WEEK 1: CORNWALL TO KILLARNEY
Day 1: Monday 26th June 2023
A very early start from Cornwall to Pembrokeshire, stopping en route to visit Aunty Margaret in Chalford, near Stroud. It was a 70 mile detour but we’re very glad we did it.
Once we realised what time we had in the afternoon, we rang ahead and booked Little Valley CL near Haverfordwest. With hard standing (fairly flat) pitches and fabulous views, it was a great overnight stop. Geoff cooked burgers outside for supper which went down well with a glass of wine! Geoff won at Rummy, first of many games methinks.
Day 2: Tuesday 27th June 2023
Rain this morning, but we were not deterred. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before heading off, down a very narrow lane to join the A40 to Fishguard. We had some time to kill before check in at the port, so parked up and called Jenni for a chat. We boarded quite soon after check in and went up on to deck 10 to watch the ship leave. We soon gave up on that idea as the rain, and particularly the wind sent us scurrying back inside. We found the café and enjoyed a toasted sandwich for lunch before I beat him at scrabble!
The journey was only 3.5 hours, and we had a wander around the very limited duty free shop before whiling away the remainder of the trip watching BBC news.
All the motorhomes were last off the ferry, but we didn’t mind as we weren’t in a rush to get to our site for the night, which was just an hour away. Normans view was named for a Norman landing in 1170 at a nearby beach with 100 troops. They built a fortification and defeated a local army of 3000. As you can imagine, this was all gleaned by Geoff reading all the information panels at the said beach!
After a windy walk to the beach and back we popped a shepherds pie, made by my own fair hand, in the oven and enjoyed a wee aperitif while we waited. Our first experience of Ireland is excellent …. roll on tomorrow!
Day 3: Wednesday 28th June 2023
Happy Birthday to Amanda!
It was a very misty morning which was a shame because I would have had a cracking view of the sea from my bed with my cup of tea! We left this excellent site shortly after 10 heading via some rather narrow lanes, some with grass growing in the middle to drive the ring of Hook. Sadly, a road closure forced a change of plan and we headed straight to the Passage East ferry from Ballyhack. This was very like the King Harry Ferry, albeit no chains! It was a very short trip but cost us 14 euros!
From there we skirted Waterford, stopping briefly to pick up a coffee and headed to Youghall, which proved to be a lovely seaside town, with an attractive small harbour and lighthouse, blue flag beach and a new boardwalk, which we failed to find! We did however, enjoy a picnic overlooking the beach, fending off some rather threatening crows who were clearly bent on eating our leftovers. We thwarted their plans and deposited the crusts in the bin.
On to Cobh, pronounced Cove, and formerly known as Queenstown. I had discovered that there was a large aire type camperpark fronting the long promenade in front of the railway line, adjacent to the cruise ship berths. We parked up in bay 27 after the usual harrowing decision making process of where to park when there is a choice! After a much-needed cuppa, looking out over the water to the Irish Naval dockyard, we headed into the town for a wander, checking out the Heritage centre. When we came out we spotted the Brittany Ferries ship, Armorique (which we had sailed to Brittany on at the end of April) on its way to Roscoff!
We continued to the Titanic Experience, for which we had a 5pm booking. Having recently seen Titanic, the musical, we felt we ought to visit the site of the last port of call of the ship. It was interesting, and very like an exhibition we had viewed in Perth, Australia some years ago. We were both given tickets in the name of real-life passengers, and in both our cases, we survived!
After we emerged from the old White Star office, we headed up a very steep hill to St Colmans Cathedral. It was a pull up the hill, but the views from the top were worth it, as was the cool, rather beautiful interior of the cathedral.
By now we were feeling peckish so retraced our steps to the Waters Edge hotel where we had a very nice fish and chips with a couple of glasses of wine on the deck overlooking the quay. Back to the van only to discover we had acquired some close neighbours, but the views out of the front window definitely compensate for that.
Day 4: Thursday 29th June 2023
We woke to the sound of a train thundering past us on one of its first journeys into Cork. Other than that it had been a peaceful night, despite the fact that we are basically in a car park! The bad news this morning was that the fridge didn’t seem to be as cold as expected and the milk had gone off, so no cereal or coffee this morning.
The plan was to spend the day in Cork, so we wandered up to the station, calling into the Heritage centre en route to pick up that all important coffee. The train was on time and it was an interesting journey into the city, over several causeways over and around the River Lee.
On arrival in Cork Kent station, we crossed the road to wait for the Cork City tour bus. We would normally avoid these tourist traps but we were looking to minimise the walking today as my knee was playing up. We enjoyed the full tour, including the City Gaol and the University before leaving the bus in the Grand Parade right by the English Market. We had been told about this and so visited it first, including stopping for coffee and a delicious scone in the upstairs café. This was a big mistake as we hadn’t realised it was after midday and we had intended to have a nice lunch. We were too full to contemplate lunch for a few hours yet, so we wandered around the town centre, which was vibrant, bustling and full of flowers, purchasing a map book and failing to get a new battery for my iphone!
We thought we would walk around the quays surrounding the main town centre island, but Geoff fell over a small child in the 1916 Cork Volunteers remembrance garden! The little boy ran across the path straight into him and I turned around to find Geoff on the floor! After cleaning him up and applying a plaster, which he always has about his person(!) we gave up on the walk and, spying someone with an M&S shopping bag, went in search of my favourite shop.
We used my scan and shop app and bought supper and a few other bits and pieces to tide us over until we get to a supermarket, hopefully tomorrow. We caught the city tour bus back to the station and then the train back to the van. It was an enjoyable day but I suppose Cork didn’t wow me as much as I had expected it to but I think on balance we prefer views, the sea and a more rural setting, tomorrow will certainly deliver on all three of those wishes.
Day 5: Friday 30th June 2023
Moving day today. We left soon after breakfast, stopping only to complete the essential emptying. Our intention was to cross the River Lee by means of the ferry to Passage West. Good idea, but at low tide, was not going to happen! We tried but the ferryman, turned us back saying we would probably lose our tail end. I reversed Colin back up the ramp, much to the amusement of the ferryman who described me as “well able”- cheeky wotsit!
We continued via the road network, saving ourselves 16 euros, reaching Kinsale in time for coffee. We parked up on the roadside near the harbour, park4night came in useful again, and walked into the pretty small town. Well, we thought we had arrived in Padstow or Fowey! Posh shops and a multitude of rather expensive restaurants were all around us. We enjoyed coffee and shared a scone, a really good warm one, before walking back to the van via the Tourist Information office. En route we spied some steps, called Stoney Steps, painted with the name Pirate Annie Bonnie written on them. We were intrigued, and then an old man, probably the same age as Geoff, came over and started to tell us about local children who had to climb these steps to get to school!
From Kinsale we joined the WAW, the Wild Atlantic Way, the route follows the west coast all the way up the coast of Ireland to Donegal. We intend to follow as much as we can until we run out of time! However, the route dives off down and around many headlands, and we just did not have enough time today to do it all as we had booked a campsite further on near Glengarriff. We did however, stop to fuel up and do some Aldi shopping in Clonakilty, signalled by a sculpture of a Whale’s tail, and then stopped for a cuppa and a hot cross bun in Schull overlooking the sea and some swans who came to say hello.
The weather had by this time turned very grim, with low cloud and steady rain masking any potential views so we were ready to stop for the night. We continued through Bantry and Glengarriff, both of which looked very attractive, to the Hungry Hill Camping Site in Adrigole. We had pre booked a couple of days ago and it was very busy when we arrived, being a Friday night. We were happy with the pitch, hardstanding with electric, which we appreciate after not having any the last couple of nights!
Day 6: Saturday 1st July 2023
After all the driving and rushing around of the past few days we decided to have a more leisurely day today. Breakfast was finished by 10, and I read my book while Geoff listened to the cricket. We had some considerable discussion over what we should do today. Geoff wanted to catch a bus and a cable car to Dursey Island, and I did not. The cable car had once been used to transfer cows, and I was rather worried about the high winds predicted. I wanted to cycle to Castletownbere and back, and Geoff didn’t! So……
Bus day today! Service 232 turned up bang on time at Pegs Shop, which was an extremely well stocked shop and café just a few metres along the road from the campsite. It was a very smart new Mercedes 31-seater bus, with comfortable leather seats, and the driver had a very impressive smart ticket machine, but only took cash! We reckon the timetable must have been designed by Brian James, those that know will understand!
After a very fast, hair-raising drive along the edge of the Beara peninsula, we arrived on the edge of Castletownbere, stopping at some traffic lights, we asked to be set down so we could walk the rest of the way into this small town. Apparently, it is the second largest fishing harbour in Ireland, and the evidence was before us with lots of huge commercial scale fishing boats, similar to that we had seen in the far north of Scotland. Large processing units were located on a small island called Dinish Island, connected to the mainland via a relatively new substantial bridge. There were also brand-new Harbour offices and a Fishing College. Like Newlyn, the fish was exported to France and Spain and huge articulated lorries from Spain passed us at great speed on the road.
A larger island, Bere Island, was reachable by ferry, and we contemplated a trip, but the times didn’t really fit with the bus, and it was rather choppy today! Instead, we had a wander around the town, and settled on a pub called Lynch’s on the Pier for lunch, Geoff having fish n chips and me a crab sandwich with salad. We sat outside and watched the world go by, enjoying the fact that we weren’t rushing around. We walked to the other end of town, spying a fabulous sunset mural on some hoarding, and photographing the town with its fishing fleet, famous Church and mountains in the background.
After enjoying an ice cream, we boarded the superfast bus back to the van, where I enjoyed immensely watching two caravans arrive, and the subsequent pitching of them and erection of awnings, again those who know, will understand the significance!
After a walk down to the water’s edge we enjoyed aperitifs in the evening sunshine, maybe the last for some time as the weather forecast is looking rather grim for the foreseeable (last sunshine not last drink!).
Day 7: Sunday 2nd July 2023
We woke to a lovely bright sunny morning, albeit a little too windy for breakfast outside. Lots of people were packing up around us at the end of weekend breaks, and we joined them, leaving the site just after 10am. The views along the road into Castletownbere were brilliant and blue and we continued through the town and onto Allihies.
This little village was the home of the Copper Mine Museum. Geoff had read about it in one of many leaflets we had picked up and it was a real find. We managed to park the van by the side of the road, with the mirrors tucked in, and we convinced ourselves it was not blocking any right of way! We walked up to the Museum which was located in a refurbished Methodist Church. The fact that there was such a Church was amazing in this Catholic country, and we discovered that it was built for the Cornish Methodist Miners in 1845! We enjoyed a coffee and scones in the café and appreciated the lovely senses garden outside with a stunning view across the bay before spending some time in the Museum which was excellent, both in terms of the development of the copper mining and the social history of this part of Ireland.
Moving on along the Ring of Beara, the road narrowed considerably and the views around every turn and crest of a hill were getting better and better. Any worries that I had about narrow roads in the Motorhome just disappeared as Geoff just took it all in his stride while I marveled at the views, now across to the Ring of Kerry, taking loads of photos as we drove.
We dived off down a detour between Lauragh and Tuosist, the road narrowed even further and I was just thinking how lucky we were to not come across any traffic coming in the opposite direction, when we met one, then two, then about half a dozen cars, all of which required some clever maneuvering on Geoff’s part, including folding in the drivers mirror to get past!
We were looking for somewhere to stop for a cuppa for a good hour, but no laybys or even small parking spots were available until we got to Kenmare, where park4night came up trumps again with a lovely spot by the water on Pier Street overlooking the quay. We enjoyed a cuppa and a piece of cake while listening to the end of the second test match, before walking into and around Kenmare. It was bigger than Kinsale, but equally full of quality craft shops, restaurants and cafes and absolutely buzzing with life.
By this time it was gone 4pm so we decided to carry on to Killarney and our campsite for 2 nights, Flesk camping. The road over the top, part of the Ring of Kerry, was spectacular and we will be doing this route again in a few days as part of the Ring, so we spotted a few places where we will plan to stop next time.
We were allocated a superb pitch at the campsite which was perfectly level and we were soon set up and managed to get a load of washing in the machine, under the guidance of an Irish lady who told us what to do and how to do it!
I had finished the diary for today when Geoff let out a yelp ….. our rear nearside tyre was absolutely flat! We immediately rang Red Pennant and Richard answered the phone and said ‘that’s a real shame’! We are hoping they will be able to sort it out quickly tomorrow as we have planned a full day on our bikes. Watch this space…..
WEEK 2: KILLARNEY TO INCH
Day 8: Monday 3rd July 2023
We received a call from Red Pennant before breakfast and they gave us the number of a local company to ring with more information. We were a little disheartened thinking this would delay the process, but within half an hour of Geoff ringing Killarney Tyre Services, a very nice man showed up at the campsite entrance and within another half hour he had extracted a 2 inch screw, repaired it and refitted it!
We had debated changing our plans but decided to continue tomorrow around the Ring of Kerry, but return to Killarney on Thursday and stay till Sunday, because the forecast is horrendous, and we figure there is more to see and do whatever the weather around here.
The rain and promise of more deterred us from using our bikes today so after a coffee we walked up to the Gleneagle hotel and caught their bus to the railway station. We checked out the trains for a possible trip on Saturday, then walked around the town. American influence was everywhere and the number of hotels and eateries reflected the dependence on tourism in this town and indeed this part of Ireland and we found the hotel which Truronian used to use for its holidays here over many years. After the peace and quiet of the Beara peninsula it was a bit of a culture shock.
We had a good lunch in the bar at Scotts Hotel before walking to Ross Castle by the lake, via St Marys Cathedral and the very beautiful Killarney Park. En route we were passed by several Jaunting Cars, horse drawn carts, of which there are many around the town, clearly appealing to the American market.
Ross Castle is a well known landmark, featuring on postcards of Killarney, it was lovely and we particularly liked the many Irish Red Deer we saw on our walk. After a cup of tea we walked back into town as we had decided to go and see Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. When we visited Bamburgh Castle in 2021, they had been shooting scenes for this film and we were keen to see the result. Well the first couple of minutes was the result, and you really had to know that was where it was shot to recognise it!
After walking nearly 8 miles today, we decided the 2 mile walk back to the van was 2 too many so we got a taxi back to the site.
Day 9: Tuesday 4th July 2023
Moving day again! Today was an important day because it was the first full day on the Ring of Kerry, a route which I had virtually walked during lockdown, achieving the Conqueror medal, of which I am rather proud!
We struck camp in the pouring rain. My jobs are inside and Geoff’s are outside so he ended up soaking wet! We called in at M&S to do some food shopping before carrying on. The road was like a motorway on this part of the Ring, compared to the Beara Peninsula, and we were both thinking it was quite boring until we were just 20km from our next campsite, when we stopped for lunch in another park4night recommended stop. We had a stunning view of Dingle Peninsula to the north and the mountains were revealed to us to the south as the weather abated slightly.
We decided to press on to our site for the next two nights, Mannix Point, and were so pleased that we did. Arriving early, at 1.30pm we secured a superb pitch with a stunning panoramic view across to Valentia island in one direction and the Doulus Head promontory in the other. In between the heavy showers I kept popping out to take more photos in varying degrees of light.
Wimbledon this week and we were missing being able to watch it so we downloaded Express VPN and after some difficulty managed to get it working and were able to see Andy Murray and Cam Norrie both win to go through to the second round. Hopefully we will see more Murray wins in the days to come.
We had a couple of walks around the site in between the showers and checked out the excellent facilities at this rather special site. We think it is definitely the best one so far for views.
We enjoyed an M&S fish pie for supper and are hoping for better weather tomorrow to explore the locale on our bikes, we feel very guilty that we haven’t even taken them off the back of the van so far this holiday!
Day 10: Wednesday 5th July 2023
What a night! We felt very sorry for all those in a tent last night because the wind blew and the rain came down in torrents. It was still quite rough this morning, so we delayed getting up and watched the sea through the front window while we drank our tea in bed!
After breakfast we were still debating whether to cycle or to walk because of the wind. In the end we decided to walk and first visited a nearby supermarket to get some cash, as this site had required cash and we were wiped out. The supermarket was very impressive and we made a note to return later. We started to walk down the road towards Reenard Point. A very nice man at the campsite had recommended the restaurant, O’Neills at the Point for lunch being renowned for its seafood. After we had walked nearly half the distance we decided to walk back to the campsite and collect our bikes. It was a long and busy road with no pathway and we felt very vulnerable. So glad we got the bikes, we were down at the restaurant inside 15 minutes with no ill effect from the wind.
The restaurant was full and very busy but the owner took our drinks order and assured us we would have only a few minutes to wait for a table, which we did. What a fabulous place it turned out to be. Geoff had 6 oysters and reckoned they were the best he had every tasted, and that is saying something for the number he has consumed over the years! I had crab on soda bread and we shared a hot and cold fish platter, absolutely delicious.
The restaurant was next to the slipway for the car ferry across to Valentia Island. Having the bikes gave us the opportunity for adventure, so we hopped on the ferry and had a cycle round this end of the island, visiting Glanleam Beach where we could view the lighthouse and then stopping in Knightstown for a cuppa and a cake at the Dwelling House café.
We returned on the ferry with hordes of Spanish youngsters, some on bikes and another lot on foot. When we arrived on the other side, we pressed the electric buttons on our bikes and shot past them to shouts of ‘cheats!’. We returned to the supermarket to buy the few bits and pieces we had spied earlier, and when we came out it had started to rain. We were incredibly lucky to have not got wet all day, but in the few minutes it took to cycle back to the van we got absolutely soaked! What fun we had!
All in all, we have really enjoyed the day despite the weather. We are settled down for the night now, heating on and cosy in our little home, and it’s July!
Day 11: Thursday 6th July 2023
Today should have been a very special view day around the southern part of the Ring of Kerry, but the weather was absolutely atrocious! Torrential rain and 40mph plus winds when we woke which continued pretty much all day.
We delayed leaving this lovely site till nearly midday, then we drove looking forlornly at signs indicating views along the route, which for the most part were shrouded in low cloud and rain.
The first place we drove through was Waterville, famous for a particular visitor … Charlie Chaplin! We saw his statue but were not able to photograph it so I stole this image from Google! We carried on via what was surely a very picturesque high cliff edge route to Glanbeg beach for lunch, and the rain let up briefly so we were able to get out and take some pictures.
To add insult to injury, we had a disaster en route when, at a narrow part of the road, we passed another large motorhome and bang ….. we broke the indicator light on the offside mirror. Fortunately, we have a mirror protector so that did its job.
Liquid sunshine I have been calling it, but we were pretty fed up with the weather by the time we arrived back at Flesk Campsite in Killarney. We had rebooked three nights here having seen the forecast, thinking this was pretty much the best place to find things to do if the weather was inclement. I have included a photo of a view we would have hoped to see, maybe another time!
All is not lost because we watched Liam Broady win his second round match and are just about to watch Andy Murray play his, so fingers crossed!
Day 12: Friday 7th July 2023
I am going to try and stop referring to the rain, because if I don’t this diary is going to be nothing more than a moan fest about the weather! Instead I am going to focus on the positives …… well I’ll try!
We had a very long lie in today and a leisurely breakfast before cycling to Muckross house. This beautiful house, built in the Tudor style is famous for having hosted Queen Victoria in 1861. The house and 11,000 acre estate was presented to the Irish nation in 1932 and it became the first National Park in the Republic of Ireland.
We cycled through the park grounds, giving way to jaunting cars en route, and parked our bikes up before finding the café for a coffee and scone/muffin. We then walked through the lovely gardens to the main house. The house was grand but also had a homely feel. The sitting room and bedrooms seemed very comfortable and not at all what you come to expect from stately homes. The royal rooms however, were as opulent as you would expect for royalty! The servants quarters and kitchen were amazing, and miles away from the dining room!
We returned to the van for a late lunch and with a plan to watch the end of Andy Murray’s match which had been suspended around 10.40pm last night. The previous match went on longer than expected so Andy’s match didn’t start till after 4.30pm and sadly, he lost in 5 sets. By the time it had finished it was too late to go anywhere else and we were ready for supper. Geoff had steak so he was sent outside with the umbrella to cook his while I prepared my salmon salad inside!
Being Friday night, the campsite is quite full with weekenders, so we have enjoyed watching everyone arrive and pitch camp.
Day 13: Saturday 8th July 2023
The sun is shining …. hooray! We had great plans today on our bikes, but we did debate, albeit briefly, driving round the whole of Ring of Kerry again today to see what we didn’t see earlier in the week, but we are so glad that we didn’t.
Instead, we cycled back to Muckross House via Muckross Abbey, which was a real surprise, with a stunning central cloister, before continuing to Torc Waterfall. It was very busy, notably with many more American voices around us than we had noticed before, but it was so worth seeing, thunderous, especially as the river was swollen with all the extra water fallen from the skies of late!
From there we returned to Muckross but being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of visitors here, decided to continue around Muckross Lake to a tea house called Dinis Cottage. The road, which was really what this cycle track was, was an absolute delight. Fabulous scenery, both fringing the switchback of a track and further afield was around every turn, and we were both grinning as we cycled. The cafe was clearly a favourite with cycling families, but to a much lesser extent than was evident at Muckross House. We enjoyed a sandwich and a scone with a view across the lake in gorgeous sunshine.
We were going to cycle back the way we had come but lots of signs indicated it was a one-way system which meant returning partially on the main road. Fortunately, we weren’t passed by any vehicles, which was amazing because later in the afternoon that road would be incredibly busy with vehicles returning to Killarney having driven the Ring of Kerry.
We returned to the van for a well-earned cuppa, having cycled 22km, this time sat outside in lovely warm sunshine, well for half an hour anyway! I enjoyed a chat with Sue and Geoff then enjoyed listening to the test match while I finished my book, what a hard life we lead!
Day 14: Sunday 9th July 2023
Moving on day again. We called into Tescos to restock the fridge on our way to the Dingle Peninsula. It was a beautiful morning, so the views from the north eastern part of the Ring of Kerry were stunning!
We turned towards Tralee and then to Dingle, stopping for a coffee overlooking the mountains on the northern shore of the Ring of Kerry. The view looking back to the mountains was very clear and we couldn’t take our eyes off it.
Our campsite for the night was at Inch, sited near the stunning 5km long inch Strand, a long sandy spit stretching into the water between the Ring of Kerry peninsula and Dingle Peninsula. After setting up we listened to the end of the third Test Match, sat outside in the sunshine. It was so exciting and we were delighted to hear England win by 3 wickets. We have made a note of the next test, I am hooked now!
After all that excitement, we walked over to the beach, and walked 5 km on amazingly firm sand, with again, stunning views both along the Dingle Peninsula coast and across the water, the entire northern edge of the Ring of Kerry, very reminiscent of the view back to Lofoten as we left on the ferry to Bodo. We also spied areas of rain and were very lucky to walk for over an hour and a half and only get rained on in the last 5 minutes!
We sought shelter in a Beach café restaurant, Sammy’s. It had been recommended by the campsite owner and after enjoying a glass of wine we decided to stay for supper and shared a fish platter with oysters, mussels, smoked salmon, prawn cocktail and fishcakes! It was superb but it beat us, and we asked for the salmon to be boxed for us to take back to the van with us for later in the week!
We watched the cricket highlights on iPlayer, having now got the VPN to work before a game of cards. Altogether a really good day!
WEEK 3: INCH TO DOOLIN
Day 15: Monday 10th July 2023
After breakfast we headed back the way we came yesterday but this time to Tralee and the Ford dealer. Geoff had arranged for the indicator light to be fixed, the one that we dramatically hit whilst driving the Ring the other day.
The drive to Tralee took us round the edge of the Slieve Mish Mountains with fabulous views across to the east and to the north along the coast we will be travelling at the end of this week. The light was fixed very quickly with no charge for labour which both surprised and impressed us, and the Parts Manager instructed us not to do it again as he hadn’t any more in stock!
We were soon on our way and heading west again, this time along the northern edge of the Dingle Peninsula. We stopped at Derrymore Strand car park, as suggested by park4night, and enjoyed our coffee with a beach view. We were parked near a camper towing a truck with a quad bike on it and we watched while he loaded it up for a fishing trip along the beach. He was from South Wales, very near to Jean and John, and comes to Ireland every year for three months in the summer, and at Christmas, to fish!
We carried on to Dingle across the Dingle Mountain, stopping off briefly to photograph the fabulous view of the sea to the north. We got chatting to a lady from Texas who wanted to know how I photographed the view, so I showed her how to do a panorama shot!
Dingle looked a lovely town and we tried to find a parking spot but all those recommended on my app were full and in fact with all the coaches parked up, the town would have been heaving. So, we carried on to Campail Teach an Aragail, or Oratory House Camping, apparently the most westerly campsite in Europe! We checked in and were soon set up, dodging the rain showers. We put the sun awning out as a rain shelter, and it did a very good job protecting us as we enjoyed our late lunch.
However, the rain got much more intense as the afternoon went on and our planned exploration of the locale on our bikes had to be postponed till tomorrow. It did stop briefly after supper and we walked up to the Gallarus Oratory, a stone building about 1300 years old built by early Christians. The views across the far west of the Peninsula were stunning, and visible, so we are very excited about what we will see tomorrow.
Day 16: Tuesday 11th July 2023
The sun was shining this morning when we got up early to catch the bus to Dingle. Well that was the plan, but despite getting up extra early and being outside in plenty of time for the scheduled time of a bus which should only run on Tuesdays and Fridays, it failed to turn up! We waited for 10 minutes after the designated time but no joy, so we returned to the van for our breakfast having intended to go for a cooked breakfast in Dingle!
Never mind, instead we had a leisurely morning before cycling down to the sea through Murreagh to the pier at Ballynagaff, on the bay of Smerwick Harbour. We couldn’t believe our eyes when we got there as there were loads of cars and even more people on the beach and indeed, in the sea! Turned out it was swimming lessons, and the beach was covered with the participants families, just like Truro Leisure Centre!
We were looking for a coffee, but the two bars were not open. We had some chocolate and some water and then couldn’t believe our eyes as we could see a huge raincloud sweeping in. We quickly sought shelter on the terrace of one of the bars along with some Irish people. They were very friendly and one of them told me the places we should look out for locally, and to avoid Dingle town at all costs!
When the rain eased, we followed his advice and continued to Dooneen Pier via the RTE Gaelic Radio Station. Actually, it is worth noting just how Gaelic this area is. The principal language is Gaelic, and we were acutely aware of the language being spoken all around us.
The Pier itself was impressive, though small, but the views across to Sybil Head and the Three Sisters were amazing. It took us a while today to work out the geography as it was disorientating at various points in the bay looking back at it, as it appeared to be an island for a lot of the time!
We returned to the van for coffee and then a late lunch and enjoyed the sunshine and also the entertainment of watching a caravan pitch up and erect an awning. I never get tired of this and generally tell Geoff how they could have done it properly!!
We went out again on the bikes late afternoon in the opposite direction, first to the village of Ballyferriter and a superb shop to purchase bread and milk, then walked across the road to a café with a book shop which was charming. Then to Wine Strand, a small beach further round the bay from where we cycled this morning and again, lots of cars and lots of people swimming in the sea, without wetsuits! The views across to Sybil Head were equally impressive and at last the geography made sense!
Back to the van for aperitifs, the remainder of the smoked salmon from our fish platter on Sunday night and steak for supper. Another brilliant day and 25km cycled.
Day 17: Wednesday 12th July 2023
We were up early and away from the site by 9am this morning as we wanted to be in Dingle to park before all the tourists were out and about (what are we I wonder!). We parked up in the Marina for the princely sum of 2 euros and went in search of breakfast. Geoff had an enormous Irish breakfast and I opted for pancakes with bacon and maple syrup at the James Long pub. We really enjoyed it and also the walk around Dingle town. Whilst it was full of brightly coloured buildings it had a different feel to other Irish tourist centres we have been around, more authentic somehow, with no chain shops like Fatface evident here. We did some souvenir shopping before boarding Colin for the most exciting part of the day ….. the Slea Head drive.
This surpassed our expectations. Despite some cloud and rain, the views were fabulous. The road itself on the south side of the peninsula was single track and wound around the coastline above the cliffs, it was amazing, exciting and a bit scary (in case we met anyone!). There is a sort of one way system, albeit recommended rather than enforced, to go clockwise around the Head. Apart from a few mad cyclists, most vehicles we came across abided by the suggestion.
We stopped for coffee overlooking Slea Head in a viewing area. When we arrived it was a bright blue day, but within 10 minutes the rain had swept in and almost obliterated the view of Slea Head in front of us! We were so lucky to see it looking so grand, with the Blasket islands right in front of us, but this marked the end of the better weather and we drove the rest of the drive in rain and low cloud.
We stopped at the Blasket Centre where Geoff had a look around including the views from a rather spectacular viewpoint, like those we saw in Norway and we stopped a little further on to view Sybil Head and the Three Sisters which we saw yesterday, but from the other direction.
We had really enjoyed our tour of the end of Dingle Peninsula and both of us feel that of the three peninsulas, this is most definitely our favourite and worthy of a return visit one day.
On to Tralee, stopping for a spot of lunch overlooking Tralee Bay before carrying on to Woodlands Caravan site. This was a bit of a shock as it was a huge site, affiliated to the Caravan Club and run on similar lines. We are only here for one night, and it was so planned to enable us to cycle along the canal which we saw the other day. The canal is similar to that in Bude, which joined the port of Tralee with the sea. That excursion was worth the pain of staying here!
Day 18: Thursday 13th July 2023
Happy Birthday Jean!
After the excitement of yesterday, today promised to be somewhat quieter as we moved on to our next site. However, after breakfast as he was about to start the outside chores, Geoff slipped and fell over. I heard a plaintive cry and opened the door to discover him covered in mud! It had been a very wet night and we were parked on a slight slope and the rear of the van was on grass, which had turned to mud. He was OK, no broken bones thank goodness, time will tell if he has any muscle aches and pains as a result.
We decided to delay the chores till the next site and leave immediately. I drove to a nearby shopping centre to restock again at Tesco and to visit Halfords for a new bike mirror as mine had broken earlier in the week. Halfords was closed unfortunately so we just had to go into a giant toy store next door!
Our route took us over the River Shannon on a ferry from Tarbert. We were carefully directed on, with the ferryman taking great care that our rear end did not ground! Unfortunately, we couldn’t get out to admire the view (albeit a wet one) as we couldn’t open our doors!
On to our next site, Greenacres at Doonaha, via Kilrush and Kilkee, and both towns looked worth a return visit at some stage, the latter we discovered is a popular seaside town with a wide sandy beach. The route to the campsite was down an ‘L’ road, these equate to our lanes and this one was narrow with grass growing in the middle! The site was half static vans and half touring, with large hard standing pitches interspersed with lots of grass, and space, the complete opposite to that we experienced last night. When we arrived, we were a little uncertain as to where to go, but another camper signalled to us and explained. She also told us that their Ford Transit Chausson had broken down and they were awaiting assistance.
Our elevated pitch had electric water and wastewater facilities and was perfectly flat with a phenomenal sea view! After settling in and having a late lunch, we tried to call the owner to pay, but no joy. We feel a little guilty for being here, not having paid, but hopefully he will catch up with us sometime.
We hosed off Geoff’s muddy anorak and trousers and then went and found a washing machine. We didn’t have enough 1-euro coins and asked a young couple if they had any change, they didn’t, but the young man went back to his van and then found us later to give us some, and he refused my 2 euro piece in exchange! The Irish people we have come across have been really friendly and in this case, very generous.
PS: Just paid for our pitch!
Day 19: Friday 14th July 2023
Rain, heavy rain, persistent rain …. all of the above this morning! That is not a moan, merely a statement of fact, but to be honest we felt much better about it when Jenni told us it was awful at home! The Irish have a wonderful definition for this sort of weather, a soft day, “misty rain with hazy cloud to the point of invisibility with drizzle lingering in suspended animation”!
We had planned a trip on the bus this morning, to the Loop Head lighthouse and then back to the seaside resort of Kilkee for lunch. Best laid plans and all that, we abandoned that as we would have been totally soaked by the time we got to the bus stop. Instead we had a long lie in and a late leisurely breakfast followed by a game of scrabble. This went on for some time, during which I read several chapters of my book while waiting for Geoff to have his go! He won by the way!
We enjoyed a long video chat with Jean and John following her birthday yesterday and have planned to meet up very soon for lunch.
We had a snack for lunch before realising that the rain had stopped. We quickly got the bikes out and set off to visit a nearby village, Carrigaholt. This charming village was sited on a crossroads next to the sea, with a small harbour, Castle, or rather a Tower, and very wide streets. We counted 4 pubs, 2 cafes, 1 post office, 1 craft shop and no food shops! We enjoyed tea and scones served from a converted horse box called Barnyard Coffee before cycling back to the van. Whilst it had remained dry until we finished our tea, the heavens opened for our return cycle and we got very wet, but as we returned to the van, it was evident that it had not rained here as the van and pitch were dry!
Whilst Geoff sorted the bikes I wandered down to look at the beach adjacent to the site and I was surprised to find a very fast flowing river just the other side of the hedge from our van, we were unaware of this before. It flowed into the sea and was swelled by the volume of rain we have had.
We were both feeling very full after an enormous scone, so our plans for supper have been deferred to tomorrow night!
Day 20: Saturday 15th July 2023
Happy wedding day Tom and Ally!
We woke to a stormy morning after a stormy night, but we weren’t in a hurry to leave this lovely campsite. After the usual chores, I drove today as most of the route was following the N67 which wound its way up the coast through some charming small towns, Kilkee, Doonbeg, Quilty, Spanish Point, Miltown Malbay, Lahinch and Liscannor.
The coastline at Spanish Point was impressive and apparently 7 Spanish ships made a landfall here in 1588, they were ‘the miserable remnants of the Spanish Armada’, about 300 Spaniards were massacred at Spanish Point.
We continued to the Cliffs of Moher and couldn’t believe our eyes as we approached the car parks, plural as there was a huge coach park to our left and the main car and motorhome park was to the right. We had prebooked tickets, which saved us a few euros, and a very helpful young man (they all are!) explained what we should do and where we should go. We parked up easily and walked over to the visitor centre, which was cleverly disguised, hobbit like, under a grass canopy which literally blended into the hill.
As it wasn’t raining at this point, we decided to walk over to the viewing platforms first and took the obligatory photographs. The Cliffs are indeed impressive but would probably be more so on a blue day! Worth noting that the name, Moher comes from the Gaelic Mother which means ruins of a fort and apparently the stone was then used to build O’Briens Tower, overlooking the said cliffs.
We then made our way to the café and were surprised to be served and seated quite quickly in view of the number of visitors in the centre. Most of them were students from Spain who, from the loudness of the giggling and shouting were clearly having a wonderful time! We shared a sandwich and enjoyed a cake with our coffee before exploring the exhibition and watching an excellent video from the point of view of a gannet!
On to our campsite for two nights, Nagles Camping at Doolin Pier. We had hoped to stay at Riverside Camping in Doolin, but they were full. As it is we are delighted to be sited right next to the Pier where the Aran Islands boats depart from and have amazing far-reaching views to the Cliffs. The downside is that it is a very busy conventionally laid out site, but hey ho, can’t have everything!
Steak for Geoff and salad for me for supper and, I almost don’t dare to say, the sun is coming out!
Day 21: Sunday 16th July 2023
We woke to glorious sunshine ….. honestly, we did! We couldn’t believe it, but to be fair it didn’t last long! I set about making the breakfast and realised that the power was off, I couldn’t understand why as I hadn’t even plugged anything else in. There was no trip switch on the pitch so I unplugged the power lead and plugged it back in, nothing. Then we heard someone else complaining about loss of power so deduced it was a site wide issue. When Geoff went to the office, he discovered it was a regional issue and it went off, bit of a problem when one has a coffee machine and a hairdryer to operate!
I gave up on the hairdryer and used our hand operated Nespresso machine and the gas grill for toast and we enjoyed breakfast the off-grid way, despite the fact we have paid for electric! Just as I was finishing washing up the power came back on!
We stayed at home while the rain lashed the van for an hour or so, then after coffee we went for a walk along the coast, we are in Burren Geopark, on a limestone pavement which was very impressive and on a very clear day, at that time, we had a great view along the coast towards the Cliffs of Moher and over to Inisheer, the smallest of the Aran Islands. We returned to the van briefly before heading back to Doolin Pier where we purchased two tickets for the cruise to the Cliffs of Moher. We opted not to go to the island today, the weather was changeable at best, and we decided to save that for another day!
We were close to the front of a massive queue for the cruise ferry, which meant that we secured a good seat at the back on the top deck. There were nearly 300 people on the boat, many of which were Americans, some rather loud and others very pushy. We were incredibly lucky that it didn’t rain for the entire one-hour trip and we were on the right side of the boat for the return journey which was when the skipper gave a very informative commentary, including his puffin alerts! It was very interesting to see the Cliffs from the sea and to see where we had stood yesterday, the scale of them was more evident from below.
We returned to the van and watched the remainder of the mens final at Wimbledon. We really enjoyed watched Alcaraz, who we have named Alcatraz, and we were delighted to see him win, albeit the internet gave up on the last few games and we had to resort to listening to him win on the radio!
We had booked dinner this evening at a restaurant just a mile down the road in Fisher Street. We dodged showers on the way there, but we were disappointed with our meal to the point where Geoff sent his fish and chips back! The fish was overcooked, and the chips were hard, but it must have been pretty awful for Geoff to do that. The staff handled it very well, we didn’t want anything else as Geoff shared my mediocre fishbake. The prices were high but the quality was low, fortunately they did not charge for either of our main courses, and the live music helped to make up for the disappointment.
WEEK 4: DOOLIN TO FETHARD
Day 22: Monday 17th July 2023
We moved on again today, this time further north to Galway. The route followed the N67 pretty much all the way through some lovely little towns, full of brightly coloured buildings, some of which would definitely merit a return visit someday, like Lisdoonvarna, Ballyvaughan and Kinvarra.
We stopped in Doolin to visit an Irish Crafts shop which was stunning, expensive but worth the money. We drove up across the limestone plateau and then descended via Corkscrew Hill, the sat nav is evidence of how twisty that road was, before stopping for coffee on an old quay, right by the water near Ballyvaughan.
We wanted to arrive at our next site close to midday as we had been told it was on a first come first served basis. Its proximity to Galway City is the reason for its popularity and they charge high prices as a result. We knew it was cash payments only, but I had misread the tariff and we only just had enough cash between us to pay the bill!
We were shown to our pitch by a man in a golf buggy, never a good sign, but we were pleased with our seafront pitch, albeit we are very close to our VW camper neighbour from Devon! After setting up and eating a cheese and biscuit lunch we cycled into Salthill, Galway City’s seaside, along an excellent cycle and walking trail. En route Jon and Madz rang and we had a lovely chat catching up on news from Tom and Ally’s wedding, which seems to have been a wonderful success, not marred by the weather at all.
Sadly, the trail didn’t go all the way we wanted it to so we locked up the bikes and walked the remainder of the promenade into Salthill and the bank to replenish the empty coffers! An ice cream was then called for, my favourite, a whippy with a flake! Unfortunately, it melted quicker than we could eat them so we both got in a right mess. Home to the van for a sit outside for our aperitifs, only the 3rd time in 3 weeks that we have got the chairs out!
Day 23: Tuesday 18th July 2023
Bus day today! We caught the 402 bus into Galway City at 11.00 so our first port of call was a coffee when we got off. Easier said than done! We thought we would find one on the way to a cycle shop we had identified on Google maps, but there were none …. then, when we found the cycle shop it had closed down! There were lots of murals painted all over the city on odd walls, and occasional sculptures, like that of the Galway Girl, which were worth a photo or two. We eventually found a coffee shop and bought a takeaway coffee, only to walk a little way down the road and found several all with seats outside which is what we wanted – typical!
We sort of followed a walking route set out in our guidebook, which took us down the main pedestrian area, lined with bars and restaurants. We were on the lookout for a nice restaurant for lunch but didn’t have much success in this area. We emerged at the Spanish Arch, so called because it was the main point where Spanish ships used to unload their cargo.
We walked on via the Docklands, which was less than inspiring, although it is due to have a huge sum of money spent on it in the coming years with a view to attracting large cruise ships. We returned to Eyre Square and the Skeffington Arms Hotel which had a restaurant called the Skeff. The menu looked good to us, so we went in and ordered a Guinness and a glass of wine. The young waiter returned and placed Geoff’s pint in front of him and at the same time tipped my glass of wine all over Geoff! His trousers and gilet were soaked, and the young man hadn’t got a clue what to do! He grabbed some paper towels and together he and I cleared up as best we could, and Geoff went off to the Gents to dry his trousers on the hand drier!
The hotel staff were very apologetic, and we enjoyed an excellent Roast Pork lunch, and, as you can imagine, Geoff negotiated a very good discount for the inconvenience!
After lunch, and mellow from the alcohol, we did a little bit of shopping before boarding the RoadTrain. This proved a very interesting tour of Salthill, where we were yesterday returning through the West End, via the canal and passing Lynch’s window. This well-known landmark is where Lynch, the son of the Town Mayor, was found guilty of murder in the 15th century. The executioner refused to do it and the Mayor stood by his principles and hung his son out of the window. This is where the phrase lynching came from!
We returned to Eyre square where the International Arts Festival was in full swing in the Festival garden with food outlets and entertainment. We enjoyed a Dingle Ice Cream and bought some local chocolates before walking to the Cathedral along the river. The Cathedral itself was stunning inside and we spent a few quiet minutes before catching the bus back to the van for a much-needed cuppa!
Our very nice neighbours in the VW from Devon are actually from New Zealand, he was formerly stationed at RNAS Culdrose, and we had chatted with them last night and again this morning, and even bumped into them in the middle of Galway City. They are heading south tomorrow as we head north.
Day 24: Wednesday 19th July 2023
We had been looking forward to today as we were heading to Achill Island, the furthest north we are intending to go on this trip. We were away from Salthill Campsite before 9.30, just after our friends left to head south. We went first to Halfords to purchase two new cycle mirrors, Geoff having broken his too, and then to Tescos. We did the same trick of asking someone if we could use their Clubcard to secure the cheaper prices, but then giving them the additional points!
All provisioned up, we headed north via Westport (really lovely town which we hope to revisit on Friday) and then onto Achill over a very smart bridge, worthy of being in Norway! The similarity didn’t stop there, we had enjoyed some pretty stunning scenery to get here, but it got even better from this point on. In contrast to Norway, where a lot of the houses were painted dark red, here they were nearly all white, which again, is very different to further south where multicoloured houses was the order of the day.
We are here on David’s recommendation, being where his maternal grandmother was born and where he based his university thesis, tourism on the island. Whatever tourism was like 60 years ago, it is booming now and justly so. The scenery is stunning, and visible on a beautiful day like today. We drove pretty much the length of the island to Keem Bay, navigating around the many sheep which just wander anywhere. The bay was just gorgeous with a white sand beach and turquoise water. It was very busy, and we couldn’t stop other than for me to jump out and take a few photos, but we didn’t mind as we drove back along the very scenic road a short distance and found a pull in to stop and make our lunch. We then ate on a seat high above the sea with a stunning view of Connemara across the water in front of us and the village of Doonagh further along the coast.
On to our campsite at Dugart for 2 nights, and we were really pleased with this very smart and well organised site until, that is, we arrived on our pitch. It overlooked the sea, but on driving onto the pitch we realised that our door opened straight onto a grassy area which our neighbours were sat out on. It then dawned on me that we would have to turn around, and in effect have our backs to the view! Having turned, it’s not so bad as we turn our front seats round anyway and we can now see the view quite well!
Some new neighbours then arrived on the other side, this time from Belgium, and they had the same dilemma, but quickly worked it out!
We are happy bunnies, with a lovely view albeit a little too chilly to sit out for long, but we are hopeful for tomorrow!
Day 25: Thursday 20th July 2023
We had a leisurely morning before getting the bikes ready, along with a picnic, for a day out touring the northeast part of this lovely island. We fitted the two new bike mirrors which were a perfect fit and a big relief for me, I do like to know that he is behind me!
We are on what is described as level 7 in this campsite, and it is up a short but very steep hill. It gives us a fabulous view across Dugart Bay but means a climb back up, so we have agreed to keep such climbs to a minimum!
Our destination today was Bullsmouth, which was the birthplace of David’s maternal grandmother. Her family was involved in the coastguard and the old building was still there on a knoll above the channel between Achill Island and Inishbiggle. We parked up our bikes and an elderly lady asked us if we were having a nice holiday, so I told her our story and she said that she had been born there! Her great grandfather had started the local school so there is every likelihood that David’s grandmother attended it.
We enjoyed our picnic on the beach before walking up to the coastguard building and finding a granite seat that had been placed there in memory of all those who had attended the school.
We continued our tour, stopping at Achill Salt, a tourist attraction developed out of a family business which had revived an old industry of salt making. We enjoyed a cup of tea and a chocolate and sea salt cookie before cycling back towards the campsite. We stopped off again at the Mastersons pub and restaurant for a drink while it rained again, we had been caught in it a couple of times on our outward journey, before finally arriving back at the van just after 5pm.
We had cycled what google maps called a mostly flat route …… it lied! There were a lot of ups and a lot of downs, which recharge the battery, but after 26km, my battery was down to 20%! We charged them up while enjoying a much-needed cuppa sat outside in the sunshine.
We had hoped to have pizza tonight as there was a van by the beach last night, but it wasn’t there tonight, so we raided the campsite freezer and enjoyed a chicken and herb one instead, which was actually delicious!
Day 26: Friday 21st July 2023
We said goodbye to Achill Island this morning, with the hope that we would return one day as this was a lovely place. I drove first as we were retracing our steps to Westport where we hoped to stop for a coffee and a wander. When we arrived, it was in a queue of cars and it soon became apparent that Westport was like Truro on a wet school holiday ….. everyone had poured into the town to find something to do as the weather had closed in again.
We carried on west along the coast to Louisberg, another charming little town, but again very busy and we couldn’t find any where to park so we kept driving. We eventually found a place to pull off the road to make some coffee and swapped drivers.
I hadn’t researched this route today as I have done with many others and the next few miles were an absolute treat. The Doolough valley opened up in front of us, with mountains either side, which we could see parts of through the rain. We paused to take some photos at the WAW viewpoint where there was also a memorial for those who walked the pass at the time of the famine in search of food. I was suddenly aware of midges, a cloud of them, and unfortunately, they followed us into the van, horrible little things, we opened the windows to blow them away.
The road ran along the side of a lake and at one point we could see a coach coming in the distance. We pulled over into a layby and waited, but it didn’t appear, so we decided to carry on …. big mistake as the coach then appeared and at a very narrow point, with rocks sticking out on the side of the road next to us. The coach reversed to let us through, but we had to pull the wing mirror in to get by. No damage done.
It was a lovely drive around the coast road to Kylemore Abbey. It would have been glorious on a sunny day, but …… I had wanted to visit the Abbey as I had seen lots of photographs and reviews on Facebook about it. We parked up in a large coach and camper van park before finding the restaurant for lunch. Geoff had Irish Stew and I had quiche, both of which were very acceptable. We had a quick visit to the shop which was clearly catering to the American market at grossly inflated prices but top-quality stuff. I was equipped with my brolly as we walked over to the Abbey. The site is the home of a Benedictine order of Nuns and there is clearly a lot of money available to them as there was a huge new development in the process of being built for the order.
We wandered around the Abbey rooms before catching a shuttle bus to the Victorian Walled Garden. This was amazing, but it absolutely threw it down as we walked round, so we didn’t linger and caught the bus back. Time was marching on so we headed to Clifden Eco camp, stopping for a few provisions at Letterfrack en route.
When we arrived at the site, it was via a winding muddy track, with lots of potholes. We arrived at a barrier and pressed the button but no response. We rang a phone number and got a message saying no one was available, so we were a bit flummoxed! We had booked, so we were just starting to worry when the barrier went up! We followed the track and some arrows to an old caravan hidden in the dunes where the owners were based. It was bizarre to say the least, but I had a smile on my face because the hap hazard nature of it all, with potential stunning views across the estuary and a beach, really appealed. The owner, Kris, then directed us up on top of a grassy knoll and said, stop – you’re bang level now. We actually weren’t but I hadn’t the heart to tell him! We are warm and cosy inside our van whilst looking out a wild and misty coastline all around us.
Day 27: Saturday 22nd July 2023
It had rained most of the night and was still raining this morning, sadly we couldn’t see the wonderful view which we knew was only metres away from the front of the van. It did clear to some extent after breakfast, but not for long.
We watched England ladies win their first World Cup match via VPN. We remember watching them in the last world cup when we were touring around Norway, but they have achieved a great deal since then.
We walked over to the reception to pick up some information about local walks and to change my book in their bookswap, the first one we have seen since Mannix Point. The mist had lifted a little so we were able to take some photos, but I have included one from the campsite’s website to show what it looks like in lovely weather!
We walked part way along the road towards a shop and bar, but having walked uphill and been passed by numerous cars on a very narrow road, we decided to turn for home, saying goodbye to some animal friends, and walked out onto the site’s private beach instead. This was littered with jellyfish, so swimming or just small children wanting to play would be dangerous.
We retreated to the van as the rain lashed down, followed by some serious thunder and sheet lightning, the like we haven’t seen for a very long time. I didn’t like it at all, but after the air felt lighter, it was very still and it started to brighten a little. The downside was loss of electricity and internet, good job we had gas to cook our supper and to power the fridge.
Due to the weather we have changed our plans, and instead of staying here for 3 nights we will leave tomorrow and return to Norman View, the first site we stayed at which we really liked. It is on the coast, so we should avoid the dreaded midges, and we would like to visit the Hook Lighthouse, weather permitting!
This would have been the perfect place to see the sun set into the sea, but sadly it didn’t happen for us, but again, I have included a photo from the campsite’s website to show what we missed!
Day 28: Sunday 23rd July 2023
Having spent pretty much all day in the van yesterday looking out on a bleak misty view, we had checked the forecast for today and it was more of the same in the morning, but brightening in the afternoon. We knew we had to leave tomorrow anyway, and the weather then was expected to be sun all day! We didn’t want to spend a long travelling day missing out on the sunshine, so we moved today and were glad we did as the blooming rain followed us all day!
Our route took us through lovely scenes, quite visible albeit a dull morning, to Galway City where we stopped for some fuel and a coffee which we drank in a shopping centre car park! We continued on the toll free motorway to Limerick then the N24 through Tipperary (honestly!) where we stopped for lunch in an equally glamourous parking spot called Tipperary Plaza (essentially a fuel station!). Our route also included a toll tunnel, a fancy bridge and an enormous Bulmers Cider factory.
From here we carried on to Waterford, skirting to the north of the town and onto Fethard and Norman View. Amazingly it hadn’t rained here all day, but within minutes of us pitching up it started and poor Geoff got soaked filling Colin up with water!
We shared the driving today as the journey took 7 hours in total, but we feel we made the right decision in view of the weather pattern today and over the next couple of days. We have also done the majority of the miles to the port, so can relax and enjoy our last couple of days in Ireland. We are pleased to be back on this lovely site, although a man upset me by knocking on our door and telling us that we were on his pitch, even though he had not left anything on it to reserve it, which is the accepted protocol. He went to the office to complain but was clearly told it was his fault for not leaving something. To give him credit he came and apologised, which helped.
WEEK 5: FETHARD TO CORNWALL
Day 29: Monday 24th July 2023
Wow! We woke to a beautiful bright blue day! It was such a rare event on this holiday it deserved to be celebrated. I love eating breakfast outside, and that is exactly what we did, first time on this holiday, and we only managed it once in Brittany.
We decided to make the most of the lovely weather by sitting out in it and not doing anything except reading and drinking coffee, what a treat!
You can only do nothing for a short time and after a lunch of tea and scones, courtesy of the lovely lady who owns the campsite, we got the bikes ready and cycled off into Fethard, the local village. We started by visiting the harbour, which was a little neglected to say the least, in fact I would go so far as to describe it as a right mess! It was full of discarded spider crabs. There were literally hundreds lying in the harbour, and we concluded that they must have been thrown away by fishermen, perhaps not reaching the quota size maybe?
The road to the harbour was being mended by means of three men in a truck with shovelfuls of tarmac and chippings, filling in the potholes (known locally as patching). We negotiated our way, avoiding the piles of tarmac along the road, and waved a cheery goodbye to them and them to us, as we got to the end of the road.
The village of Fethard was bustling. It is clearly a holiday centre without being overtly touristy and has its own castle! The castle grounds and garden were very well cared for and we had a wander round those and the village before cycling down to the beach, which was also very appealing and not in the least touristy, in fact the sign by the beach indicated that pretty much everything and everybody was not allowed to do anything, and then to have a nice stay!
By this time, it was gone 4pm when the pub opened. We cycled back to the Tom Neville’s pub for a Guinness and a glass of Rose. We asked for a pack of cards, and we played rummy until just after 5pm when the restaurant opened. Geoff had fish and chips (surprise surprise!) and I had Moussaka, (the restaurant was run by a Greek) which was superb!
We cycled home after a truly lovely day …., no rain today thank goodness!
Day 30: Tuesday 25th July 2023
We enjoyed a sort of sunset last night after posting the diary so have included a pic of that as I didn’t take many photos today.
We were lucky to have another beautiful morning at Norman View so enjoyed breakfast outside again in the sun. We weren’t in a rush today so read our books, and took our time striking camp, eventually leaving this highly recommended site just after midday.
Our destination was Wexford. I had checked on park4night, which hasn’t let us down at all this trip, and found some on street parking, along from the railway station by the river. It cost just 2 euros for the day, bargain! We walked into the town and our overriding impression was that this was a town for locals rather than tourists. It lacked many of the touristy chain shops seen in other towns, but still had a nice feel.
We found an excellent restaurant, Greenacres and both had the fish of the day, Hake in a tomato and basil butter sauce. It was excellent, apart from the amazing seafood selection we enjoyed whilst at Mannix Point, easily the best meal of the holiday!
We continued our wander through the town, first to what we thought was a castle but turned out to be a Wall Gate then via the main shopping street and onto the seafront, returning on a large piazza, which we think must have been former railway sidings. We had a cup of tea and a cake at Greenacres again (it had a café, shop and gallery as well as a restaurant!) before walking back to Colin.
The last move of the day was to the IOAC, the International Outdoor Activities Centre, near Rosslare. Whilst we didn’t want to go kayaking or any of the other activities on offer, they also had an excellent campsite. This is serving a purpose as it is only 3 minutes to the Port for an early ferry. Not as early as we thought, as this morning I received a text from Stena advising me that our ferry had been cancelled and we were being transferred onto the Irish Ferries departure at 8.45am, just 30 minutes later than our scheduled departure.
This is the last entry for this diary. We will be leaving on the ferry in the morning and then heading straight home to Cornwall.
We have had a lovely holiday but it has been, without doubt, the wettest holiday we have ever had, consistent rain and overcast days for probably 60% of the time, despite the fact that this is July! But we now understand why Ireland is so green! Will we return? We hope so, there are lots of places still to see further north on the Wild Atlantic Way, and several that we have already seen that we would like to return to …… one day!