Swimmers urged to support village bids for beach awards

22 July 2015

SIX villages along the Lecale coast are inviting swimmers to join them next month to celebrate heir beautiful beaches.

The Lecale Big Swim and Paddle is part of an ongoing campaign to persuade the Department of the Environment to back a drive for EU Bathing Water status for the beaches.

The Big Swim will take place on August 1st at Killough, Coney Island, Ballyhornan and Kilclief beaches. The first bathers will be entering the water at 11.30am at Killough and the final swim will take place at Kilclief at 2.15pm.

A 50-seater bus has even been laid on from Newcastle, and half the seats have already been taken by the Newcastle Sea Swimmers Club who are coming along to support the event. The bus will travel from beach to beach encouraging people at each place to take the plunge - seats are available on a first come, first served basis for anyone who does not want to join a convoy of cars.

The times have been staggered to allow people to go from beach to beach and follow the tide on the Saturday morning. The times are:

• Killough Beach 11.30am – car-park on main street

• Coney Island Beach 12.15 – limited parking – share cars and park on main road

• Ballyhornan Beach below beach car park 1.15

• Kilclief Beach below beach car park 2.15

The Strangford and Kilclief Residents Associations are organising a barbecue for anyone who manages to get to the last beach at Kilclief about 2.30 and will be ably supported by members of the Ballyhornan Development Association.

Big Paddle and Swim organiser Cadogan Enright explained: “To qualify for EU bathing water status we need one picture a year with a minimum of 45 people in the water or two pictures of 100 people on the beach. Saturdays ‘Big Paddle and Swim’ is to give a big publicity boost to this years campaign ahead of nominating our local beaches later this year.

“We are looking for dozens of photos for every beach including 100’s of local people and visitors using our local beaches. Last year a fantastic 500 people turned out and we want to beat this figure this year on all four beaches”.

Newcastle swimmer, Pamela McCleland, says wild swimming keeps her healthy and is good for the soul.

“Some people swim outdoors for their mental and physical health and when you have such a beautiful environment it is a great way to get out and experience it, alone or in a group,” she said.

Caroline Nolan, from the Strangford Lough and Lecale Partnership (SLLP), said the partnership is getting more and more enquiries about wild swimming, with people wanting to find new ways to experience our coastal waters.

“Lecale’s Big Swim though is about families and people of all abilities just having some fun and supporting local people to get recognition for their fantastic beaches.”

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