Rain rugby hikes mountain bikes and Dolphin watching
As we both work in the service industry it is very unusual for both Polly and myself to be off for a bank holiday weekend . But that's what was on the cards for the October weekend we decided it would be a good idea to take off in the van Friday to Monday to see how the other half live as most of our touring is done midweek this was going to be a real novelty .
After a quick fiddle about on the internet it was clear that most places were booked up but we did manage to book Tollymore Forest Park for the Friday night but after that we would be winging it .The term "WINGING IT" will figure regularly in this blog as this is our preferred mode ,we often travel this way it is one of the attractions of van live for us just take off and see there the road will take you .
After the usual faffing about we managed to get on the road on Friday afternoon. I set the satnav for Tollymore it was showing one and a half hours about 100km all going well .Off we went , it was our first time going to Tollymore in the van after hearing lots of good things about the park we were really looking forward to visiting . Despite some strange routing thought Newry we were making good time that is until just outside Hilltown we came to a road closure. Our satnav is very good it allows us to input the size of the van thus helping us to avoid roads unsuitable for a 8mtr motorhome but its dump, as in its not connected to the internet so directed us towards the closed road where your goggle maps will pick up the closed road and redirect you accordingly but as yet goggle does not allow you to input vehicle size... this may be an option going forward ! After this bit of drama we ended up driving over the Silent valley a bit tight but nothing we couldn't handle arriving in Tollymore in good time to check out the campsite and have a quick hike.
I have to say I was very impressed with Tollymore, checkin was straight forward we were directed to the hard stands and told to pick one that was free ..... simple . The park is beautiful after we got set up we pulled on the boots a headed for the woods, we done the river walk one of the way marked walks inside the park with the autumnal colours it was stunning we really enjoyed our hike with the only down side being there is not a wee pub within walking distance of the park (one of my pet hates about campsites in Ireland they tend to be in the middle of nowhere) so it was back to the van for dinner a bit of TV time and bed.
I normally sleep well in the van but I have never heard rain like it , it came in waves just when you thought it couldn't get any harder it did , this was the repeated throughout the night making for a very restless night sleep . Our plans to get up early to get in another walk went by the way as we lay in until after 10am this just left enough time to check out the shower block which was heated with loads of hot water with unmetered showers, the block maybe could to with a lick of paint but overall very nice €28 for the night was probably about right, After that it was back to the van to make a plan for the day.
There was a lose plan to meet up with friends at some point over the weekend so with a flurry of text things were firmed up we would meet them in the Carlingford Aire. With a plan in place we took to the road following the coast this time stoping briefly in Kilkeel to see the impressive fishing fleet we made our way to Carlingford . We would be regulars in Carlingford over the years I can recall when you could park a motorhome with permission in the grounds of Four Seasons Hotel way back in the day. That was until some genius decided it would be ok to but out the table chairs and BBQ on the grounds of a 4 star hotel that soon put a stop to that little gem.We tend to use the Marina theses days @€15 with services within waking distance of the town, we got set up I pulled out the bikes we had a look about the village then hit the hills to visit the fairie tree you have to keep in with the fairies ! Our friends arrived soon after we got back from the cycle. It was tea and catch up until it was time to head up the town for dinner in McKevitts there was the bonus of being able to see the rugby world cup final while having dinner we had some good banter with some South African fans who were getting rather exited about the match. I couldn't help thinking it could have so easily been Ireland in the final that would have been some evening but hey maybe next time , we then moved on to Ma Bakers for a pint or two this made for a very enjoyable evening . I have since learned that later in the week the village was hit with a flood with many of the shops and pubs getting water damaged I wish them the best, flooding is a horrible thing for anyone to deal with
Sunday morning there was great excitement around the Marina as the resident Dolphin was putting on a show inside the Marina it was wonderful to see a Dolphin up close , most of the morning was spent drinking rounds of tea and chats in our friends cracking little hi roof 91 Volkswagen while keeping an eye out for the Dolphin . Our friends had to leave and our plan was to walk up the mountain but the weather was against us with the wind whipping up and the showers getting more persistent we decided to have a TV day. I was still keen to get out so I decided to get out the mountain bike pull on the gear and do a solo run up the mountain I was gland I did and was rewarded with some lovely views I never met a sole, when I got back to the van I pulled of the wet gear and had a quick shower its great to have all the home comforts in the van, that is until I realised I had used all the water an amateur mistake not making sure I had enough water , out came the watering can I had to walk to the tap to refill the fresh water well enough to make the dinner at least.
Sounds like fun
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