Category Archives: Travelling

Day 11 – Black Sheep

I had worked myself up into a ripe old mood. What a horrendous campground. I knew of the downside (one looong line, with facilities only on one end), but I did not expect the price. 10€ “festival extra”, only that no one had told us on the phone about it. So we paid the extra with no time to even maybe go and enjoy the reason. Bottom line: Most expensive night so far, for a farcically bad camp. The view was good, but everyone was drunk – snoring and farting – and the loo was so far off that everyone else kept going there by car! To top it of, of course they would drive all the way past our end to turn their cars around noisily.

Breakfast and packing was enhanced by the sound and utter stink of the next door camper’s diesel started up and then left running unattended for 25 minutes! What is wrong with people?

I was not a good husband or cheerleader that morning, but we powered through it and got to Ireland’s northernmost point, Marlin Head, by 10am. There was a promise of great coffee and pastries served by a legendary food truck in the Lonely Planet, and when pulling into the parking lot, the truck at least was there on top of the hill. After a friendly chat we took off for a little 1km cliff walk to be (hopefully) finished off by second breakfast on top of the hill.

Hell’s hole was maybe less impressive than usual, thanks to the brilliant weather and 23° C “heat wave” currently hitting the North of Ireland. Usually, water pushes up this narrow rift in foaming gusts, but with almost no wind, there was not much of a show. Still a very scenic walk.

With almost no wind, Hell’s Hole was very tame today

The top of the hill did not disappoint and once again, we had some treats, coffee and tea before heading off again. The treats were pretty good, but the coffee was excellent and the service world class. Back at the car park we even managed to settle some of our eternal karma debt after chatting with an older Dutch couple on two sharp looking road bikes. She had slipped on the fresh split seal and cracked an indicator – something our handy supply of duct and electrical tape could help sort out in no time.

Lunch was a touch late, but we were well prepared. Even without picknick tables, the Grianán of Aileách along the way was an almost perfect backdrop. We dropped our picknick blanket and had sandwiches in this place that immediately made obvious why it had been the site of some sort of fortification for at least 2000 years. The views over Lough Swilly and Lough Foyle were spectacular, all the way over back the Inishowen Peninsula and to Northern Ireland.

We thought there might have been another opportunity for a stop on the 1 hour and 20 scenic drive up to our camp for the day, but with kids falling asleep and potty breaks, we just kept going. After all, the camp for the day promised to be an attraction in its own right. And for once, it held up.

The camp was set up in terraces up the slope of a hill with great views of a golden sand beach. The spot we got was great, with a serene view. There was enough time left for the kids to spend some time at the beach, getting their feet wet in water way too cold for my taste. To round it off, we had a beautiful dinner once again from a vegetarian travel cook book very good friends gave us as a present a few years ago. Halloumi and black beans, delicious!

First beach experience for the kids on this trip

Now hanging out, catching up on blogging and trip planning while the kids are asleep. The weather is still nice enough to be out without wishing for a pocket oven and a shelter. Good times.

P.S.: Oh, I forgot, the title: The Agent of Entropy has learnt that sheep are interesting as roadside attractions. Plus, black sheep are extra special, as they feature in two of their children’s books. So every damn black sheep we pass triggers about 25 hyped up: “black sheep, black sheep! Mama! Black sheeeeeeep!”. As a reminder, we are in rural Ireland … 😀

On our way to the northern most point of Ireland: Malin Head

Day 10 – Carnival of Colours

It actually was a bit hard to leave Maddybenny’s in the morning. The playground was just so convenient and both kids played so well with the other kids, even though the Agent used exactly zero words to do it. Flo and Number 3 did a goodbye lap so Number 3 could give a wave to all the kids he’d played with. Despite all these extras, we were on the road early, even too early for our first attraction as it turned out.

I had picked the Downhill Demesne and the Mussenden Temple as my next “want to see” spot. The area featured in Game of Thrones and is said to be beautiful on its own. However, when we turned up at Lion’s gate, it was still closed. It would open at 10am which, obviously, it wasn’t yet. Flo drove on into the town of Downhill but the cafe there was closed too. While turning, we saw a tunnel leading to the beach though and discovered to our surprise that you actually drive onto the beach if you go through the tiny tunnel.

I tried to debate but Flo wouldn’t even listen anymore so we ended up with our car on the beach. It was fine as the sand was quite well compacted (obviously, a lot of cars had been here) and the location was stunning. Both kids loved to run around barefoot in the sand while I enjoyed that the Mussenden Temple was already visible from here.

Shortly after 10am, we pulled into the almost empty parking lot at Lion’s Gate. The Temple is closed for the public so National Trust only charges 5 pounds for parking. Walking by the coffee place, we couldn’t resist first getting hot beverages and baked goods before we actually looked at the place. I enjoyed wandering around, enjoying the views down to the beach and the ocean, the wind and the kids running around, discovering things on their own.

Pretty house, Lord Bishop – we really should eat the reach.

It was an A+ morning with the unexpected beach and the expected grounds. On to the city of Derry for lunch and then a walk along the walled city which has never been breached. Plugged in the car, walked to my pre-picked lunch place…and discovered that it only opens at 1pm which was too far away to just wait around. Poor hungry Number 3 but we switched things around and went on the walk first. The wall is pretty impressive even though a lot of it has been incorporated into the city by now. The walls are 9m thick which makes it a nice stroll to walk the whole length. The canons along the way were a highlight for the kids with the Agent demanding to walk a good part of it, rather than sleeping in the carrier.

Leaving through the Shipquay Gate again, we walked into the Carnival of Colours which is a festival in Derry on August 6^th and 7^th this year. There were food stalls, stages with performances and people in costume moving about. A lady in a butterfly costume impressed both kids a lot when she told me all about the programme of the carnival. We still decided to have lunch first as we were pretty much starving by this point and then come back for the carnival.

The queue of the face paint was too long for my taste so we negotiated to watch two shows (acrobats with staffs and jugglers, a lady doing gymnastics on a ring) and a streetside magician/juggler. Both kids were in awe of all the things and the second “Rummel” we’ve encountered in a couple of days.

From Derry we went up north, as our campground was already on the way to the northern most point of Ireland. We arrived quite late, fortunately, as it was the lamest campground we’ve been on so far. It was just a long road of caravans, one next to another and us right at the end of the lane with a walking distance feeling like 1 km to the toilet.

Surprises good and bad, two festivals and a very defensive population. — Some sneak preview from below – this was a scene in GoT, btw …

Some sneak preview from below – this was a scene in GoT, btw …

Day 9 – Chillax

“One night or two nights?” – “One” – “ok, thanks”. 15 minutes later, kids mingling on the playground … “could we maybe still make it two?” That was last night. We did not regret it. 7 days of travel with 7 different camp spots is taxing in a way. Taking a rest day takes the stress out of everything.

I will try to keep this short and sweet. The day was near perfect. Both kids got plenty of opportunity to engage and play with others. Number 3 made me really proud with the amount of English he practices with other kids and adults. His English has improved so much already.

jump into action every time a horse walked by (this is 2m from the tent)

We had two solid meals and a sweet breakfast treat to boot (I had the presence of mind to grab croissants at our last minute Lidl shopping). Scrambled eggs for lunch and mashed potatoes and veggie nuggets for dinner. Minor aside: There is this great line of plant based “protein” foods at our local organic supermarket. We had the “non-meat-balls” before and the nuggets for tonight. They come as a powder, to be soaked in water and fried up and they both taste excellent. More vegetarian food should be this good. As a bonus, they last forever and pack very neatly and only need water to prepare, so a great camping food all around.

Only one event broke the stride a bit: Puru Hiko’s 12v batterie ran flat one again at some point in the afternoon. What a stupid engineering oversight (DC-DC converter only triggers when the “ignition” is on). But this time, I come prepared. Bought a tiny power bank / jump start battery kit and coaxed him back to life without an embarressing round of the camp looking for a jump start from a stinker.

That was really it. Great conversations with some of our lovely neighbours, great play time for the kids and we got to catch up on sleep and chores. All ready to tackle the road again!

both XYs pretty tired – time for cuddles!

Day 8 – Giant’s Causeway, the obligatory stop

It rained a lot in the morning. In fact, it rained pretty much ever since last night, with differing intensity. It made breakfast a cold affaire. At this point, I was quite tired and on the lookout for a place to stay an extra night. This was not it. Too few people to keep the kids entertained, a tiny playground and Flo had itchy feet. After the “catered” experience at Carrick-a-rede, Flo really wanted to do the longer hike towards the Giant’s Causeway.

Instead of paying the fee for parking and the visitors’ centre, we decided to walk from the town of Bushmills. The Lonely Planet advises that you can walk along the heritage railway line for 2 miles and thus see the Causeway for free. In total, one way would be 3 miles as it is another mile from the visitors’ centre to the actual Causeway.

With the kids, it felt like a bit of a mission. We broke down our camp in the rain, drove the 20 minutes to Bushmills and assembled our kits: From sunshine to storm, you must cover all your bases. Starting the hike, Number 3 was delighted to follow the tracks, or rather walk in between the tracks. The railway only operates on weekends and as it was Friday, we were confident that no train would use the tracks. We were wrong though. Luckily, the train was moving only very slowly and no one could have missed it coming down the tracks but it spoilt Number 3’s fun of walking on the tracks for the rest of the day.

The train tracks wound their way through a golf course and along a beach to an intersection: Go left and along the cliffside or straight along the tracks right to the Visitors’ centre. Since it was a return hike, we opted for the cliffside walk now and the straight track on the way back. The kids were already hungry, and the Agent looked quite sleepy in the baby carrier.

souch a pretty walk, and mostly to ourselves

We turned onto the cliffside path. It started with a small crossing over a stream, continued with a narrow path through brambles and gorse and led to the stunningly beautiful cliffside. It was well worth it to take this hike. Number 3 also enjoyed it as well, but by now, he’d slowed down a bit. Flo kept us informed how long we still had to go until we reached the picnic tables and thus our lunch break.

The Agent made it to our lunch spot but didn’t eat a lot as she was so tired. Everybody else was cheered up and refreshed by the food and break and we continued to the Visitors’ centre, right around the corner as it turned out. The picnic area is already a part of the complex. A fact which Flo hadn’t pointed out on the way here. Right after our lovely little lunch break, we walked headfirst into busloads of people, and overflow carpark and queues at the toilets. It was a bit of a shock to the system, I have to admit.

lavaflow, cracked when cooling down, filled in and then eroded …

From here, it was another easy mile down a bus operated road to the Causeway. As we had seen from a distance, it was crawling with people. Well, with as many people as were allowed in today as the National Trust also sells tickets for this attraction and not too many people did the hike.

Taking our time, sitting down, letting the kids roam, we got to take the sight in. The Causeway’s hexagonal stones are quite amazing. Number 3 climbed all over the place and even the Agent demanded some leeway for climbing and walking through puddles. Flo and Number 3 moved towards one of the edges, talked to one of the wardens there and then explored a big puddle where some sea-life could be observed.

At some point, I had to face the fact that we had to hike back. Number 3 was starting to get tired after roaming around and climbing all sorts of stones. In the end, I convinced Flo to take the bus up the one-mile-long road to the Visitors’ Centre. It gave Number 3 an unexpected bus ride, saved us a mile of walking and it was just so damn convenient for a pound a person.

This time, we walked along the railroad tracks all the time. It dragged. Number 3 was still walking but slowly now. Distracted by a conversation about his next birthday party, we finally made it back to the car. Yippie! No rain showers, mostly sunshine, a couple of clouds and a great day at the Causeway was over. I was ready to head to the campground and call it for today.

she was so proud to be in the driver seat

Flo and I had a brief exchange about having coffee somewhere as a reward for the kids and I managed to put “Koko” in Portrush into our Sat nav. Great coffee and maybe a slice of cake sounded lovely just about right now. Driving into Portrush, we were taken by surprise by two things: The coffee place was about to close and only offered take away – which were still top notch. Number 2 there was a big fair at the waterfront with a building full of rides right next to it. Both kids were determined to go have a look even after we told them that we’d spent our last coin on the bus ride.

Since they were so good during the hike and the café had closed, they got two rides worth of tokens each and we headed inside. They rode carrousel horses and a fun bus before we left. Number 3 got a special bumper car ride all by himself as an extra as the Agent did not meet the height requirement. She and I waited outside so that it wouldn’t be too hard on her.

Now we were more than ready to go. Just…one more thing. A stop at a grocery store to pick up supplies for breakfast.

Our pre-arranged campground turned out to be lovely. We got a grassy pitch, electricity, a playground, and LOTS of kids to play with. In fact, it was so lovely that we asked to extend our stay for another night and I finally get my rest day tomorrow.

this came in seconds, Nina and the Agent got caught out at the loo

Day 7 – Heights

I loved our camp in principle. Council run, cheap and very conveniently located. Reasonably clean, and we even got the chance to do our first laundry. But the insane noise cars make going 80 to 100 km/h is quite something else. Unfortunately, as convenient as it was, sleeping 5m away from the A2 is probably a showstopper for most people. Me, I was fine. Trying to have breakfast with <80 dB background noise, that’s where I draw the line.

Still, this was the cheapest night so far, plus a hot shower for me and 100% charge for Puru Hiko. We gave the kids a bit of extra time to explore the huge waterfront playground and foreshore before heading on.

Remember, taking it slower – only one item today: Carrick-a-rede. Under 100km, we chose the slow road along the east coast and were not disappointed for it. It got Nina a bit antsy, as the site has timed slots for access, but I managed to deliver us there just in time.

The whole north shore of Northern Ireland is pretty neat, but a few spots made it to the level of tourist attractions. Carrick-a-rede was a nice but otherwise unremarkable island that is now visited as the site of a historical (and since fortified) rope bridge. It was initially strung up to help the local fishermen get better at eradicating salmon from these waters. Since the salmon is long gone, it got a second life as a minor thrill for tourists wobbling over 30m over the foaming sea. All tightly managed and access restricted by the National Trust. An organisation whose motto might be “our country’s natural beauty, preserved for those who can afford it”. Very British. So what, we can afford it by now …

We took a bit longer than the advertised 30 minutes’ walk from the car park – as the Agent of Entropy was eager to do most of it herself. Or maybe because I spotted the unmistakable gait of someone hiking to a sight in motorcycle boots! I had spotted Katinka’s (of @KatinkAdventure on Instagram) Transalp in the parking lot already. Looked like an overlander bike, and it was. She has been on the road a while – spiting Covid. We had a brief chat, as much as the kids would allow, and realised we both know fellow Dutch Overlander Peter (sans Leoni). Its really nice to hear that Peters business (www.bartang.eu) has reached that level of renown in the overlander community.

When it came to the big ticket item, Number 3 did splendidly – very brave and composed. The Agent refrained from jumping out the carrier and even Nina dared the crossing. Colour me impressed.

Just when it was time to head back, we were introduced to Ireland’s 90 second flash rain showers, full on including sideways rain. Given how unphased the locals were, it seems like something worth getting used to. Number 3 took it with surprising enthusiasm.

Even though we had unremarkable, overpriced brown food for lunch (seriously UK, what’s up with that?) I was still beholden to my promise of Spaghetti Carbonara from two days ago. So we went off, at 2.30pm, straight to this nights camp. Another neat working farm camp, which we are learning to keep an eye out for now.

After setting up camp, we had some coffee – the kids got to see the farm’s special feature of Alpacas and pygmy-goats and I had time to get dinner just right, fighting to keep the heat of our medium gas cooker against a strong northerly. Holiday proper has begun. Let’s see when it will feel like it.

Day 6 – On to Eire

And with that, our time in Scotland had come to an end. If we hadn’t pre-booked our ferry, I’m sure we would’ve stayed for another night. It was just such a lovely campground. The owner was nice, the landscape super pretty and our neighbours easy to chat to, plus they liked having Number 3 around.

We packed everything up with time to spare and headed off to the small town right next to the ferry port. Flo’s plan was to charge the car, spent a little time and then head on to the check-in. The first charger, however, was out of service. By the time we’d gotten to the next one about 3 minutes later, me (and with me Number 3) had gotten nervous about missing the ferry. By unforeseeable happenstance, Flo listened to me and we drove on to the ferry port…where we logically stood in line for a while. 😀 We were by no means the first ones at the port but I got A LOT of shit for our waiting time. Not even a coffee and two muffins made a real difference.

Leaving the campground, we had told the kids about leaving Scotland and continuing to Ireland. The Agent of Entropy said “nochmal Schottland bitte” (Scotland again please) which she always says if she enjoyed something and would like to repeat the experience.

slightly worried, AoE might get blown off her feet

Alas, time continues to go by even when you’re just waiting around and we were allowed to board eventually. The kids were raving with excitement. Everything was big and loud, it was windy outside and there were toys to play with. I think, the Agent of Entropy has found her calling as a being of the wind. She probably feels kinship to it as it also brings a lot of entropy into the world.

For us adults, it seemed like another ferry ride, mostly like the one to cross Cook Strait: Waiting time, overpriced bad food in the restaurant, people battling for the comfiest spots. Since this ferry ride though, both kids really want to go back onto a boat, but please for longer next time, okaaaaay?

At 1.30pm we arrived in Belfast. The Agent hadn’t slept on the ferry instead she’d been all over the place and was thus exhausted. It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep in the car although we just drove from the port to a charger in the inner city. Flo managed to gently put her in the kids carrier so we could go and explore Belfast a bit. Number 3 still is a city exploring champion. He walked everywhere with us, through the rain, from coffee time until dinner.

We started with a bit of a tour around the quarter that we ended up in. There were murals to look at and little lanes to take. We came across many a pub that looked lovely but it was neither the time nor the circumstances to go into one. Instead, we found our way into “Established coffee” for a coffee time break. By that time, the Agent of Entropy had woken up again and graciously agreed to a chocolate cookie and a babyccino.

Around the corner there was a cathedrale which had a spike coming out of the middle of it. It piqued Flo’s curiosity so we went in. Unfortunately, it was about to close. They let us in for five minutes but we couldn’t figure out why the spike was there and what it meant. Number 3 was happy though as he got to light a candle in the church, something he really wanted to do in Aachen already. I loved it too, as a kid.

From here, we took the “scenic” route to our car, still debating how to proceed with the day. We were toying with a couple of options i.e. having an early dinner in town or setting up camp and then taking the bus back to Belfast for dinner. We decided to go for the first option as both kids seemed to be over a certain threshold already. Unfortunately, Number 3 had listened in to our conversation and demanded a bus ride in the 100% electric, pink double-decker buses which we simply couldn’t work into our plans today. Proving our suspicion that the kids really just needed to go to bed, he had a full-on tantrum. Many words of comfort and a promise of a bus ride in Dublin later, we went to dinner in Yügo. Asian fusion at its best, the plates to share were right up our (and the kids’) alley. I had miso-grilled corn and fried rice, Flo had duck truffle rice, Number 3 opted for blackened salmon and the Agent chose and ate the chicken spring rolls all by herself. As all food was just so good, we decided to order another round with dumpling, kimchi buns and last but not least, milk chocolate ganache as a dessert which my kids ate more of than me.

Round bellies and sleepy eyes shuffled back to the car and we headed for our communal campground, only 15 minutes Belfast city centre. It turned out to be just what we needed with a patch of grass, facilities and a code-operated gate which kept everyone outside who was not camping.

Just when everything was set up and the kids in bed, we realised that there were a washing machine and a dryer set up here to comfortable use. It was just too good to pass on so Flo took it upon himself to manage our laundry while I just went to bed.

P&O goes to Larne, we are heading for the Stena Line Terminal

Day 5 – Scottish Green

The day started unplanned and too early. Wind and rain had picked up over night and had me worried at time for our awning, still up. At 5am it turned out, the worries were not entirely unfounded. I woke to a new noise, unfamiliar even over the drumming of rain and wind so far. The constant rumble of wind had finally rattled open the zipper connecting the awning to our tent. Luckily, the pegs still held, so it was flapping wet and helplessly in the wind like a sea bird in an oil spill.

first thing checking if the animals are all still there

Nina and I got up in our PJs and jumped to the rescue. At least it was warm enough to not get cold and miserable while doing so. With the awning saved, storm cover installed we went back to bed.

At getting up time proper, the rain had let up enough for us to feel safe enough to bring the awning back up. After a bit of a rough night, the kids indulged on chocolate spread on the last bit of sourdough.

From here on, days will be decidedly less rushed with much less distance planned for each day. Today, only 250km to the last camp in Britain before leaving to Ireland. We took our good time, but the weather kind of helped to speed us on regardless. So even with another good animal watching session we managed to be back on the road by 9am. The weather had not improved much further and was not expected to before noon. We decided to turn this into an opportunity and go for a second breakfast in the first Scottish town on our way, Dumfries. The lonely planet app was helpful as always and provided a recommendation for great coffee and a good snack.

At the café, we weighted our options and decided to go for castle over forest park this time. Not too much of a tough choice when the option is called “Drumlanrig Castle Adventure Playground & Gardens”. The 17^th century Drumlanrig Castle proper was closed today, but the gardens and playground area was open and right the level of exercise needed for our kids. After a good session in the playground area, we got to explore the neatly maintained gardens as well. As it was past lunch (and nap) time now but both were still on pretty great behaviour and everyone got a round of treats before we moved on for the last bit.

As we had travelled north a bit from Dumfries, we were now heading across westwards off the main A75 on mostly single track roads and straight through the Galloway Forest Park towards our camp. Both kids fell asleep and Nina got carsick. I take that as a compliment of my driving. We did not stop again in the national park, which was a bit of a shame. But it was getting into the afternoon and Balloch O’dee campground promised to be a place to explore in its own right.

The campground definitively held up to the expectations. Great grass pitches with plenty of space to set up. The grounds, clearly inspired by the owner, gave of a splendidly relaxed vibe. To top it all off, there were plenty of fire pits all over the area, an indicator of how the day will end for us.

Number 3 once again made a new friend within the first 10 minutes and was on his absolute best behaviour for the rest of the afternoon. I could hardly have refused him when he asked to be allowed to have a bonfire as well after our quick and simple dinner (still getting great value out of that Iranian breakfast dish we picked up all those years ago), could I?

He bought the firewood and we agreed to have the bedtime stories at the campfire instead of in the tent. After putting the little ones to bed, Nina and I let the day fade out going through the remaining logs in our bag of fire wood. The sun had gone down and we got to chat, make a few plans and call it a night.

Day 4 – Holidaying

With the longest of the pre-planned days and definitely the most stressful one (for me) behind us, we can now slow down a bit. It manifested by us lying in our sleeping bags a bit longer even with the kids awake; and Taking our time to make breakfast without starting to pack at the same time; with being happy that one of the other kids showed up with a card game (Dobble) that he wanted to play with Number 3 and actually taking the time to play two rounds; and also, having a bit of a forest exploration detour before leaving the campground.

primally natural – Flo enjoyed the cuddles

We found rabbit holes and empty snail houses and unripe hazelnuts, much to delight Number 3. The Agent of Entropy seemed to need cuddles more than anything as she simply refused to walk.

Luckily for (me) us, the sun was shining this morning and it got warm quickly. Flo had been grumbling about summer being over now that we started this holiday into a cold and wet country. And England had been true to the stereotype, greeting us with grey skies and drizzle. Today, even Flo enjoyed the weather (at least in the morning).

We hit the road for a short drive to a fast charger. With only 250km to go today, we could allow for more stops and a leisurely pace. Since we’d taken our time on the campground, it was close to lunch time by now and we had to feed the tigers. That was no problem with the standard highway rest stop, greeting us with our pick of fast food to choose from.

Back at the car, we realized that charging hadn’t worked the way we wanted but it had stopped prematurely. Slightly fed up with the whole charging situation in England, we opted for Fastned with we knew would be good. The nearest one was another 40 minutes away but we just had had lunch and Number 3 had asked for ice cream as dessert. So we even had another excuse to stop.

we are here for the carge, not the familiarity, promised

Fastned worked as well as it is known for. There was a Lidl next to it so we got some shopping down in the meantime. Number 3 got ice cream, the Agent got to push one of the fun sized trolleys and there was even a toilet to boot. All the things you could ask for with small kids. >.< It wasn’t quite as nice as the coop yesterday though. #battleofthesupermarkets

Loaded up with (now slowly melting) ice cream in the car, we drove towards the campsite. Unfortunately, it was another 1.40hours away due to a small traffic jam in the middle. There was no good opportunity to stop and enjoy some ice cream, instead we were really glad when we arrived at the campsite.

Nobody greeted us. Even after the phone call we weren’t much better off as the person on the phone had said that the internet was down and she would check later if we’d booked and paid as we said. Slightly confused, we had half-molten ice cream on our blanky when Flo read his conformation email again. It cleared up everything. It said: Please call to let us know you’ve arrived, then proceed to choose a tent site to your liking, set up and we will get back to you as soon as our work allows us to do.

Easy enough to follow. It is a great campsite on a working farm. There are many, many sheep, lots of horses and our good old neighbours, the cows. It was an instant hit with the kids. The words “farm”, “horses” and “cows” were uttered a lot, mostly by our youngest one.

By now, the sky was grey again and a chill wind blew in from the west. We are just a stone’s throw from the Scottish border after all. We got our lovely dinner done before the rain set in. Friends of ours had given us the cook book “two pans on the road” a while ago and for this trip, we’d actually remember to take it with us – thanks Number 3 for going and picking out a few recipes. Thus, the first recipe was followed and tasted great! 🙂

Good morning sunshine, porrige to get started

Day 3 – Range of Emotions

It‘s my birthday! But we forgot! Well, until we were in the car already, that is. First time in over a decade that I am not “home” to celebrate my birthday with friends. But holidays are short and we wanted to make the most of it. Plus, as a bit of a reprise of my childhood trauma, we are back in sync with the school holidays, which means my birthday is ALWAYS at some inconvenient time in the middle of them.

But back to the car – we left the campground in record time this morning, as we had a train to catch. Le shuttle eurotunnel to be precise. Departure 9.10am, arrive one hour early. Getting up at 6.30am as usual this meant breakfast in the car. But without an awning, we were even faster than that and on the road by 7.30am.

Much to our delight, the Eurotunnel is happy to deal with that to everyone’s satisfaction. Would you like to take the 8.35am instead, at no charge? Don’t mind if we do. There was just enough time left to grab an overpriced (but pretty decent) Starbucks coffee and munch down yesterday’s pain au chocolat (still excellent, obviously). Apart from the 20 min in the cue for the border checks (whee, Brexit!) that got Nina a bit worried for a moment, it was an absolutely smooth operation. Almost a bit too much, making this marvel of engineering feel a bit underwhelming as an experience. In – 25 minutes of gentle swaying in a dark tunnel, out and off.

With the time difference it was now 8.15am in England and not much in sight other than getting past London. We made it a proper push, stretching our range to one of the few fast chargers on the western route north (towards the A1). Just after Cambridge, with 40km range left, we pulled up to four Ionity hyperchargers … only to find them all offline! A call to the service line was no good. Two more fast-chargers from another company were at this service station, but full. In the end, about 20 minutes after we had arrived, the Ionity sprang back to life and we could proceed to a more relaxed lunch.

All should have been well, it was still early, only 160km to go and enough charge on the battery now. Campground was pre-booked, a pub to watch the game close by. But when we arrived, the warden took one look into the back of our car and flatly exclaimed: “adults only – you can’t stay here!” That’s it – good luck with your refund, not my problem (booked for 2 adults and 2 kids, obviously). Are you serious?! Its 2.30pm now. Breathe – double check. Not much nearby. Adults only … +45 camping … members only … what the !”§$% …

Then, Nina got the one we needed, kids almost mental in the car by now. We promised to get out, now its another 30 minutes plus the time spent searching. What a lot of horse manure. Although, in the end …

… 25 minutes later, at the new camp we had the warmest welcome and a big headshake from this warden for the behaviour of his colleagues. The space at Lupine Woods Camping is perfect for us – rustic but we have it almost to ourselves. There were only maybe 5 other places occupied and he had no issue with us charging the car. A bit of forest to roam free and explore and (as it turned out) other kids to find and play with for the little ones. And to top it all off, the wifi was good enough to stream the game!

So, with catastrophe nearly avoided, we settled in, made some new friends, had a real nice dinner that I cooked instead of oily pub-grub and got to sit down to watch the game. A loss, alas, but that would have been too perfect now, would it not?

P.S.: Dear England, I am not mad, just disappointed!

Day 2 – Cows in fog or find the best pastry in France

After a good night’s sleep, where the temperature dropped to surprisingly low 14 degrees, we were the first ones to get up at the campground. Everything was covered in fog. Our new neighbours on the pasture were hard to spot but their young ones had breakfast at the barn and they delighted our kids.

The calfs get some good hearty vegetarian breakfast too (small bugs not counted)

Even after breakfast, we were the only ones moving around the campground so we tried and failed to get the kids to be quiet. I feel like this is going to be a thing on this trip, especially with the Agent of Entropy. Either she’s going to be asleep, or she will get out as many words as she possibly can. Given that her repertoire is limited…that means a lot of repetitions.

Though we took a bit of time, we hit the road nice and early. Arrival at the Atomium in Brussels was 11am, but we hadn’t booked anything, not for the restaurant or even going up the tower. All the people there plus the queues convinced us to put “Belgium” on the list for a shorter holiday some time else and just look at the Atomium from the outside today.

it will take you more than a few moments to realise that he is not actually looking at any part of the structure

An overpriced grilled sandwich later, we explored the nearby park a little bit while walking back to the car. So far, we’re still in the pre-planned, getting-to-Ireland stage of the holiday and don’t have as much leisure as we’d usually have. Another 2 hour drive was looming for the afternoon to get us as close as possible to Calais as we’d booked the le shuttle through the eurotunnel for tomorrow morning, our best shot to get through the channel quickly.

Number 3 fell asleep in the car but since the Agent had already slept in the morning, she was wide awake and sang “Happy birthday” for about a 100 times.

Shortly after 3pm, we stopped at a cozy little bakery. Flo had googled a nice place for us to get coffee time treats as well as bread and a quick up-and-go breakfast for tomorrow morning. We all opted for pain au chocolate which will still be delicious, even a day old.

The campground this night is called “al la plage” and while I can’t see the beach from here, Flo and the kids have gone to explore how close you can get to the sea.

An hour later, they came back. Dinner was made from things we brought from home and we progressed into the evening routine.