Marine Magic
The therapeutic benefits of seaweed baths have been popular in Ireland for centuries. Deanna O’Connor recommends her favourites around the country.
It’s a funny thing, seaweed. If I’m going for a swim, I’ll screech like a banshee if a toe so much as comes in contact with a strand of it as I wade through the shallows — but ask me to hand over some money for the pleasure of communing with a bath full of it and I’ll happily oblige. Once I got over my fear of seaweed I discovered that sliding into a steaming bath full of it to relax and unwind is truly an unmissable experience, so much so, I’ve become quite the connoisseur of Ireland’s seaweed bath selection and I’d like to share some of my favourites with you. Seaweed baths have been popular in Ireland since Edwardian times, with the hot water causing the seaweed to emit all its oozy goodness, which is reputed to have great benefits for softening the skin and soothing conditions such as psoriasis and eczema. It also aids aching muscles and stiff joints, including rheumatism and arthritis.
Seaweed is packed full of minerals, containing calcium, potassium, zinc and high levels of iodine, which has antiseptic properties — all of which are absorbed by our skin. Indeed, the ultimate seaweed bath uses heated seawater, which also has high levels of magnesium As my mother always says, it'd “leave the sea on your skin”. There tends to be some solid science behind the old wives tales when you look into them and in this case an ocean dip or soaking in a bath of heated sea water will be far more beneficial towards getting a good night’s sleep than spraying magnesium oil on your skin to help you drop off.
TRAVELLING TUBS
Where would one find this ultimate seaweed bath, I hear you ask.
The bad news is, you’ll have to track it down. It’s an elusive creature, but my vote for top of the seaweed baths goes to Wild Atlantic Seaweed Baths (www.wildatlanticseaweedbaths.com), a fully mobile operation which travels around the West coast, setting up its unique converted whiskey barrels on piers, pumping up seawater directly from the sea and heating it to fill the tubs. Join their mailing list to be notified where they will be if you are travelling to West Cork, Kerry, Clare or South Galway Bay. It can be weather dependent so notifications will go out a few days in advance. With a generous hour-long slot in the tub, there’s plenty of time to soak and relax, then take a bracing jump off the pier into the cold Atlantic Ocean (I always try and time my booking for high tide!). If only every winter swim in the icy Irish waters had a lovely hot tub full of seaweed waiting to warm up in afterwards. While they use a generator to heat the seawater for the public, there are a limited number of the tubs, with a wood burning stove attached. These are made annually and are for sale, so you can recreate the experience at home.
SECRET COVES
Once you’ve experienced an outdoor seaweed bath, it is addictive, especially if you’re willing to brave a winter swim. My other favourite seaweed bath is run out of a magical ramshackle property, Atlantic Bay Rest, perched on the clifftops of the Dingle Peninsula in West Kerry. A stone-clad bath sits out on a small pier beyond the boathouse and on a sunny day, there is nowhere in the world I would rather be. An international operation, the property is owned and rented out by Peter, a German man, while Marina, a former
fishmonger who hails from Barcelona, harvests the seaweed and operates the seaweed bath and a new addition of a four-person outdoor wood-burning hot tub. The relaxing experience is rounded out by a massage menu courtesy of South African masseuse Tegan. Find @atlanticbayrest and @dingleseaweed on Instagram.
The property, which includes holiday rental cottages and rooms, has a magical private cove and a coastline perfect for exploring the sea caves by kayak or paddle board. While the season winds down during the winter months, seaweed expert Marina is passionate about the nutritional benefits of marine algae and plans to launch a seaweed pesto before Christmas.
EDWARDIAN EXPERIENCE
As the winter closes in, and getting some heat into the bones becomes more important, a wonderful spot to head for is the original Edwardian baths in Enniscrone, County Sligo. Steeped in history, stepping into one of the rooms here is like stepping into the past. The current Bath House dates from 1912, and was known originally as "Kilcullen’s Modern Bath House", in an attempt to set it apart from a much older establishment dating from the middle of the 19th century. Along with a porcelain bathtub replete with antique piping and brass taps, each room contains a wooden steam box, like a personal steam room with a hole cut out for your head to stay outside. The seaweed is harvested from the shore outside at low tide and sea water is pumped up and heated to fill the baths. It’s incredibly atmospheric and old-fashioned. www. kilcullenseaweedbaths.net
ISLAND LIFE
If like me, you love an island off an island, you may want to take a trip to one of the three famous Aran Islands off the coast of Galway— Inis Mór, Inis Meáin and Inis OÍrr (Inisheer). On a recent trip to Inis
Oírr we were treated to a detour on the ferry back to Doolin, to see the famous Cliffs of Moher from the sea. It was the perfect end to a very relaxing few days on the smallest of the islands. While we enjoyed a sunny couple of days, the Aran Seaweed Baths and Spa is the ideal activity if you aren’t so lucky with the weather. With a full range of salon treatments available, as well as seaweed baths, it would be easy to while away a full day getting the full glam treatment from the lovely Annette, a Cork-woman who married an islander and set up this bijou spa beside their home. (Search for Aran Seaweed Baths and Spa on Facebook—or ask anyone locally, on an island, of only around 260 inhabitants, they’re sure to be able to point you in the right direction.)
SOLACE OF THE SEA
We couldn’t finish our tour of seaweed baths without a trip to my home county of Waterford, where in the heart of An Rinn Gaeltacht (a traditionally Irish-speaking area), you will find Sólás na Mara Wellness Centre—the name literally translates as "Solace of the Sea". Located on the scenic Helvick Head, it overlooks Dungarvan Bay with stunning views over the Comeragh Mountains. Waterford’s Copper Coast has been one of Ireland’s best-kept tourism secrets for many years but word is getting out about this beautiful stretch of coastline.
With gently filtered seawater piped in, this seaweed spa is nestled into a picturesque pier. Director Cian Ó Conchúir is a qualified sports rehabilitation professional and the clinic offers a range of treatments including physiotherapy, acupuncture and massage. A seaweed bath is the perfect precursor to really get the most out of a relaxing massage. However, balance is important in life and after all that health and self care, I would highly recommend you sample some of their delicious cakes before you leave. Everything in moderation, including moderation!