We can learn a lot from our forefathers and sometimes we have to go full circle to discover hidden gems in our history and traditions – very often just on our own doorstep. This is what happened to Neil Walton from County Sligo, Ireland.
Neil had been passionate about sport from an early age – a passion triggered when Neil’s father Mick introduced him to long distance running at the age of 11. Neil went on to become a professional junior triathlete and it was when he was studying sport and competing in Australia he heard about the recuperative properties of natural seaweed baths, from his fellow professional athletes.
Testing the seaweed therapy himself, Neil was amazed by its effects. He noted the baths ability to remove toxins from his body and accelerate the healing process. This prompted Neil to investigate the tradition of seaweed therapy in Ireland and its origins in his home village of Strandhill, in County Sligo Ireland.
Here was the challenge, to revive the Irish tradition of Seaweed Baths in his home town – a challenge which was achieved by Neil and his Family in 2000. The VOYA Seaweed Baths in now one of only a few dedicated Seaweed Bathhouses in Ireland.
Since reopening, the VOYA Seaweed baths in Strandhill have been enticing customers from all over the world. Attracting 40,000 visitors every year to the beautiful surroundings of Strandhill, they have become one of Sligo’s most popular landmarks and a flag-ship hidden gem along the Wild Atlantic Way.
In 2006, Neil’s brother Mark Walton and his wife Kira joined the team and through sister company VOYA Products Ltd have developed the internationally award-winning VOYA range of products and Spa therapies - the world’s first range of seaweed-based organic cosmetics, which are enjoyed here and available for purchase within the Bathhouse.
Learn more about VOYA products at www.voya.ie.
Mark, Mick(RIP), Neil and Kira Walton, Strandhill, Sligo.