This Stone Age wellness therapy is making a comeback

ON A biting cold day at Enniscrone Beach in County Sligo, thick sheets of rain fly sideways, and violent gusts of wind churn the waves. It’s the perfect weather for a hot bath. Just a few steps from the golden sands lies Kilcullen Seaweed Baths, a historic bathhouse that has welcomed holidaymakers and weary labourers since 1912, the year the Titanic sank. Here, visitors indulge in one of Ireland’s indigenous wellness therapies: a seawater and seaweed bath.

- ASIA LONDON PALOMBA

Now run by the fifth generation of Kilcullens, this establishment is Ireland's oldest continually operating seaweed bathhouse. Much of its Edwardian charm remains intact. The seaweed is hand-harvested daily from Enniscrone Beach, and seawater is pumped into the structure during high tide before being heated by steam.

As I prepare for my bath, I peer down at the massive glob of seaweed gently undulating in the water. My initial apprehension about sitting in a bundle of it quickly dissipates as I lower myself into the bath. The hot seawater laps at my neck, and I feel my muscles and joints relax after ten days of rigorous hiking along the seacliffs.