Stage 1-Wandering through Ireland
We left home on August Bank Holiday Monday, in Henry the
Hymer (our motor home), with a tank full of fuel and packed up for a trip
through eight countries (well, technically 7 but we will be in England twice).
Our final destination is Chris’ house in Spain in mid October but lots of
adventure before then.
When I booked the Cairnryan to Larne ferry for 26th
August it had not registered that we would be going from Newcastle on a Bank
Holiday!! Thankfully the traffic wasn’t too bad and when we got into Scotland
we realised that for them it was a normal working day. We drove to the ferry
port and parked Henry for the night, our ferry was at 7.30 am the next day.
Cairnryan is essentially two huge ferry landings and the P&O ferry does
seven trips a day across the shortest crossing to Ireland. The weather was wild
overnight and I was nervous the crossing would be bad, but it was relatively
smooth and we landed on time in Northern Ireland at 9.30.
A first visit to the
North for the both of us and which was only very brief and worthy of a proper
visit. Our plan for Tuesday was to fit in two visits before heading south,
first a rope bridge, at Carrick-a-Rede across a volcanic gap that used to be
used by fishermen to capture salmon. The wind hadn’t dropped and being on
things that sway and wobble is one of my room 101 hates, into that category
goes rickety old lifts as well. It was a beautiful day and as we walked towards
the bridge there were lots of smiling faces so I decided it could not have been
too bad. It was remarkably short and only on the return journey was it hairy
but it took only a few minutes.
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| The rope bridge |
Next stop was something on my bucket list, the Giant’s
Causeway. With no camper van parking at the site, more of that later, we had to
go into Bushmills to the park and ride and that resulted in me arriving by bus
and therefore getting a £1.50 discount as a “Green” customer!! Chris is a
National trust member so he was free. The audio guide was very informative and
the facilities at the centre were excellent, but only if you had a ticket. I
have to say that everything about it should have made me go wow, the sky was
blue, the sea likewise but it didn’t really hit the spot. Maybe it’s because
you see all of those beautiful, haunting pictures when in reality it is mobbed
with people and also it was a long tiring day and neither of us were at our
best.
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| Sitting on the Giant's Causeway |
These two visits took up most of the day and so we decided
to stay on the North coast and after a short drive through Portrush we found on
overnight spot in Portstewart and headed straight for the pub where a
restorative Singapore Sling was consumed. The smell of fish and chips, the
promenade and the seagulls were too much of a draw so we decided to forsake our
healthy meal in the van for fish and chips, out of the paper on the
seafront!! It was not to be; the fish
and chip shop was the size of a postage stamp and had a small queue, maybe 6
people. My order was taken and paid for but then it was obvious there would be
a wait.............the man next to me had waited 30 minutes for his. After 15
minutes and with food leaving the shop with only 3 people I decided to cancel,
get a refund and go back to the van. The shop had 4 people working and in any
other place would be churning out fish suppers in seconds. Our smoked salmon
salad was delicious and better on the waistline.
Day two and my initial plan had us visiting Bru na Boinne, a
Neolithic necropolis just north of Dublin and then heading over to Galway. On reflection
that was a bit of a zigzag route and we decided instead to head towards Donegal
and Sligo on our way to Galway and the Burren. The necropolis is 1,000 years
older than Stonehenge and linked to the winter solstice and will wait for
another day.
But first to more important matters, which required a trip
to Asda in Coleraine, for three reasons, one items of food, two cheap fuel and three
internet and a coffee. Internet because I got my invitation to try out as a
volunteer for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, at St James Park, where three games are
being held. Initially I thought I would have to decline as the interviews were
30th September to 3rd October but as Chris pointed out we
could delay our ferry to France, which serendipitously we had not yet booked!!
Interview accepted and I will jet into Newcastle from Southampton for the day
and then we will head off to Europe. Fingers crossed I get accepted.
We got to Donegal and were able to find a car park beside
the bay, which is a miracle as we have quickly realised that Ireland is not
motor home friendly. Loads of car parks and roadside lay-bys have height
barriers of around 2 metres and we are nearly three. The helpful tourist office
also said we could camp overnight there too. We wandered into Donegal, visited
the quaint castle and decided not to stay overnight, heading instead to the
coast. After an abortive attempt to drive to a beach, you guessed it the road
suddenly came to end and there was a height barrier..........and no warning at
the start of the 4k trip. Ah yes we had quickly crossed into Europe, aka Eire,
and now have Euros, kilos and kilometres. The height barriers are to stop the
gypsies and make life difficult for others.
We drove into Rossnowlagh, a stunning beach, and parked on a
flat piece of land in front of two derelict shops. It was the only place without
a sign that said hotel parking only. It is famous on the surfing circuit but
not on a breezy August day, and we were the only customers in the Surfers bar (
and before the grammar police correct me, their sign not mine!!) which had some
European football game blasting out but as it was also part of a hotel so we
got to use the Wi-Fi. When I looked at out route down to Galway in our guide
book I spotted Carrowmore en route. A megalithic cemetery which pre-dates the
other one near Dublin by 700 years, making it 1,700 years older than Stonehenge!!
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| Carrowmore selfie!! |
Day three and we set off for Sligo, carefully taking our
rubbish, following the signs about keeping the beach clean!! Eire is not over
endowed with rubbish bins and we didn’t find one till mid afternoon!! Oh and
don’t get me started on the recycling............or lack of it!! Sligo was
meant to be a coffee stop but parking was almost impossible so we drove to Carrowmore
which promised ruins, toilets and a tea shop. Two out of three isn’t bad and
the coffee had to wait!! The site was fascinating, yet more collections of
stones and you can see from the photo that I had a very able and knowledgeable
guide. The fascination for me is often the why, how and what. The Nazca lines in
Peru being a perfect example. Why was this used as a burial site and what about
the connections to other sites that you could see close by?? No one really
knows and of course on top of the archaeological facts is the good old Irish
legend.
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| My trusty guide!! |
Early September we will be in Cork for a house sit and we
had a suggestion from our hosts that the Westport area of Mayo was worth a
visit and there is an old railway line for cycling. We got to Westport and it
was raining heavily so we quickly had a cuppa and then headed for Achill
island, planning to stay at the campsite at Keel, empty our tanks, toilet etc
use the showers ( the van shower is fine but not very powerful) and have some
real electric for a night or two. The weather got steadily worse and as we got
onto the island the rain and wind were bleaching down. A short stop to get some
cash resulted in use parking up beside a B&B and paying 13 Euros for
hook-up and water, but in a sheltered spot as the local butcher said Keel
campsite would be wild!! We went to the local pub which had a peat fire going,
yes in august, and I had a couple of halves of the black stuff. It was a pretty
wild night and any thoughts of cycling the greenway were out of the window.
Day four and we set off for a weekend in Galway, first stop
Newport for coffee where we also bought black pudding with seaweed and home
baked soda bread. As we got to Westport the rain was getting worse and we
picked up a couple of hitchhikers and dropped them in Galway. The traffic in
the city was crazy and we twice followed directions to the campsite without
success. I later found out that it had closed.
Change of plan, we headed for the Burren and Dooilin where
we knew there were two campsites. Driving was pretty scary on the narrow roads
and we were soon realising that the Irish are not the best drivers, especially
the wizened old folks who can barely see over the steering wheel. O’Connors
campsite in Doolin is on the riverbank near the Fitzpatrick pub and has very
good facilities, which we needed after 4 nights of wild camping. We got settled
in and went for a wander and checked out the local buses. In the evening a few
beers and a bit of usic and then we had the black pudding with seaweed followed
by staek, both of which were delicious. All washed down with a nice bottle of
Zinfandel, a gift from the US from Vicki. Cheers!!
Day five and we got the bus to the Cliffs of Moher a
stunning viewpoint and wonderful visitor centre, and only 4 Euro if you travel to
it by public bus, creative green thinking!! I preferred this to the Giant’s
Causeway!! We walked 8k back to Doolin along the cliffs, windswept and rugged
it was a beautiful walk and although a little grey we had no rain. Back for a
cuppa and a snooze and the pub beckoned again, a group of young musicians were
playing and one of the girls had a lovely haunting voice. Chris cooked one of
his signature dishes, stir fried lambs liver with noodles and we finished off with
goats cheeses and chilli jam.
Today we are heading further south, we have finally found a
map with some wild camping spots so we will go down towards Loop Head and spend
a couple of days, hopefully doing some cycling before getting the ferry to Tarbet, ( half an hour but avoids the Limerick
traffic). From there we will head towards Tralee and then to our final
destination on Friday, which is Macroom west of Cork.
Take care whatever you are up to
Norma xx
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