Book info

• Title Paddle
• Author Jasper Winn
• Year 2011
• Genre Travel

One summer, writer and musician, Jasper Winn set himself an extraordinary task. He would kayak the whole way round Ireland - a thousand miles - camping on remote headlands and islands, carousing in bars and paddling clockwise until he got back where he started. But in the worst Irish summer in living memory the pleasures of idling among seals, fulmars and fishing boats soon gave way to heroic struggles through storm-tossed seas ... and lock-ins playing music in coastal pubs. Circling the country where he grew up, Jasper reflects on life at the very fringes of Ireland, the nature and lore of its seas, and his own eccentric upbringing - sprung from school at age ten and left free to explore the countryside and its traditional life.

Thoughts

I picked this up in a recent Kindle sale. I like a good travelogue, but there are so many out there, it’s hard to know which one to try without a bit of a prod. I love Ireland, and having just watched a lot of kayaking in the Olympics, the two things came together to make a very interesting read.

Jasper’s style of writing is immediately friendly, engaging and open - describing how he came to be doing this challenge, all by himself, at this time of life. It was painfully honest, tons of detail, and we had only just got started on the journey!

At first, I was worried that all the constant paddling would get boring - how many chapters can you read about heading out to sea and then back to land? It turns out, quite a lot. There’s plenty of additional information, about Irish landmarks, about the history and hospitality of local towns and villages, about Jasper’s own personal relationship with these places, and with the sea. It’s fascinating, and almost makes me want to try a bit of paddling for myself!

Rating: 4 / 5