All posts by Kim

Northern Ireland

First time into Northern Ireland

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Monday 11th September 2017

Today we are making our way to Northern Ireland. We have commitments later in the month so we need to make our way northwards. Unfortunately we will only be paying lip service to County Mayo and County Sligo but I’m sure we will be paying Ireland a visit again some time in the future.

11.09.2017 Route

Towing Kilometres – Today: 216 – Cumulative: 1,732

We took the Wild Atlantic Way along the Killary Harbour on N59, a now familiar road, even after a short time in the area.

Killary Fjord

We travelled the whole length of the Harbour, skirting the southern shore, passing through the village of Leenane before crossing into County Mayo, from Galway. The road followed the meandering Erriff River at the base of the mountains, with views of water cascading down the slopes. We continued on N59 to Westport, then headed east to Charlestown and the border between County Mayo and Sligo.

After navigating Sligo at school’s out time, we made our way northeast. The road began to rise and to our surprise we were suddenly driving along the valley of Glencar and County Leitrim.

Swiss Valley Waterfall

Apparently it’s alternative name is Swiss Valley, owing to the limestone walls which give it an alpine appearance. If time and no caravan had allowed, there was a pretty waterfall to be visited.

Back on the road again, and onwards to Manorhamilton . The weather was so changeable. One minute the sun was out, the next it was pouring with rain. We even tried to find the end of the rainbow and the pot of gold!

Nice Rainbow On The Way To Sligo

For some reason the sat nav came into it’s own again and sent us off on R282 towards the village of Garrison. Not really the fastest or most suitable road but we managed to take in Lough Melvin on the way. (And boy was it choppy on the waters!!)

Stormy Lough Melvin

Sat Nav mistake #2 was just around the corner. Instead of taking the longer route B52 to Belleek and then the lovely smooth A46 to our destination. Oh no, we headed east on the scenic Ulster Way! Not so scenic towing a caravan or if you suffer from motion sickness. The road was suitable for tractors and that’s all that we encountered on our 9.7 miles to A46! Needless to say, by the time we reached the end, we were both feeling the worse for wear.

At last we pulled up at our next destination, Blaney Caravan Park in County Fermanagh, near Enniskillen. Home for the next few days.

Ireland

Stormy Sunday

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Sunday 10th September

As forecasted, the storm arrived late Saturday night and was set to continue all day today. We had already decided we would not be moving on today, as towing a caravan in these conditions can be very  dangerous and stressful. So a blogging day it was.

The site became very busy over the course of the day, with many motorhomes arriving one after the other. Our new neighbours from Holland, were attempting to erect their tent, but were having serious problems, as the wind was so blustery. Eventually they gave up and said they were off into town to find a B&B.

As a treat and for having been cocooned all day in the ‘van’ we headed into Clifden for supper. We were spoilt for choice but had been recommended Mannion’s, The service was good and the live  traditional Irish music added to the atmosphere. The food was pretty decent too. As we left to leave, we spotted the Dutch couple from our site earlier and they informed us that they had a place for the night. In 40 years of travelling, this was the first time they had had to abandon the tent and find somewhere to spend the night!

Ireland

Connemara National Park

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Saturday 9th September

Having enjoyed our lunch on the beach, we headed off to Connemara National Park. We continued our mission to drive as much of the Wild Atlantic Way by taking the coast road (Cleggan Loop) around the remainder of the Aughrus Peninsula before joining N59. The quiet winding road, allowed us views of the Atlantic and there was a plethora of signs highlighting the many sandy beaches along the route. We also passed through Cleggan, where it is possible to catch a ferry to the island, Inishbofin.

Connemara National  Park is located just south of Letterfrack village and has no admission charge.  Once parked we made our way down to the visitor centre, which is worth a visit and the staff were very knowledgeable and helpful too.

Visitor Centre Water Feature

 

There are four signposted trails to explore, all of which have their merit.

Trails Map

 

We chose the Lower Diamond Hill Walk, approximately 3 kms. We headed off uphill following a very well maintained pathway. As we got higher the views were fantastic. There were several stone steps to navigate both on the upward and downward journey but not too excessive. (Although they will certainly get your heart rate up).

Nicely constructed trails

 

Having reached the top of our trail, we paused to take in the views. Yet again, they were spectacular. It was possible to see for miles, despite the poor weather conditions.

View Over The Park

Back down at the visitor centre, we rewarded ourselves with a coffee in the pleasant cafe. Time to head home and prepare the caravan for the storm that was about to arrive later that evening.