On leaving the port of Dublin we stopped to set the SatNav, no signal which meant no directions.  We drove around a bit until we found a signal.  Following the blue sat nav line we managed two full revolutions of the same area until I spotted some writing on the road the other side of a line of red cones which said Tunnel.  Going around the cones I then entered the longest tunnel in the world.  At one stage I thought it was an Irish trick and we were going to come out back in Wales.

Monday 2nd June - Portrane

Whilst trying to retrieve her phone from the locker above her head, she let it slip from her hand and it went down between the bed and the back door. Too far to reach in a very narrow gap I had to resort to the above.  While down there I also found a set of earrings that had gone the same way.  All in all quite a worthwhile journey.

So early evening now and the wind has really picked up.  We can really feel it buffeting the van.  We are still feeling very tired so will have an early night tonight after watching a film.

Tuesday 3rd June - Battle of the Boyne

It started raining today but we have still hit the road heading for Drogheda.  Just made a fuel stop at a service station.  We went in to have coffee and cake.  It's huge and even has a large play area.

Once we had left the battle site we had a very relaxed drive back to the campsite.  All in all it has been a lovely day.

Wednesday 4th June 2025 

Today we are visiting Newbridge which is a farm.  The grounds are lovely and today being used by a local school.  First stop is the cafe, I know this will make Gary cringe but no point in being on holiday if you are going to do it all yourself.

The grounds are really beautiful and we went off track onto a nature trail.  Not really a lot to see but a lovely quiet day.

As you can see from the photo it was a bit windy again today but not too cold.  After we left it rained a little but it was just a shower.

We are leaving here tomorrow and will the be off grid for two days but I am happy the way the solar panel is working so there should be no problems.

Thursday 5th June 2025

So the first thing to mention about today is the fact Gary passed his HGV test.

Right now back to the road trip.  At the beginning of today the mileage was 471 but this increased to 647 by the time we reached our destination.  So today we covered 176 miles.  We decided against using the motorway as we wanted to see some of the small towns.  

We stopped in a lovely little town called Tullamore.  We managed to park on the side of the road. Leigh bought a top and a duvet which she intends to re-engineer into another garment, but she is not sure what right now.

On our arrival at Lisdoonvarna where we are booked into the car park.  We thought it would be busy but so far we are the only one's here.  We stay here off grid for two days but will of course be out during the day.

We ended up being the only campervan to stay here.  It was a very peaceful stopover.  We are here for two nights.

6th June 2025

So this morning having got up quite late we started to make our way to Bunratty Castle.  I did not want to use the motorways so we kept to the back roads.  We found easy parking just outside the grounds and went in. The first thing we looked at was the castle itself.  Having been here once before we knew we could not get into the main castle as it was up lots of steps but we're able to see the keep.

The Blacksmith in a village had a very important job.  Not only did he have to shoe the horses but also he would repair tools and farm machinery.

This was just a picture of one of the buildings but with the trees in the foreground it just seemed too good to miss.

Sheila was in her element here doing what she always wanted to do.  The Schoolhouse only has two classes, one for Girls and one for Boys.

The date on the board is 1837 when this school was built.

A lovely quiet street in the Bunratty village.

A distant picture of the cliffs of Moher.  The terrain was bad so I was unable to get closer to them.

We managed to find a pub in Doolin with live music.  Unfortunately it was a couple who only played but did not sing.  Because of this there was no interaction with the crowd so it was not so good.  

When we got back to the car park we were still the only one's there.

7th June 2025

So it does seem as if we have been driving all day but of course we got up late. We drove through Limmerick but did not stop as it's a huge city.  We carried on until we came to Adare.  We stopped here and had lunch.  

Once we left Adare we headed towards our next camp stop which is a site called Greenacres.  We shall only be here for one night then we move on again. Since leaving home we have travelled 857 miles, 520 of those over here.

8th June 2025

So a very short journey today to our next campsite. This is behind a pub in a field with very little amenities.  It was called O'Conners. The village was called Cloghane and we were in County Kerry. You have to wonder why anyone would stop here and then you look at the views.

As well as the stunning views it did have one more endearing feature, a real live Leprecaun.  I don't mean someone dressed like a pixie, I am talking about someone who was at least 200 years old with a big bushy white beard that came to a point.  He had very small brown teeth and was no taller than mum at about 4 foot ten inches.  He was dressed in rolled up jeans and a jacket, he also wore a hat. He was sat on a bench on the main road on two separate days and he was clearly magical. I had the impression that whatever the time or on what day he could always be seen on this bench.  I would have liked to take a picture of him but was a bit worried he would be offended and turn me into a pig, or something.  As mum has no reservations about who she talks with she told me he spoke the Irish with a strong accent.

Later when we got back to the campsite we sat and watched the tide come in.  It was slow at first but soon got faster.

9th June 2025

So we had a very quiet and very dark night.  No streetlights or indeed any other kind of light.  It was pitch black and very relaxing.  So today we are going to head down towards Dingle.  This is a lovely town that we have been to many times before.

So when we woke up this morning it was raining very lightly. Whilst this is not the first bit of rain we have had up until now it has just been showers but this is in for the day.

We decided to take a drive into Dingle. It is only about 14 kilometres from where we are staying. It is however a great drive as you have to go up into the mountains through the Connor Pass. At the top of the pass we were just a little higher than home at 1496 feet. our starting point was zero, sea level and it was a continual climb up into the low cloud covering the top.

We drove down into Dingle one of our favourite towns. It's where we were first introduced to Fungi who was a dolphin about thirty years old. when the sightseeing boats went out into the harbour he would always come and play alongside. when Covid came along and the boats stopped he just disappeared.

Having done some shopping and walked around we made our way back to the Van and drove out of Dingle on the way to Brendon Creek. I could not remember what it looked like until we got there then the memories came back. We sat here enjoying the view and the peace and quiet.

When we got back to the campsite we got sorted with our electric a d the had so.e tea.  The weather slowly got worse and now we are in the middle of a pretty wild storm.  Hopefully it will blow itself out overnight.

10th June 2025

The weather this morning is much brighter and the rain has stopped.  There is still quite a low cloudbase but we will head up into the mountains later and stop for a bit of lunch, hopefully the view will be clearer than yesterday.

Such a stunning view from up here.  The road up is full of sharp corners and sometimes single track roads only.  On one side solid rock and on the other a low wall with a drop of hundreds of feet.

Here we are at the top.  You can see it's a bit windy.  Over the wall it just drops away.

11th June 2025

The wind is still up but the sun is out and it's a lovely day.

We wanted to drive past Inch Beach. When we got there we parked up and had a coffee.  Cars were driving down onto the sand and as it was such a lovely day we decided to change our plans.  We will not go around the Kerry ring instead we have driven onto the sand and will stay here for the rest of the day.

When we left the beach we headed up to the Gap of Dunloe.  A very strange experience, neither of us recalled ever coming here before but that is not the case.  As we drove up towards the parking area we both realised that we had been here before.  We recognised the cafe and pub.  It must have been quite a long time ago.  We shall be staying here tonight off grid.

Change of plan, despite someone telling us that we would be okay staying there all night, there is also a sign saying no Campers overnight - £100 fine so we moved 15 miles down the road just to be safe.

12th June 2025

So having left our camp stop we made our way to Kilorghan we then picked up the beginning of the Kerry Ring.

We will drive around until we get back to the beginning where we will then stop at a place called Flemings White Bridge.

We stopped for a cup of coffee at this lovely place and both bought a book and Leigh bought a necklace.

Whilst it is quite a long way around the Kerry Ring (111 miles) the majority of the road is smooth with sweeping bends.  The views are breathtaking but you cannot really capture the beauty with a photo.

Whilst driving through one small town I came across this on the side of a building.  It would appear that in 1959 Charlie Chaplin visited Waterville for a holiday with his wife and nine children.  He stayed at the Butler Arms, he liked it so much that he came back every year for the next ten years.  He of course died in 1977.

I mentioned above how most of the road travelled was smooth.  The bits that were not smooth were either very bumpy due to shallow holes in the road surface or wallows which almost felt as if you were going to take off. I believe it was during one of these low flying sessions that the seat on my scooter came off and fell down between the van and the rest of the scooter.  Very lucky it did not fall the other way.  I am either going to have to fix it so it will not come off at all, or make sure one of the restraints is holding the seat securely.  You can see from this picture that the shape under the cover at the back is a bit odd.

13th June 2025

We are now at a place called Flemings White Bridge which is just outside Killarney.  We shall be here for 3 nights and making a couple of day trips.  The weather is sunny but a little cloudy but lovely for a little Al fresco breakfast.

14th June 2025

This morning we went to visit Muckross House.  It was built in the 1840's an renovated in 1960 after being left to Killarney National Park.  With the help of a cleverly concealed lift we were able to visit all 3 floors including the basement where the servants worked and lived.

So my darling wife has decided to lose her purse.  She has obviously put it down somewhere and forgotten to pick it back up.  There was only one bank card to worry about as she keeps all the others with her phone.  She cannot remember what else was in the purse except possibly about €200.  So she had to ring the bank and cancel her card.

We walked to the town centre which was about 2 Km each way.  We went down into the park where a guy was singing and playing a guitar on the bandstand.  He was quite good, we bought a coffee while we listened.  We then walked a bit further into town but it was mainly cafes.  We made our way back stopping at a bar called the Mauritania.  I had a pint of Guiness.

This ship is called George Bernard Shaw and is a coastal defence vessel.  Although I thought it looked quite old it was only brought into service in 2018. It's one of four vessels of this class in the Irish navy.

It's been a lovely hot day today and I think it's all taken it's toll.  She tried to fight against it but in the end could not keep her eyes open.

16th June 2025

After breakfast this morning we went for a walk along the front towards the town.  We did not have to move on until midday so we're not in any hurry.

One of the princess line cruises had docked so there were plenty of people around.  We went down into Kenedy park and had a coffee.

This metal sculpture of an Irish docker with a Squeeze Box was brown from rust which I am sure was intentional.

When we left at midday we headed to Blarney where we are going to spend the next two days.

The campsite is on the top of a hill just outside the town.  The pitches are nearly level and the site looks very modern.

The pitches are not overlapped but big enough.  It looks like a very well kept campsite.  We sat outside and enjoyed the sun.

Tomorrow we will go exploring.

17th June 2025

Today we have decided to stay on the campsite.  My back started hurting yesterday mainly as a result of having to load my scooter onto the carrier.  Today I have been resting my back and tomorrow we will go into Blarney and have a look around.  Then we will head up to our next stop which is near Tipperary and I believe a long way.

18th June 2025

This morning we drove into Blarney where we managed to park outside the Woollen Mill.  As it was such a lovely day we sat in the park and read for a while.  We then went and had a coffee.  We did not bother with the castle as we have seen it before.  On leaving Blarney we then drove to our next stop which was the Glen of Aherlow.  It is a lovely site which is very well spaced out.

From our pitch we have a lovely view of the mountains.  We have been sat outside enjoying the sun, it's been 24 degrees today.  It's now 20.30 and we have only just come in.  

19th June 2025

This little fella was also enjoying the view.  With a little coaxing he ran up Leighs arm before remembering he was late for his tea and flying off.

The photos of the Glen do not do it justice.  It's a truly magnificent sight that was carved out by the glaciers in a past ice age.

In the evening we sat out and listened to the bird song.  I believe it was just one bird but there was such a variety of phrases as to be more than just a bird singing.  It was obviously a very intelligent bird who perhaps had been a music professor in a previous life. 

20th June 2025

So we have now left our site in the mountains and our next stop is 107 km away.  We have stopped en route to have a cup of coffee. Gary would have a hissy fit if he knew we were paying for it. Today is the fourth day of this heatwave and whilst it is lovely it would be nice if it was a little cooler at night.  We had the grandaddy of thunderstorms last night which sounded as if the mountains were being moved, because we all know this can only be done at night.

Whilst on our journey we passed through a little village called Burntchurch which as you can see was quite a coincidence as the church in the village was burnt during an early war.

We stopped in a little place called bridge where we had a lovely lunch.  We have only got about 25km to our next site.

When we got to our destination we stopped in the town to try to find where the site was.  An Irish gentleman came up to my cab window and asked me if I was looking for the hub, I said yes so he said to carry on and on my left I will see a church, well you don't want to be going  there, but before that you will see a right turn.  Take that and follow it up a long hill until you are approaching a roundabout, but you don't want to be going  that far but stop before, then he looked at us and said wait there I will get my moped.  So we followed him and he took us right there.  

We have just taken a leisurely stroll into the town.  We sat outside a typical Irish bar where we enjoyed a drink and shared a bowl of chips.  We were talking to an Irish couple who had a Newfoundland dog who was just georgous.

Across the road from the pub was an extraordinary display of hanging baskets that I felt were worthy of a photo.

21st June 2025

So today started off quite cool but by 10am it was really warming up.  Temperature is up to about 36 degrees and climbing.  

We are going to drive down to Kilkenny this morning.

Running through the village is a lovely river and this is breached by a arched bridge built in 1761.

So after a very pleasant drive we finally arrive in Kilkenny.  It's called a city but feels much more like a town.  Very busy but not oppressively so.  We are just having a walk around, have an ice cream and shall then make our way back.

When we got back there was a live singer on the outdoor stage.  We got our chairs and sat down to listen.  They had a raffle and so we spent 5 euros on tickets and won a voucher for 15 euros to be spent on camping stuff.

22nd June 2025

So today we shall be leaving here and travelling to Wicklow which is only about seventy miles away.  We shall be staying there for two nights.

We stopped off at a service station just off the motorway.  On the next table were a couple in there late sixties.  Despite being born in Liverpool and living in Luton during his 20's and 30's he had a perfect Irish Accent.

Being of a similar age we seem to talk the same language and hold the same values.  We had both worked all our lives.  I think if we lived in the same village we might have been friends.

Despite wanting to keep to the back roads Google maps had other ideas.  In a sudden change of direction it put us firmly back onto the N11.  If we had tried to get back on route we would have gone far out of our way, so we decided to stay as is was not much further that we had to go.

The site was easy to find and we were able to pick our own pitch.  The part of the park for families is kept apart from the grown ups and we stay in the secret garden.  We shall stay on site today and do our visits tomorrow.

23rd June 2025

After we had finished breakfast and cleared up we headed up into the Wicklow mountains which are in the Wicklow National Park, Ireland largest national park.  To be exact we headed to a place called Sally Gap which is where they first met in the film 'P.S. I Love You', which is one of our favourite romcoms.

Such beautiful views.

When we came down from the mountains we made our way to the town of Wicklow.  We were lucky to find an accessible bay on the main road.  We started to walk up through the town only to slowly recognise the place as somewhere we had been before.  It was during a previous holiday with Deb and Kevin.

24th June 2025

The weather today is a bit overcast but still very hot.  We left the campsite at around 11am heading to our last stop which is a carpark beside the sea.  When we got there we were faced with an overhead barrier that was too low for us.  We rang the site we stayed in the first night here and so are now going to make our way up there.

All settled in now for the day.  It has been an amazing trip and our mileage covered stands at 1622 so by the time we get home tomorrow it should just shy of 2000.  The weather is also telling us to go home as it keeps raining.

I want to be leaving here no later than 7 in the morning.  As we will have to contend with work traffic I have no idea how long it will take to get to the port.  I would rather be waiting in a line to board than trying to rush against heavy traffic.

25th June 2025

So the day started well, we were out of bed on time and within twenty minutes we're on the way to the port.  I wanted to be early as I was not sure about the traffic heading into Dublin.  It was a significant.ple drive with no mistakes and we parked in lane number one just before eight.

At about nine I was waved forward by the traffic officer only to find my van would not start and was showing all the signs of a flat battery.  One of the traffic officers brought over a battery pack and started me and I sat there revving for a few minutes.

I was worried about the other end but when the time came it started perfectly.  I did not want to risk another problem so did not turn the engine off until we got home eight hours later.