deep red, with an intensity of flavour similar to Malbec. Morning mists and cool and crisp evenings beckon.
Ireland Weekend: Ancient East, October
We will row three different venues in eastern Ireland, beginning with Blessington Lake, and then moving down to Rivers Barrow and Nore. Each has a distinctive character. Blessington, the location of many national regattas, is dramatically overlooked by the Wicklow Mountains. River Barrow is one of Waterways Ireland’s navigable rivers, and is a delightful twisting river touching the borders of three counties. The Nore is the little sister to the Barrow, an intimate rowing experience.
The sunny south-east corner of Ireland is a lovely verdant land sheltering a rich history that began thousands of years ago. It is a land of legends and stories, written in every stone and shared in the music played in the pubs. Our base is Graiguenamanagh which showcases its own distinctive heritage from the 800-year-old Duiske Abbey to the still thriving Cushendale Woollen Mills. And then there is Doyle’s. A pub and a hardware store all in one – why not?
Besides giving you a different kind of hard work, we hope that taking an extended weekend to work hard on a spectacular rowing trip will be infinitely more rewarding. At the very least, it will deliver a rejuvenating jolt to the soul. That’s living for your life.
Share This Blog Post
