Category Archives: with kids

Day 18 – To Loop or Not to Loop

One thing was clear, I wanted off this campground asap. All sympathy to non-neurotypical folks, but maybe running a hospitality business is not the right calling for yous. I don’t care if I can eat of the toilet seat if all your quirks and utter inflexibility make the stay annoying at every step. “Can we charge the car?” “No, we don’t do this, electricity is too expensive”. “Can I pay for it?” “No, we generally don’t allow it …” -.-

The big question was to head straight for Limerick City or take the 2hrs to go west first to do the loop head to the tip of the loop head peninsula (creative naming, I know). The weather forecast looked like the former, but when we hit the road at 9am, the look at the sky made us fancy our chances. It was the right choice, for sure. Lone single track roads with wild and exciting vistas all the way. A quick stop at the lighthouse at the westernmost point was all we needed. For once, we opted against the tour to go up and moved on. In we came on the southern route to come out again along the northern cliff-side road. Such spectacular views greeted us all along that last stretch that we really had to wonder why we were almost alone here, while fighting for bad vistas with busloads of day-trippers yesterday. This was preferable to us any day of the week!

After this great morning, it was about a 1.5 hr dive to Limerick. As we could not charge the car yesterday and won’t be able to tonight (or so we though) I headed for a 15 minute top up on a fast charger before going to town to park conveniently at a 22kw AC charger in downtown. The kids slept through the drive and woke back up with enough drowsiness to excuse this slight delay of lunch. Including another short hunt for a free AC charger it took us until 1.15pm to get to the designated lunch place. There was a short queue to get seated when we arrived at the Hook & Ladder as it was still very busy.

up there we must go – for views and fun points

It turned out it was well worth the wait with excellent food all around. Even the kids were great and did not make a scene due to the delayed lunch. Service was nothing short of exemplary, even though the house was packed. A very welcomed change to our last lunch experience. We ended up staying to transition seamlessly into tea time as well.

After that success, Number 3 got his wish as well. Of the few options to go for, we decided the King John’s Castle was our best pick. It was a bit on the pricy side, but that was made up for by an excellent exhibition part. More interactive than Galway City museum, both kids were occupied long enough for me to dive into the meat of the history part. Win-win, I’d say.

After that, all there was left was a slightly late trip to the camp for the night, delayed even further by the fact that I had not realised that it was actually “in” the gated forest park it was named after. So with a final 15 minute detour, we got there, set up and were pretty much ready to collapse after a quick muesli dinner for the kids. No internet or cell phone reception anyway … 😀

Day 17 – Cliffs of Disappointment

We couldn’t wait to leave the campground in Galway. It didn’t feel welcoming at all. Instead, you had to pay for a hot shower and in the morning, we realized you even had to pay to use the campers’ kitchen. That was just a little too much for us. Even so, we met a friendly fellow traveller at breakfast to swap stories with. He’s lived in New Zealand for the last 23 years and he just joined our conversation when Flo was going on about the (Path of) Exile Con in Auckland next year.

We weren’t too sure what we’d get to do today. Planning wasn’t really in the cards as we didn’t even know where we’d end up sleeping yesterday. But there were plenty of options.

Number 3 had bugged us about wanting to see a castle for a while. We agreed in principle though somehow the time wasn’t right. Dunguaire Castle was on our way today…we didn’t stop. Again, it just didn’t seem right for today. We had just left Galway.

In the end, our first proper stop was my pick: Hazel Mountain Chocolate factory. Flo and I had already agreed on skipping the factory tour. Buying chocolate in a factory outlet is a totally different thing though. When we got there, a tour bus had just pulled in so we swerved a little and sat down in the café before hitting the store. The café was lovely, serving hot drinks and baked goods, full of chocolatey goodness. All of it came in lovely pottery, making the experience extra cute. As you can imagine, I was happy. The kids seemed happy, too.

In the store, the tour was about to start. What had they done all this time? Shopping? Anyhow, the tour guide invited us to come along which was amazingly friendly of her. Flo and I listened for a bit but it is hardly our first chocolate factory tour. So we browsed the wares, turning around whenever something cool turned up in the talk. Number 3 got to smell cocoa beans, Flo got a handful of single origin chocolate to try. When the kids waved at the lady busy with actually making chocolates, she came out and rewarded both of them with chocolate covered marshmallows. A visit can’t be more of a win than this.

Flo picked the next point of interest for today: The Burren National park. The Burren are a stony landscape that you can walk through or in our case, drive through. Flo is a fan of limestone so he was particularly looking forward to this part. At a road side car park, we got out to check out if we could walk around for a bit. Per chance, we’d stopped right next to the beginning of seven hiking trails, two of which were marked as easy and loop walks of only about 1.5km. Number 3 picked the white one which we walked in its entirety. We hadn’t actually planned a walk here. Thus, lunch had to be improvised. We had spaghetti leftovers at the roadside with recently bought chocolate for dessert. 😊

County Clare’s big draw are the cliffs of Moher though. The Lonely Planet (which I’ve been reading way more than Flo) already instilled caution in me, given its description of the place. In fact, they turned out to be the cliffs of disappointment. It’s a gigantic tourist attraction, no question. You queue to pay your ticket fee, are ushered to your parking spot, walk with the crowd to the wall separating you from the cliff edge, take a couple of pictures and leave again. Yes, the cliffs are high and yes, they are steep. The experience is almost lost in the crowds. Sliabh Liag was way more atmospheric than this. The best way to see the cliffs of Moher is probably by boat. We just didn’t want to spend that kind of cash on it. It’s not cheap.

From here, our campsite slowly came to mind. We’d booked a site in Doonbeg without electricity (nothing else was available) so the car needed to be charged if we wanted to start early tomorrow morning. The charger in Lahinch was luckily available (after a 10 minute wait), which even gave the kids an excuse to put their feet in the ocean one more time.

The Strand Camping Doonbeg wasn’t used to one night travellers. At least everything was set up to feel much more long term. Still happy that we had a place to sleep, we set up before the rain, had a lovely shower and brought the kids to bed.

I kept threatening to throw them over – they still trust me 😀

Day 16 – From Galway to …

The day that would start in uncertainty that we had come to terms with. Even though there were some spots we had picked out to wild camp tonight, we still wanted to give the two camps in Galway City a last shot. Much to our surprise, the first of the two adjacent camps would actually sell us an utterly overpriced city camp tent spot without power – cash, obviously. Ah, how we had missed city camps and their greedy owners. Turned out later, comfortably racist comes with the package as well …

had to sit right there, on the knee – no other option

At any rate, we set up the camp and were ready to take the bus to town. Much to Number 3’s delight, it turned out to be a double decker bus! With us arriving a bit close to lunch time, we re-arranged our plans a bit and went for a closer more casual recommendation. It ended up being a burrito bar – not a bad pick. The food was solid, quick enough for the kids and reasonably priced. Now all we had to do was to convince the Agent of Entropy that it was naptime in the carrier.

Oh, right – not so fast. We had to go on one more de-tour before starting the actual touristing: Buying wetsuit repair goop (I’ll get to why in a second). On our way there, we passed the local gaming nerd den and just had to go in for a brief browse. It was called Dungeons & Donuts, and it actually delivered on both. Gaming was going on upstairs and there were real donuts to be had for the inclined gamer to absorb. Unfortunately, anything bought would have to be carried, so we left again to get to the actual errand. The goop was needed to keep both Nina’s and my own pair of main walking shoes from falling apart before the end of the holiday. The silicone goop is perfect to fix the soles of our super thin barefoot shoes, where they were wearing precariously thin. It would be likely quite hard to find good replacements without a major quest. Given that we opted for the newly acquired (and extremely appreciated) barefoot gumboots as our 2^nd pair of shoes instead of a backup, it was kind of important to keep us going (I ended up repairing all shoes as my final deed of the day – the rest of Ireland can come).

With all that out of the way, we were ready to get on with the sightseeing. A wander down Quay Street led us to the weekend market around St. Nicholas church. The Agent was asleep by now, but was almost woken up after we had arrived back on Quay Street, a bit unsure about where to go next: We were ushered out of the way and moments later ended up right in Galway’s Pride Parade! Good on you everyone – it was all smiles and rainbows, really cool to see. Only Number 3 took Umbridge with the volume of the whistles used to make some noise. A shame, otherwise the rainbow theme and Pandemonium should have been totally his thing.

With that literally out of the way, we pocketed some minor sights on our way to the city museum. Number 3 was totally hyped up about it. I am so proud! The museum was free, a nice change of pace, and air conditioned (believe it or not, an actual benefit on this day). Near the end, the Agent of Entropy was done with her nap and soon after we were out in the sun and afternoon heat (yes, almost 30°C) once more.

considering an offering to the temperamental sea godess …

Coffee time with treats was followed by a good long walk along the river and canals. We were debating staying in town for dinner, but slowly settled on a beer as a scene setter and quick dinner at camp. Before though, we had to bag Nina’s point of interest: The Hazel Mountain Chocolate Shop. On goes our quest to visit a chocolate-related venue in every country we travel to. Some great treats and a shelf-stable takeaway goodie later, I had one more idea to fill the afternoon: There was a recommended book shop basically right next door. I wanted to add to our English bedtime stories collection anyway while we were in Ireland, and this was an option to maybe even find a local author.

what a cool shop, great selection as well

We did find just that in “Imagine!” by Galwegian Partricia Forde plus a special request from Number 3: “Don’t Ask the Dragon”. What a cool and cosy place, stacked floor to ceiling with all kinds of books, from Antique to local Crime Fiction.

We abandoned our idea of a final pub visit – it was a bit awkward with the kids and no live music to be found yet at this time. Instead, I got to try out a local Bodhrán (my German-made one sounds better for half the price) and everyone got ice cream for dinner. The trip back home took a bit longer than needed due to some odd bus routing, but we got back just in time for the tent to have cooled down enough to get both kids to bed with enough time left for blogging and chores.

What a packed day …

Day 15 – Connemara on my mind

Having circumvented the camping crisis for today, we woke up to donkeys frolicking in fog. The campground took its time to wake up but we were ready for a daytrip to Connemara by 9am.

Flo and I had debated the best plan for today. The options ranged from having a rest day here where the kids have playmates to going on a full-on daytrip to see the Peninsular of Connemara. I guess I won as we were going on a daytrip.

Pretty impressive mountain all of the sudden

Number 3 was slightly unhappy to leave his companions but with the prospect of returning to play this evening, even he was ready for a car ride.

It took about 1.20h to get to the region of Connemara and we started with a photo stop at Kylemore abbey. It wasn’t much more than a toilet break for the kids, a bit of stretching our legs and taking a couple of pictures, as we didn’t feel like visiting “a crenellated 19^th-century neo-Gothic fanatasy”. We’re still holding out for the real deal of a clans’ castle.

We got great views from up here. Also thanks to the Irish heat wave no cloud could be seen

Next up was the “Sky road”. Not really sure what to expect, we started the loop road leading us to Clifden. In time for an early lunch, we checked for good picnic spots along the way. Suddenly, we came upon the perfect one: A viewpoint of the scattered inlets of Connemara with a sign saying “Sky road”. Having lunch there with a view was cool, plus we got to enjoy the sight in different “conditions”. It was super full for maybe 10 minutes, then we had it to ourselves for a while before the next batch of cars arrived.

Both kids fell asleep after lunch, so Flo and I put on our audio book and enjoyed the ride. We arrived in Clifden after about 10 minutes which was too early for coffee and our tired kids. So we kept driving loops along the coast, this time to Roundhouse. Skipping the Connemara Smokehouse, we headed to Gurteen Bay. The Lonely Planet said it was a lovely beach. I hoped the kids could have another magical beach experience there. Even before we arrived, it started to get crowded. Cars were parked as far as 1.5km before we hit the beach. That’s just not a great distance for the kids to walk for a short and sweet beach stop. When the beach came into view, it really was crowded. Everybody and their dog was out and about trying to cool down in this heat wave. With temperatures reaching 29 degrees, the Irish didn’t know what to do other than throw themselves into the ocean. People weren’t wearing many clothes to begin with.

Seeing the scene, both kids still asleep, we decided to pass on Gurteen Bay as well. The road trip still felt great, the audiobook was exciting and the way along Lough Inagh was super pretty. I took a couple of road porn pictures, Flo just enjoyed driving the car.

“You too, Mama!” The Agent putting her feet in the lake

When the kids woke, we stopped at a lake to put our feet in before continuing towards Belcarra. Both kids behaved so well during the whole day that we added another stop in Cummins for coffee. Flo found a place called “Devour bakery”. It was exactly what you think such a bakery would be.

Back “home” at Carra Caravan park, Number 3 and the Agent enjoyed playing with our neighbours’ kids again. Flo and I got some washing done, talked to familiar faces who kept coming in now. One family that we’d seen in Rossan was so happy to finally find a place to stay…they’d tried ten different campsites before they got to Carra. We’re still without a place to sleep tomorrow. I’m preparing myself for a night of wild camping and Flo is already checking out possible places to stop. Somehow, we’ll get through this Saturday the 13^th with 29 degrees in the Irish and UK school holidays. The booking sites already look better for Sunday and we managed to book the next two campsites in advance.

Trying to get the kids to sleep in a still hot tent was a bit of a chore especially since we had another gaming session on. In the end, the gaming session didn’t happen because the wifi couldn’t handle the call and roll20. By the time we gave up, the kids were sound asleep.

Flo and I took advantage of Flukie’s cosy pub to have one last drink before heading to bed.

Day 14 – How I learned to love the …

Let’s not talk about the campground much more. At least we were off early. Wisely, we allowed the kids to skip a shower, so only I got the “sterilizing chicken carcasses”-tempered water treatment.

Absent-mindedly walking around at Carrowmore

First stop for the day was Carrowmore – a megalithic cemetery complex just south of the city of Sligo. We skipped town, which looked quaint, as it just did not match our plans today. The stop was overshadowed by sincere anxiety about accommodation though, and about half of the two hours we spent there was consumed by a stressful search for shelter over the weekend. We had fully run out of booked sites, so starting from today, we had no good idea where we could stay the next nights. Trouble is that the heatwave brings the first good weather of the entire Irish school holidays, so everyone and their puppies is heading for the coast. How bad? Checking a meta site for “150km around Cliffs of Moher” came back with 0 free spots for Saturday night … websites had banners announcing they were full, and most would not answer the phone anymore.

So well distracted and starting to stress out the kids we shambled from grave to grave in brilliant weather, not really doing this astonishing bit of history proper justice. We saw “Maeve’s Cairn” in the distance, lining up with this site and other. What complex lives these other humans must have lived to do all this and how miniscule any window we ever get into these is. Imagine others complexly – how hard this gets when all we know is a few large stones, 30kg of bone matter and a hand full of artifacts. What did they sing about?

In the end, we at least found something for this Thursday – about 50 km further inland then we would maybe have liked. It was a special downer for me that an Eco Camp that I found an inspiration when preparing for the trip came back with a negative answer. We would have needed to book before leaving if we had to have any chance of actually staying there. We even considered leaving the coast and going inland, but there the camping infrastructure is so bad that it would be of equally little help.

Next up would be a 1,5hr drive east along the coast, to Downpatrick Head. Along the way, we would need to stop for lunch – and as we had left pretty late, the lunch stop was up pretty much right away. So after 10 minutes, I turned off the route, following a “viewpoint” signpost to the first real highlight of the day. The lunch spot, perfectly secluded with splendid views of the wetlands and foreshore, was almost too perfect. This would also have been a brilliant wild-camp spot, even for us. Lunch improved everyone’s mood significantly, and just seeing such a nice spot took the edge off the idea of ending up without a campground and bringing a possible wild camp back into play (technically illegal, it is still very much practiced by campervans along the Wild Atlantic Way).

It is close to the shore but still so far away…Flo for scale

The kids slept through the rest of the drive and we relaxed a bit. Downpatrick Head, with the spectacular freestanding Dun Briste stack, steep cliffs and blowholes was a great last stop for the day. Even the mildly disappointing coffee truck “Tea by the Sea” could not dent our improving mood. We had teatime and then headed out to the really spectacular cliffs. The kids got to walk around a bit. We had some small thrills at the edge high above the sea. Plus the mild weather made it very manageable for Nina, who might have not enjoyed thrashing breakers gushing 50m up through the blowholes as much as I would have.

I chose a slightly more western route back down to our campground – much to the dismay of Nina and especially Number 3. With the smaller, windier roads both got struck by severe car sickness. Number 3 only barely made it through the 1 hr drive without ruining our bedding right in front of him. In the end, we did arrive though. And what a brilliant arrival it was. Such a gem of a camp, with the kindest, most relaxed keeper imaginable. We got to set up on the grass, with power and a great view of the two resident donkeys on their pasture. The kids immediately connected with a few Irish kids two caravans down. It took us only 2 minutes to turn back to the groundskeeper to try and get us a spot to stay one more night. How things always fall into place in the end – we did get that second night confirmed. That would only leave Saturday as the real hitch – and that, we decided, we would manage one way or another, improvising as we went along. There is always the small adventure of finding a wild camp spot if all else fails … let’s download iOverlander one more time …

Day 13 – Goodbye Donegal

We were ready nice and early, having slept right next to the cliffs of Sliabh Liag. The Lonely Planet suggested to drive to the upper car park and then walk for about 500m to get some nice views. That sounded like a short stop with a great photo op. However, when we got there, the upper car park was closed off. The wardens told us that it’s a 2km walk to the upper car park or we could wait until 10am and take up the first shuttle bus. Waiting till 10am wasn’t an option and Flo was against taking the bus anyway.

The Agent of Entropy was carried in the baby carrier, Number 3 walked and we “hiked” up to the upper car park. It wasn’t too bad except for the fact that hiking on asphalt isn’t the greatest kind of fun.

We were the first ones up at the upper car park. The coffee and souvenir trucks hadn’t even opened yet but Flo already spotted “The sober bar” which sold non-alcoholic beers. Starting the actual hiking track was fun as most of it consisted of steps made out of natural stones. We soon realized that the views onto the cliff were best from the car park and we didn’t intend to do the whole ridge walk with two small kids. The next nice viewing area was our snack spot and then we turned around again, just in time for the first shuttle bus to arrive.

far enough for us, time to head back down – after snacks

It was lovely that we’d beaten the crowds. Bus after bus started to arrive at the car park. Since we’ve already been as high up as we’d go, we now sat down to have a tea, a cookie and that non-alcoholic Guinness that Flo had seen the night before.

Though this stop was more involved than we’d thought, it was a great one. Sliabh Liag is a cliff, going 600m down into the sea and is thus higher than the cliffs of Moher. The view onto the wall rising out of the water into the clouds was pretty amazing, though I can imagine that the views from the cliff top down are even more spectacular.

From here, our next planned stop was the beach at Rossnowlagh. But first, lunch. “The Rusty Mackerel” only started serving meals from 1pm onwards which was too late for us. Looking out for a bakery along the road, I checked the recommended cafes in Killybegs. Cafe Ahoy was recommended for its seafood chowder. That line alone triggered Flo’s taste buds so we passed the bakery and went there.

Happy to find a table quickly even if it was inside, we decided what to order. Being asked for our drinks order, the waitress told us that she can’t take our food order yet as there are a couple of tables before us. That was an odd statement without any further explanation. We sat there for 30 minutes with our drinks, without ordering food. Literally the second that Flo wanted to get up and leave, the waitress took our order. Hoping that now it would speed up the process, we spent ANOTHER 30 minutes there without any food. Seriously pissed, we finally got up and left. That was seriously shitty customers’ service…please let your guests know if there’s a long waiting time ESPECIALLY if they have young kids who will clearly starve if they have to wait for an hour.

An hour had passed, we still needed food, the kids were crying because they were so hungry. So we did what we should have done in the first place: We went to the bakery. It turned out to be a bakery/deli so we even had Sheppard’s pie, quiche and pasta salad for lunch and were done in 15 minutes. Cafe Ahoy, you might have been lovely but that was just not acceptable.

Finally, finally, with the kids asleep in the car, we drove to Rossnowlagh. It’s a beach along the way where you can drive your car right up to the water so it made the kids and Flo happy. To be fair, the kids were ecstatic to put their feet into the ocean again. Number 3 wanted to learn everything about jelly fish as this was the first beach where some of them had been beached.

like a dive-in movie. Extremely bizzare. Plus, everyone in camping chairs …

30 minutes later, we had to leave again as the tide was coming in. Some car owners didn’t make it quite fast enough and that their cars bathed in salt water from beneath. Not really a good thing…

But, we were also leaving county Donegal, the first county of the republic of Ireland that we’ve been to. It’s been quite a ride. Counties Sligo & Mayo are beckoning. Well, they will be tomorrow. Today we pulled up in a lakeside caravan park that was overpriced, basic and really nothing special. However, we had a long distance gaming session scheduled and needed power and reception for that.

So proud of how much good care he takes of his sister

Day 12 – Castle and bog

We got up, ready to go back to the beach. Both kids had loved running along the beach, feet in the water so saying goodbye to the beach was a high priority. But first, breakfast. We took the easy route as this campground had a mini kitchen for campers to use: toast and a boiled just saved us quite a bit of time, so much in fact that we even got to use the other facilities and had a lovely shower. Right before caking the kids in sunscreen, sand and salt water. XD

We left the beach later than Flo wanted but too early for the kids so I call it a fair compromise. Our next destination was the Glenveagh National Park although we didn’t have a good idea about what to do there. I already had a hike through Poisened Glen planned for the afternoon and the Glenveagh Castle was closed today.

In the end, we just went with the flow. The Glenveagh Castle Visitor Centre had a charger which we could use without cost, the shuttle bus to the castle cost 6€ for all of us as a return ticket and according to the wardens in the centre, it was great to just explore there for a while. Plus, Number 3 got to ride another – fully electric – bus and was happy.

The walk that caught our eye was a 2km loop to a viewpoint with a view down to the castle and the lake. In the beginning, it led through the outer parts of the “garden” with exotic plants and an Italian terrace but then it meandered up through more native landscape. Both kids were really good throughout the hike. Number 3 had no choice but to walk it all while the Agent of Entropy was carried uphill and then demanded to walk a section of the path downhill.

Nina on the viewpoint, looking down on kitsch “castle”

It was past lunchtime by now but the cafe in the castle was pretty packed and didn’t have a lot that I count as “food”. We rather took the bus back to the Visitor’s Centre and had a pricey lunch there, right next to a playground. Still, for 6€ plus free charging, this was definitely a win.

From here, it was just a short car ride to Poisoned Glen but the Agent still feel asleep. She’s done almost 2 hours longer than her usual naptime so that was quite impressive. Number 3 also was tired but he wasn’t allowed to sleep as he needed to walk more as soon as we stopped.

The way to the Glen was scenic already with a view to Errigal Mountain to the right and a sort of bog landscape all around. Parking next to a ruined church, the “rough hiking path” turned out to be a hopping from stone to boulder and back through the bog. Given that Ireland is having a heat wave with 23 degrees and multiple days without rain in a row, the path was pretty dry with occasional patches of bog or a small stream running over it. Flo was instantly happy. The Agent of Entropy slept through most of it and Number 3 was an amazing mountain sheep (he doesn’t want to be a goat). It was described as a 4km round-trip and we got a good stretch in when suddenly, we decided to go back. Number 3, who was very tired by now, had slipped and put a foot in the bog. When he pulled it out, his shoe stuck. It was a catastrophe for him, while Flo had a laughing fit. Of course, we managed to rescue the shoe and Flo cleaned it enough that Number 3 could put (a now very wet shoe) back on.

Back at the car, we embarked on a longer ride to Ardara and over Glengesh Pass. Another really scenic drive though by now, we’ve all had a long day and weren’t as wowed by the scenery anymore. When we arrived at the campground next to Sliabh Liag, I was pretty tired. Just a simple dinner of bread or muesli had to do and then we brought the kids to bed.

Since it was kinds early still, Flo arranged our makeshift baby phone and we went the 300m to the nearest pub “The Rusty Mackerel”. It was lovely as a location, all food looked really good but the kitchen had closed at 8pm and I was a little twitchy because the kids “were so far away”. However, we discovered that Guinness now produces a 0.0 beer which is an important information on a road trip.

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!