Anyone who knows me knows I’m obsessed with the sea and a big believer in ‘Blue Mind’ (the mildly meditative state brought on when near, in, on, or underwater). You’ll regularly find me down at the Forty Foot, transformed into a big kid living her best mermaid life. One thing I wanted to try out for ages is stand up paddleboarding, so when I heard that the guys from BigStyle were opening their SUP school in Dun Laoghaire I was stalking their Instagram to see when we could go down. You’ll know from a previous post that I stayed in the BigStyle Atlantic Lodge last year and had an amazing time, so I knew we’d be in good hands.
Where in Dun Laoghaire?
You’ll find the lads in the car park of the West Pier in Dun Laoghaire. The stand up paddleboarding school is easy to spot as it’s made up of large shipping containers and looks unbelievable (see image above). It’s super accessible, there is loads of parking in the area (heads up: it’s paid, so bring a few euro for that) and if you’re on public transport, there are bus routes and a dart station a few minutes walk away.
What’s involved?
If you’ve tried stand up paddleboarding before, they offer rentals for β¬25 for an hour and a half (includes SUP, wetsuit and buoyancy aid). If, like me, you’re new to the world of SUP, you can book in for an hour and a half long lesson for just β¬45 (*pricing at time of posting). We went out in the evening to enjoy the sun setting at the end of our lesson.
We arrived down 15 minutes before our lesson, as requested. Our instructor Peter talked through all the safety measures, COVID measures, and kitted us out in our wetsuits and life jackets. With all of that done, we wandered towards the water. I was a little nervous because my balance isn’t the best and I’m possibly the least coordinated person on the planet but onto the water we went.
Dun Laoghaire Harbour is the perfect place to test out your stand up paddleboarding skills as it’s so sheltered and calm. When we got out on the water Peter showed us how to paddle properly and how to do some basic turns. We did a lap of the harbor, testing out some new skills along the way. I’ll admit, I started getting a bit cocky so Peter challenged us to try some more advanced turns and that’s when I came crashing back down to earth (or into the water in this case). I got my first full turn done, gloated, and then faceplanted into the water π€£ Honestly though, it all just added to the fun and the experience.
By the end of the lesson, I was feeling really comfortable on the board and was confident that I could steer my way around and most importantly get back on if I fell off… π€£ I’ll definitely be back down to the lads soon to rent some boards for some chilled out fun on the water. Check out the BigStyle website if you’d like to book in or find out more about stand up paddleboard lessons or rentals in Dun Laoghaire or the Atlantic Lodge.
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