Bundoran Activities

Ridge Soaring a Paraglider on Tullan Strand
An onshore wind blows in from the open ocean. As there are no obstructions on the ocean this wind is "clean" and organised. The perfect sea breeze is even with no gusts and always a constant speed. As this wind approaches the dunes on Tullan strand it must rise to go over the top on the dunes. This is a similar principle to the way wind must rise to go over an aeroplane wing. This rising air is now compressed and faster than 100 meters out to sea. It is this natural effect that allows the paraglider to stay air born. The Para glider itself is basically a wing. Air passes over and under it creating lift. See photos of Killian O'Kelly (Owner TurnSurf) Paragliding on Tullan Strand Bundoran.

High Mountain Flying
Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim have some fantastic opportunities for mountain flying. The Dartry Mountains just 8 miles from Bundoran have witnessed flights in excess of 2000 feet above take off. The mountains make for great walks in their own right but often have good conditions during summer time for flights. At a height of 2000 feet there is the issue that the calm sea breeze hitting Tullan Strand has now become a 40 mile an hour wind because it is pushing up over such a big obstruction.

Learning to Paraglide
There are no paragliding schools in Donegal. You can trust Killian to get you standing on a surf board properly but a safe landing in the old paragliding game is not guaranteed!!!

Thankfully there are some excellent paragliding schools elsewhere in the country to learn at. The pick of the pile is definitely www.midlandparagliding.com. There is nothing Gerry Parles cannot do with a paraglider.

It is important to realize that it is not an extreme sport. People who go base jumping off cliffs are a completely different breed. Paragliders are very very very careful and check and re check everything before they ever leave the ground. We do not jump off things, we fly.

So if you are a wandering paraglider somewhere in Ireland and need a bed to stay and some one to go flying with call into TurfnSurf

No Safe landing !!!