.... it really was a meet of mini proportions, with myself and my family and another couple in their caravan. Gail and Stevie are both active members of the forum and it was Stevies idea to get together for a bit of craic, and I'm so glad he did! It was an excellent weekend and I can't wait to meet up with them again.
The weather was pretty awful when we first arrived, the rain heavy and steady. Stevie and Gail had prepared a Chilli for us all to eat which was very kind and gratefully received, even if I did try and choke on a single piece of rice which was when I was so glad I was in the company of a trained nurse (Gail). We got set up and absolutely soaked, and were glad of spicy chilli and a glass of red wine to warm us through. We had a thoroughly enjoyable evening and discovered that we had lots of things in common with each other.
The campsite is on the lower slopes of Benbradagh Mountain and has fantastic views across the valley to Altahullion Wind Farm. Despite it's location the pitches are flat, with any slopes terraced out and landscaped. There are slides and swings, and the amentiy block is in an old Irish Cottage, which also boasts a campers kitchen, a sitting room and a washing and drying facility. I was very impressed with the attention to detail, with the owner providing a kettle for making a cuppa and the washing powder to put into the machine.
 |
| The Campsite taken from the amenity block. The cottage on the right is a holiday let. |
 |
| On the laptop, with Ben the campsite dog |
 |
| The landscaping means that pitches are flat, and the caravan is on a hardstanding |
 |
| The Amenity Block |
On the Saturday morning it was overcast but dry, and it was mild too, T-shirt weather, despite now being September. We had booked into a local activity centre to try out archery and laser clay pigeon shooting. I surprised myself by being quite good although my results were not consistent, but it was so much fun it didn't matter. We had an absolute ball, finished off very nicely with moist victoria sponge cake and coffee.
 |
| Archery at Foyleho |
We got some geocaching in on the way back to our site, Gail and Stevie had already found them but they brought myself and the two boys to a couple of ancient churches and graveyards. In the afternoon we went to the top of the mountain, by car, to find the remains of an American Radar Station. It can be seen clearly on Google Earth but there's not much to see from the ground, apart from the amazing views over Lough Foyle and into the North Sea.
 |
| Dungiven Priory |
It was difficult to leave the site on Sunday as I really felt I was only just getting into the swing of things. I don't think a weekend is long enough to explore the area and so a return visit will be on the cards.
