First time Caravanning

Yes siree I did the unthinkable, I stayed in a caravan. Not mine, my parents who went away in it for a fortnight but couldn't stay the weekend in between so I got the use of it. It was in a new site to us, called Causeway Coast and it is right beside Juniper Hill about halfway between Portrush and Portstewart on the North Coast of Northern Ireland. 

No photos of the caravan but I can say that it was a bit weird. I arrived about 8pm on Friday past, and I sat on my own in the caravan and thought 'what now?'. When I'm camping I have a tent to set up, water to fetch, bed to blow up, and a sleeping bag to fluff. So I got back in the car and went for a drive around Portstewart which was a big mistake because Portstewart has got crazy traffic.

The following day my good friend Violet came to stay and that kept us occupied, walking into Portrush, walking around the shops and going for a meal in an Indian Restaurant. Back at the caravan I introduced her to Scrabble, I find it hard to believe that there are people in this world who have never played scrabble. We do try and live the Rock 'n' roll life! I brought three bottles of beer and forgot to drink it. 

Late afternoon the next day I'd found my groove - I also found a good book and a comfy Moon Chair that I took into the harbour in Portstewart and did a combination of reading and people watching. At tea time Mum and Dad arrived to take over at the caravan and we all went out for a meal to Amicis which is in the old Golf Club in Portstewart. It was one of the best meals I've had in years, very tasty, fresh ingredients and really well presented. Not a bad quick weekend away and very civilized in a caravan and I could get spoilt with it.

Causeway Coast Caravan Park

A nice little park with a railway line running behind. I actually quite enjoyed the train going past, it was not noisy or invasive. It has views over the sea and is very handy to both Portrush and Portstewart. Into Portrush it is around about a two mile walk and it is all downhill. The problem is it's all uphill on the way back!

The touring park allows tents as well as caravans and motorhomes. There is quite a steep slope on the site and so if in a campervan or motorhome levellers are definitely required. The caravan stays have some adjustment but some wood was still needed to make the caravan level. At the bottom of the grass area in the middle of the looped road it would be flat enough to pitch a tent. 

The campsite toilets are spotless and the owners have put a little information table with local leaflets etc just inside the door of the ladies, and I'm guessing the same in the guys loos as well. The only negative is that there is no dishwashing area which is a real pity because that's where you meet other people. I didn't really get chatting to anyone and when Mum and Dad arrived we also got told off for having two cars at the caravan temporarily while we were swapping over residency. I'm guessing you don't mess with the lady who runs the site but then again there's probably never any issue with night time noise. 

I would go again though, it's a good base for the area.

Co Mayo Annual Hols

It was the main holiday, the 'big' trip which is a fortnight in mid-July when the camping planets align and I can take up to two weeks away. 

This year it was decided that it would be a family trip, that is myself in my Bell Tent and my parents in their touring Caravan. It was the first time I went on holiday with my parents since I was a teenager. 

Mum and Dad had always fancied going to Belleek Campsite in Ballina, Co Mayo, they had heard great things about the campsite and so about two weeks before hand we booked and paid a deposit. It turned out that the town festival was on and they needed a bigger deposit than they usually require, €25 each on a credit card, which was fine we didn't mind.

We arrived separately, I was working that day mopping up last minute jobs and so didn't get to leave home until lunchtime. They had already left their home first thing. I drove down Glencar Valley to Sligo then down the main road that would eventually take you to Galway. I missed a turn off and the sat nav brought me past Lough Talt which although probably wasn't as good a road, it was very scenic.

When I got to Ballina I was surprised at how big it is. It is a large town with a one way system and I had been primed in advance by parents not to go through it (they learnt the hard way). The best way to the campsite is when you get to a sign saying 'Belleek Castle and Woods' follow that, which will take you through a large stone arch and then go past the Castle entrance as the campsite is only half a mile or so onwards.

My first impression of the campsite as I drove in is that it is really well laid out, you drive through an avenue with a row of statics on the left, go straight on and then roads branch off disappearing behind mature trees and hedges. The campsite road is a loop with offshoots, and it gives the site a very non linear feel with lots of privacy between parts of the site. The pitches are generous, and there were units of all types mixed in with each other which I like to see. Nothing worse in my view than a row of regimented white boxes, I'd far rather see campervans mixed with caravans, tents and motorhomes.

Our pitch (our caravan and tent were put together) was on the edge of a tent area that appeared to be used for family tents. I was on the outer edge of it beside Mum and Dads caravan which was on a hard standing. It was right beside the water supply which was handy for them as they could stretch the hose across every morning for a fill. It was also a 30 second dander though the trees to the amenity block. 

The loos were a bit dated but very clean, and three showers in the ladies and presumably in the mens too. I found two extra showers around the corner which had external doors and were unisex. I actually preferred them as there was a bit more room. The tokens for the showers are €1 from reception. In my time there (we stayed a week) I used the laundry and it cost €4 for a wash and I think it was another €2 for a certain length of drying. There was a choice of short amount of drying or long amount but I decided to use the shorter time and then put everything over the back of chairs at the tent. The amenity block has a washing line round the back too but no pegs are supplied so bring your own.

The campsite has a great campers kitchen with two sets of dining tables and chairs and two washing up sinks inside. Then just outside there are another two washing up sinks under a shelter. Beside this is some picnic tables under a large shelter and then a recycling zone enclosed inside a fenced off area. I found that this area was the best area to meet new people and find out about where people were from etc. I really enjoy the social side of camping and this is were the craic is - bonding over dishes. 

In our first few days there as previously mentioned the town festival was on. The first night we went for a walk in the town centre and it was really atmospheric with music on stage in the main street and lots of people watching to do. 

The second evening there was a fantastic fireworks over the river. One of the biggest employers in the area is the Coca Cola factory and I was told that they sponsored the fireworks. The certainly splashed the cash for the display. It was very late because being summer it gets truly dark quite late. So it was 11.30pm before they started but it was such a busy crowd that we got our spot on the bridge at 10pm and waited an hour and a half. It really was worth it.

We enjoyed going to Belleek Castle which was near the campsite and is a hotel. The castle has a lovely little lunch spot which is quite trendy with live edge wood tables, bean bags in the courtyard and a menu which is quite reasonable. A filling, thick vegetable soup with really good heavy brown bread, a bit like wheaten bread, was €5.90. 

Belleek Castle also has a tour of some of the rooms which are non accommodation rooms. This includes the areas where the weddings are held and also some rooms which collections of various objects like armour and fossils and furniture and maps. The castle was owned most recently by a great collector of things, and so the house which is warren of interesting things to look at. 

The other thing we spent our week doing was going to nearby Enniscrone which has a really good beach for swimming. It was very hot weather during our week away and so a dip was called for and very welcome. Mum and I went for a swim while Dad rested his eyes in the car. 

We also visited the nearby Rosserk Abbey and also the little fishing village of Killala. 

Enniscrone Beach with Nephin Mountain in the distance

Rosserk Abbey

Rosserk Abbey

Killala, Co Mayo

Killala village

At the end of the week Mum and Dad left for home and I went on to Cong which is south of Ballina. I stayed at 'The Quiet Man' campsite but ended up with a rowdy crowd in three large tents beside me. I explored the area on foot, walking to Cong and around the golf club area of Ashford Castle. I would have gone into the grounds of Ashford Castle but it was €15 per person and all I wanted to do was walk beside the river back to Cong in a circular route. I decided to go the long way instead. I did get a good picture of Ashford Castle across the river. 

Ashford Castle, Cong, Co Mayo

 I could have stayed away longer but between the neighbours and incoming bad weather I decided to go home, calling into Drumcliff to look at Yeats grave and the round tower, and having lunch at the nearby Yeats Country Inn. I spent the next week chilling out at home and enjoying having time to cook proper meals and sleep in and watch Homes under the Hammer before going back to work well rested and glad of a break.

Knockalla Campsite Fanad Donegal

A bit late posting my summer adventures, this camping trip was from June and the first of the 2019 season.

It was a  'chuck it in the car' thing and head off into the wild blue yonder with not a whole lot of forward planning. I wanted remote, time out, space, peace and so it was I headed to Fanad in Donegal. I haven't been in years plus I'm a sucker for a campsite with a view and since it was a bank holiday the previous weekend, I reckoned I'd have the place to myself. 

One of the view points from Knockalla Mountain

I headed to Knockalla Campsite, ringing ahead to make sure there were some tent spaces (there was) and stopping off for some cash on the way. I went via the coastal route which takes you over the top of Knockalla Mountain. I wouldn't go any other way and if you try this you'll see why.

The campsite was completely deserted, I was the only person there camping. I was solo this time and I brought a poly tent because it was easy to put up alone, I can stand up in it and the weather forecast could be described as 'iffy' and so therefore I wouldn't have too much trouble drying the thing again once I got home.

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looking back towards the rest of the campsite (must wash the car) 

the view from the tent

Once the tent was up, the airbed blown up, the chair put out front with a Knockalla Campsite brochure marking page 3 of a book,  I got the Trangia fired up for a well deserved cup of coffee.

I had brought a skandika sleeping bag which is rated to roughly +5 degrees but I woke about 2am with teeth chattering feeling very, very cold. A silk sleeping bag liner I found in my camping kit did the trick and I slept very well after that until the bloody birds woke me up before 6am.

The following day I found that the local eatery at the Pier in Portsalon did soup and a cheese toasty for €7.90 and that did for lunch. I drove up to Fanad Head where there is a lighthouse. Things are changed a bit since I was last there, I found a new car park with a ticket office selling tours of the light house but I had no interest in a tour, I wanted to walk part of the headland instead. So I parked my car at the layby in front of the lighthouse gates and hitched the leg over the fence as others were doing and hoped that nobody would shout at me for leaving the car there or going onto (presumably) private ground. There is a former barracks beside the layby and by heading towards shore you can see a concrete lookout. Once out there it is actually the best place to photograph the lighthouse across a deep ravine with the torrid sea far below.

There is a wall between the barracks compound and a different beach over to the left of the shore. There used to be a gap in the wall but it's blocked up now. I wanted to go to this beach because I knew that there were very colourful stones. I had a bowl of these beautiful stones in a previous house which I varnished and I don't know what happened them (lost them when moving house) but I still have one green one left. It was actually one of the reasons I went to Portsalon and it was very frustrating to be prevented from going on the beach.

I headed out for tea again and got a medium cooked steak and chips along with a weird desert made from moss which was a bit like a milky jelly only it was pale green.

In the evening I was truly knackered, I don't know if it was the bit of walking or the sea air but I was zonked and it was lights out at 9pm! Unfortunately my airbed decided to be an ex-airbed and I spent the night very uncomfortably and wishing I'd packed a spare.

I woke up to a glorious morning and all was forgiven. I knew that it was to rain, and in fact I could see the black clouds rolling towards me. There's nothing like an imminent rain cloud to make striking camp quick and efficient and it was literally half an hour between waking and getting into the car with the first fat raindrops hitting the windscreen as I exited the campsite. 

I went home a slightly different route through Kerrykeel. I could see a little restaurant called The Narrow Quarter was open and so I used the tenner from the key deposit to treat myself to an Irish Breakfast of a sausage, bacon, white pudding, soda bread, egg and a pot of tea. It was a great wee restaurant and I would think it would be lovely for an evening meal.

Knockalla Campsite  

Knockalla Campsite has somewhat changed since I was last there, the touring caravan and motorhome area is very smart with brand new tarmac and neatly mown grass. It looks quite polished and has great views. A couple of weeks after my visit my parents went in their touring caravan and really enjoyed their stay.

The campsite facilities are great, the amenities were very clean and you need a token for the shower costing €1.50 which is bought at reception. The staff member who dealt with me was very friendly and there is a lot going on at main reception I didn't take time to explore. It looks like there is a games room and maybe a takeaway too.

There are quite a few statics but I wasn't overlooked. In the screenshot below the camping symbol is more or less beside where I  pitched my tent. 

The camping area I used is on a headland with an amazing view over the beach at Ballymastocker Bay and it is about a 2 minute walk to the loo. There is a water supply right beside the camping area. There are no marked out pitches so even if there were other campers there I'm sure there's enough room for privacy. There is another camping area beside a large football pitch in a valley, I saw bigger tents so it is possibly reserved for larger units. It would not have the same great view but then it would likewise be more sheltered in bad weather.

I wouldn't hesitate to go back and I hope to do so soon.