Inside Irish woman's incredible Wild Atlantic Way challenge
A young Irish woman has spoken about her challenge to travel the entire Wild Atlantic Way — on her skateboard.
Becky Gilmour, who was born in Limerick but grew up in Co Down, said that she planned to skate the 2,500km route along the western edge of Ireland in aid of Samaritans, following the suicide of a friend of hers a number of years ago.
Speaking to Extra.ie about her mammoth journey, Becky explained that she always enjoyed skateboarding, and after toying with the idea to skate the length of Ireland from north to south, the Wild Atlantic Way was a bigger challenge for her (and, of course, due to the phenomenal scenery!). @beckyadventures Hey! I'm Becky & I'm skateboarding the longest coastal route in the world for Samaritans- follow along if you're keen 🙂 #skateboard #skateboarding #wildatlanticway #solotravel #camping ♬ Home – Matthew Hall
'I lost a friend to suicide four years ago, during COVID, and I couldn't even go to the funeral,' Becky said. 'It's just such a hard thing to process, suicide loss, and I really wanted to do something for myself.
'We lived on the north coast, and we used to skateboard there quite a lot together, I bought my first board with him. For myself, I wanted to reconnect with Ireland and come back to the south, because I'm from here and I haven't been here in so long, and it just seemed to be the next big challenge for me.
'So as time passed I just made the plan [to skate the route]. And as I came closer to going, I was like 'oh wouldn't it be cool to open it up and share it with other people?' And if it kind of helps other people along the way, that would be really sick.' Becky Gilmour, 25, said that she's skateboarding the entire Wild Atlantic Way to raise money for mental health charity, Samaritans. Pic: Becky's Arthouse
Kicking off her journey in Kinsale, Becky told Extra.ie that after nearly two weeks she was hoping to reach Mizen Head by the time our interview is done. But, of course, skateboarding is tough with a lot of moving parts, wit smoother terrain often preferred. So naturally, things started going wrong on day one thanks to rural Irish roads.
'I had to teach myself to ride switch [with both feet being able to lead] with a heavy pack on my back to make sure I had my bag,' Becky said. 'I wanted to be as light as possible, so only brought camping supplies and a few bearings for my board; but on my first day the roads were so rattly, all the bolts loosened — I lost two of them and came straight off the board!
'[As well] my wheels wouldn't turn until I got them moving so my bearings are already shot — So I'm going to have to into Schull today and see if I can get some WD40!' Beginning her journey earlier this month, Becky plans to travel the entire Wild Atlantic Way on her skateboard. Pic:Beginning her days at 4.30am and skating for most of the morning as to avoid traffic (yes, really), Becky has already covered impressive ground — managing over 200km in less than two weeks. However, she admits that she has some ground to cover; particularly after a physio told her that her knee may make the journey a bit longer.
'A few days before [beginning the journey] my knees were swelling up, and I was told I had a genetic problem, with [the physio] saying that I might be limited to 70km a week. If that was the case, it would take nine months.
'At the moment, I've been doing around 100km a week. So if I stay at the 100k a week, it'd take me 27 weeks — about five and a half months. But we'll see — I've been getting more and more used to it, so hopefully I'll get faster and stronger.'
Despite the physical and mental toll of such a mammoth journey, Becky says that she isn't fazed — and after suffering from her own mental health issues, being able to raise money for mental health charities is the cherry on top; with her adding that there may be more adventures to come in the future.
'I've been diagnosed in the past with depression, PTSD… I spent a year of my life struggling to leave the house. And now there's days where I don't come home at all,' she joked.
'It's just so cool to say 'there's more around the corner.' And it's worth holding out for, to keep going, and there's more to life and things do get better,' Becky said. 'It's been cool that I can talk about that now. It would be so cool to keep doing what I'm doing, going on more adventures, because I love it. But also being able to share that message and raise money for charity, I love that idea.
'I've no idea what I'll do next, or if it'll be on a skateboard because I love doing loads of different things, but we'll see [what the future holds].'
Becky's journey can be followed on TikTok, @BeckysAdventures.
Anyone who may have been affected by the contents of this story can contact Samaritans on 116 123.
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