Sunday 17th September 2017
We woke to the sight of a beautiful sunny Sunday morning! Typical, as we were leaving Portrush today to travel to Belfast.
Nevertheless, we took a pre-departure stroll along the strand. It was glorious. The tide was out, people were walking their dogs and children were already making the most of the day, digging in the sand. We walked along the entire stretch of sand, towards the harbour and Portrush lifeboat station. Time to blow the cobwebs away and enjoy some sea air. Fishermen were preparing their bait and setting out in a variety of small boats, like us, making the most of the delightful conditions.
The bay at Portrush is sheltered and it was possible to see right around the coast back towards the coast of Londonderry, as the visibility was so good.
Back at the site we finished the final preparations for the next leg of our journey and pondered why, every day couldn’t be like today, weather wise? Guess the Emerald Isle wouldn’t be so green if that were the case.
Towing Kilometres – Today: 106 – Cumulative: 1,992
We set off on A29, taking the ring road around Coleraine and onto A26, before joining M2 towards Antrim, then Belfast. We discovered that there is only one service station on M2 at the present time, and not on the south bound carriageway. So, in need of sustenance and the fact we were not too far from our destination, but could not check in until 2 pm, we came off M2 and headed back north to reach Templepatrick services. (Northern Ireland’s first motorway service area). It was particularly busy today, as many of Belfast’s half marathon competitors had chosen it to reward themselves with a cappuccino and some fast food! Who could blame them, they probably deserved it!
Back on the road and we were fast approaching Belfast City and the Sat Nav was behaving itself for a change. We passed Belfast Docks, home of the Titanic Belfast Experience and it wasn’t difficult to miss the Harland & Wolff twin shipbuilding gantry cranes, Samson and Goliath, as they are affectionately known, in their bright yellow livery.
We skirted around the north of the city, and were pleased we were not entering the city centre, as the traffic was pretty congested on the slip road. The M3 merged into the Sydenham By-Pass and as we passed George Best Belfast City Airport on our left, the road took a sharp detour south on to A55 and eventually to our destination, Dundonald Touring Caravan Park. The site was situated behind a busy main road, so we were expecting some traffic noise. But if we got bored there was plenty of entertainment within walking distance. An Omniplex, an International Ice Bowl and David Lloyd’s tennis club. There was even Pirates Adventure Golf!
A quick call to our brother in laws parents, Dennis and Jennie, who live just a few miles away in Newtownards to say we had arrived and our evening meal was sorted. Irish hospitality – can always be relied on.
We made our way over to Newtownards around 4 pm and it was great to catch up and finally get to see where Dennis and Jennie have lived their entire married life (55 years). Their house is situated high up, with brilliant views, not only over the town, but in the distance to Scrabo Tower and Strangford Lough.
Dennis drove us to Scrabo Country Park, at the top of Scrabo Hill to take a look at this noted landmark and enjoy the views over Strangford Lough and the surrounding countryside. Apart from the rather steep walk up to the tower, which seems to have become a familiar feature of our experiences, we were blown away, nearly literally, by what we saw.
Back at Jennie and Dennis’s we enjoyed some delicious home made Irish stew and apple pie, before heading back home.