Easkey:

In a region of stunning natural beauty dominated by the Ox mountains, unspoiled rural landscape, plenty of ancient buildings in different states of ruination and a spectacular and wild coast, You´ll find the little town of Easkey. Located at the banks of the Easkey river, it hosts a little harbour, a nice 18th century abbey and the ruins of Roslea castle. Naturally there´s a couple of pubs too. Accomodations are plenty from camping to self catering to bed & breakfast. According to Your budget You can camp right in front of the ruined tower. The Irish surfing Association together with the local comunity have even put up toilets and showers. They´re not in the best state anymore but still are very helpfull if You have put up Your tent here.

If You need it more comfortable check the Bed and Breakfast house just behind the spot. It would be a good idea to make reservations during the main season though.

Fishing for salmon used to be the most exciting outdoor sport here until legendary surf travelers Craig Peterson and Kevin Naughton found themselves here back in the '70s and were surfprised by a fantastic view. The castle in the foreground only intensified the image of the incoming  perfect lines held in form by the offshore winds until they collapsed in beautiful shape over the reef.

The pics from Peterson and Naughton appeared in the major surf mags and quickly were followed by more images of perfection which made many surfers putting Easkey and the area far up on their list of  places to go. This led to more dense crowds in the lineup and, as we heared, to some fairly serious localism. A group calling themselves "The Soul Surfers" is reported to have taken to putting anti-camera pamphlets on people's cars and have harrassed pro surfers trying to get The Shot. It's not violent or anything, just growing pains in a small, rural area which has attracted surfers for decades and now realizes the magic it has.

When we traveled there we found nothing like this. Instead we found very friendly vibes in a multinational lineup. But do Your best to keep this a peacefull place and be respectful to local people and culture.

Surfing: the place is one of the biggest swell magnets in the area and when it´s on, the flat rock reefs deliver a beautiful left and, with bigger swells, a wourld class right.

Easkey left works with all tides and has a fairly easy paddle out just left of the harbour wall. With the right swell - northwest is best - it can provide long rides. The predominant southwest winds come sideoffshore.

Easkey right needs a little more swell, again best from the northwest. It works on all tides but at low tide it can produce very nice tubes. Best wind driection is southwest to west.

If these two class breaks ever get too crowded, take a little walk to the west or east and You´ll find plenty of more excellent reefs that still wait to be surfed. Access isn´t that easy there but it might be worth the effort.

windsurfing: can get magic with the right conditions. Look for a westerly wind. But be aware: this is serious wavesailing that requires experience!

check out the galleries (the place and surfsessions at Easkey left and Easkey right) for more impressions!

Thanks a lot to Timo for delivering words and pics and making me go to this place!

check this for accurate forecasts: