Bell Tent Chandelier

I just wanted to share with you something I made. I was inspired by Bell Tent Chandeliers which retail about £80 online and consist of a hoop (or two hoops) with little tea light glasses and you thread it up through the centre pole of a Bell Tent or Tepee as you are putting the tent up. I thought of all sorts of workarounds, including an embroidery hoop. Then I stumbled upon 'Herb Drying' racks online which are basically a hoop with three chains and hooks. I considered hanging little glass jars and putting tealights inside the glass jars. The only thing is, I'm not crazy about having to light lots of little tealights that only last four hours. Even then, naked flames and tents are not that compatible.

Walking around Poundstretcher in town I found plant hangers. My mind started ticking over. I could see that what I have here (for 99p) are three chains, and a hoop if I cut the rest of it off with tin snips.

I bought two (for 99p why not) because I thought it would also make a great fruit basket hanging from my tarp or from underneath the kitchen stand or at least somewhere to keep my phone, book etc. So once I got home I started playing about with them and realised if they joined together they'd make a wire ball. Maybe I could feed the pole through the centre of this ball! Pinterest showed me that I wasn't the first to think of this idea. Damn Pinterest for not letting me have an original idea!

I got black cable ties (100 pack) for another 99p. Battery operated lights, warm coloured came in at just under £7. I took a notion to attach some beads from my jewellery making kit. They are red crackled glass and blue faceted beads, with some blue solid coloured beads as well.

An hour of my time, this really is an easy make. I used all 100 cable ties. I could have done with a few more but in hindsight I used too many at the beginning of the process.

Ultimately there is a reason I am looking at Bell Tent Chandeliers and guess why.

Yes I bought a Bell Tent. I have not put it up yet, it's a Polycotton rather than Canvas and it's a 4m. I have no idea if this is 'the one' but I can't wait to find out. I have bought blankets and storage boxes and a new coolbox, and a new stove and a new kettle, and a red spotty table cloth and crazily enough, an MSR Camping Kitchen Tool Set - as if I needed more stuff. Oh I forgot I bought two cream coloured camping chairs to match the tent and two grey sleeping bags that fold in to their own cushion. I am going for a grey and cream with splashes of red theme. I have these colours in my bedroom at home and there is a coastal vibe about the colours. I have a red painted wooden directors chair in the shed as well.

I've never glamped before, and I just can't wait to try it out. 

New Forum!!

A nutshell history is this:

A few years ago I was a great and regular user of a campsite forum, but it was based in the UK not in my region of Northern Ireland. It was fine, but did not cater for my local campsites.

The only thing that seems left to do was to start my own forum. I found a platform, a programme called Lefora and it was free to use and so off I went, figuring out how to code and learning as I went along. I needed members, so we printed out leaflets and my family handed them out at 'Holiday World' roadshow in the Kings Hall. I did several big mail outs to campsites with leaflets and business cards and when I went camping I approached my camping neighbours. I googled for like-minded people and emailed them asking them to join the forum.

This motored along really well, my little community grew and bonds were formed. There was a core group of regular users and a bigger group of people who used the forum as a resource. One of the members, John, compiled a campsite map which is still growing to this day. It includes location of each campsite, then details such as phone numbers and web addresses and is a great resource all by itself.

Then Lefora was bought over by another outfit called Crowdgatherer. We lost our photos, and it was such a big archive that there was no way of compiling all the photos in the posts again. The functional buttons on the forum changed, we lost a key feature 'Latest posts' and all in all it was a pretty unusable forum. That was sort of ok because in the meantime Facebook had become really popular. The core group migrated to Facebook to a 'closed' group and we accepted new members on it. However the membership didn't really participate to the same level that they had done in the forum. There was some support on our Facebook page for a new forum, and so after a bit of research I set up a new one. I wanted a forum software that was quite well known, that would hopefully not be sold off to another company shortly and that would be easy to use and have all the features we once had.

There are some Facebook users who are happy with the group staying on Facebook so the new forum is for those people who prefer a forum format.

Here's the link

http://nicf.proboards.com/forum

and a screen shot of the forum.

And here's the link to NI Wild which is another great Northern Irish Forum

http://www.ni-wild.co.uk/forum/index.php

Overview of 2014

It's been a funny old year. This is the year in which my teenagers rebelled against 'Family Holidays' and I had to hire a holiday cottage in order to bribe them into one last go of it. In the first part of the year camping was hampered by my re-taking of a GCSE I didn't pass 20 odd years ago, which thankfully I can claim a pass now. I was busy studying for a June Exam and since I also had a son taking all of his GCSE's, going away for quick weekends ate in to valuable study time so we didn't bother.

In that period of time I lost my 'wee camping buddy', Toby my long haired Jack Russell dog. He was only two. He got out through a hedge with a fence in it on to a busy road during a walk in a Forest Park and he was instantly killed. We decided not to try and replace Toby as he was one of a kind.

Our main family holiday took place in Cruit Island off the coast of West Donegal. It is an island that you access by driving over a bridge. The holiday cottage was compact but easy to keep clean and it was a bit like camping only in a brick tent. We pretty much did everything that we would normally do camping except I had a proper double bed to sleep in and a proper fridge, cooker etc, which was nice. I did miss the company of other people on a campsite though.

We spent our days fishing, exploring beaches because Donegal is probably one of the few places on earth where you'll have a beach, in mid July (incidentally, in another heatwave - great timing) all to yourself. I even swam in the same bit of sea as a Dolphin which was a real treat. We had a few great meals out and I read a few books and we walked our wee legs off.

Some photos of our holiday in Donegal

www.cruitholidayhome.com

Interior of cottage

The Poison Glen

Errigal Mountain

Fishing off Braade Head

Glenveigh National Park

The 'NEVER NO MORE' camping list

This is a pared down list of camping gear which represents the minimum you can get away with whilst still having relative comfort. 

'Never No More' Camping List

Shelter

Tent 

Pegs

Mallet

Sleeping

Airbed/Self Inflating Mat
Pump if using Airbed

Bedding (sleeping bag or sheets and Duvet)

Pillow

Extra Blanket

Hot Water Bottle

Relaxing

Chair

Small Table

Book

Lantern

Eating

Mini Stove

Fuel Cannister

Lighter/Matches

Small Frying Pan

Lidded Pan

Sharp Knife

Small Chopping Board

Spork

Mug

Breakfast Bowl
Bottle Opener/Corkscrew
Tin Opener

Trug or Bowl for Washing Up

scourer and washing up liquid

Tea Bags

Coffee Granules

Cool box or cool bag

Flask

Personal

 Soft Holdall/Bag

Spare Clothing

A Big Jumper

PJ's

First Aid Kit

Bug Repellent

If the camping trip is short, you can cut out most of the kitchen equipment, as long as you have the makings of a cuppa.

Maddybenny Campsite, Portrush, NI

I got an early start for a weekends trip to Maddybenny, due to an understanding boss who could see I was itching to get away (and not much work on), so I was off like a shot!

I arrived at 2pm and chose a nice spot amongst these trees. I found level places to pitch my tents, yes I had more than one tent on this occasion. Actually I had three. I'll explain later. 

This weekend away was not a solo trip, it was arranged some time ago and there were a few people scheduled to attend this 'meet' with their families in various caravans and tents. Then as is often the case, life gets in the way and people bow out for legitimate reasons I'll not go into here - and so it was that there were three lots of us going, which is actually quite a nice number. The first night it was only two lots, with a third joining us for an overnighter on the Saturday. This family borrowed a tent from me, which I put up before their arrival as they were on site quite late. So one tent for me and one tent for them, that's two tents. 

This is the third tent. I brought a Decathlon Base Seconds pop up and this was our shared kitchen for the weekend. In hindsight I still brought too much. I should have just brought a stove, a kettle and a bunch of mugs because we literally lived on coffee. And takeaways. The pre-made and frozen Irish Stew I brought ended up in the bin. The most complicated thing I made was porridge for breakfast. 

For myself I brought the Lichfield Challenger 5, dates from the eighties and is a tent I used from being a teenager to now, and it's sort of on it's way out. The flysheet is getting very tired and delaminated and every time I use it I think it'll be the last time. I am very fond of this tent, lots of great memories were had in and around it and this weekend is another one to add to the list. For the borrowing tent I brought my Vango Icarus 500. No photo of it though. This was my tent....

Night one was incredibly cold. This is actually the latest in the season I've ever camped but it has been an exceptionally mild September. The stars were out on the first night and that means a big temperature drop. I'd remembered to bring my hot water bottle and plenty of blankets, but at 3.30am I woke up colder than I could ever have imagined being and struggled out of my tent into the other tent to stick the kettle on. Hot water bottle replenished I was warm but at approximately 4am the site cockerels started. Which brings me on smoothly to the amazing birdlife on Maddybenny site. There are lots of these things just wandering around, begging to be made in to a roast dinner. Only joking of course. 

But not joking was the  noise they made. This site is fantastic and the birds are an integral and lovely part of it. Earplugs are required for decent sleep though, not a big deal but the ducks go quack and the peacocks make a funny hoot, and the chickens cluck and the guineafowl make a horrible irritating noise. And worse, the cockerels go Cock - a - doodle - doooo in, it seems, two phases. Phase One is at 4am. Then Phase Two kicks in around an hour later. 

The Guinea Fowl look like clowns in full makeup, with their big football bodies and their too tiny heads. Their bodies are about the same size as a beach ball, we thought they were Turkeys but we're townies, we are useless at this sort of thing. The Peacocks are a bit full of themselves, they'd nearly pull the food right out of your hand they are so cheeky! The Ducks and Chickens are just happy around your feet as long as there's bread on the go and then Peacocks bully all the other birds. Fun Fact - a group of Peacocks is called a 'Party'. A group of female Peahens is called a 'Harem'. 

The site is well tended and the toilet and shower facilities are good, and clean. All the toilets are unisex and separate to each other, so no need for male and female facilities. Two out of the three showers are large disabled access wet rooms with a loo in the opposite corner to the shower. 

The site has an outlook over fields with horses and a sliver of sea in the distance. It's one and a half miles in to Portrush and this site is on a hill overlooking Portrush. The campsite is part of a large working Riding School with sixty horses. Thirty of those are owned by other individuals and stabled there, and the other thirty are used for the Riding School for lessons. So as a working 'Farm' you have to be flexible about there being activity, all the birds wandering about, farm cats and a couple of dogs too. 

Maddybenny also has Holiday cottages on the Farm and there is a brilliant games room with a table tennis table and a football table for the use of the Campsite and the Holiday Cottages. 

I didn't really go looking for the play area, but I believe there is one and there are also landscaped gardens to explore too. 

I met some of the other campers using the site, and Night Two of our stay was spent with them and a small campfire, I'd brought a guitar and then it emerged that one of the guys was a bit of a virtuoso guitar player! It was just really nice sitting around that little fire, a bit of chit-chat, a few giggles and somebody who could play a guitar properly to entertain us. Great memories to carry with me and hopefully for everyone else as well. 

Yes I'd recommend Maddybenny, and yes I'll be back. 

Share Centre Co Fermanagh, Northern Ireland

Weather - fair but overcast. Mood - excited to see Elan my son who was living at the Share Centre and working as a volunteer for a whole month. The Dog - also excited to see Elan but then she's excited to see anyone especially one of her own Hoomans. Tent used - Vango Icarus, 2010 model. No extension. 

The Share Centre is one of those love it but hate it places. The ethos and the atmostphere of the centre is brilliant, creative, inclusive and welcoming. Here's the thing. The Campsite isn't great. It's ok, in as far as you have a bit of grass and access to Electric Hook Ups and to a loo and shower. 

Now this next bit contains a bit of a rant about how things are at the campsite and what I think should be done about them. You are welcome to skip this bit if you want and it is all in italics so you can easily do so. 

The first big issue is that there is no access with a car. This lot (see pic) took me an hour to carry back and forth to the chosen area. I tried to go as far in to the campsite as I had the energy to do in order to get a bit of privacy as the areas around the entrance to the campsite are often densely used and if you pitch up there you could end up with someone elses guy ropes right past your front door. 

Issue two. The showers for the ladies are a row of shower heads along a wall with no dividing curtains. It's a bit like being at school only in my school at least we still had curtains. There is a wall to hide your modesty from an open door but you shower in view of other people who are also showering. There's no lock on the door which is accessed through the ladies. I suppose a lock would mean you have about 8 shower heads all to yourself which could create a queue outside. Isn't it obvious that this is appalling? There's three things you can do here, insider tips if you will. First you can take a shower and just be really quick and hope nobody comes in (this causes a certain amount of stress) or you can take a shower in the disabled shower which is a separate room.Lastly (and my preferred option but you have to pay extra) is you can go for a swim at the pool which is a five minute dander away. 

Issue three (minor I suppose) is that there's no soap in the ladies. You go to the loo. You only have plain water to wash your hands with. You could bring your own soap, but I find I nip to the loo when I'm passing the amenity block and I won't always have a bottle of Carex in my jeans pocket. Even if I intentionally go to the loo, the natural assumption is that there will be soap there, either a dispenser or a bottle of handwash. In the whole weekend I was there, I forgot about there being no soap on every single occasion I was in the bathroom. In every campsite, in every shopping centre, in every public place in the land - there is soap. It's a convention. It shouldn't be a big thing, but it could have a serious impact if someone suffers from food poisoning because they've been barbecuing and preparing food. 

Under utilized - The dishwashing area. 

Now I've seen the glory of a really well appointed kitchen area at a campsite, which is the mainstay of many a campsite in this beautiful land, I think we should be making more of these dishwashing facilities. Unfortunately in the case of the Share Centre, it's distinctly scruffy. There's missing surface on the edge of the worktop, which begs a hygiene question. The sinks were clean enough and the place does get washed down, floors and surfaces. I tend to bring my own dishwashing container anyway. There's a bin, that's good. New (to me anyway) was a fridge, sitting up unnaturally high on a worktop. This is clearly a cast off fridge from somewhere else, and someone has thought 'I know, why don't we let the campers use it' which is fine and great. The fridge is pretty grotty though. It did have an icebox which was useful to put my ice packs in, and they didn't get stolen which is even better. I noticed as the weekend wore on that someone plugged in a mini fridge and kept a few beers in the main fridge. Then someone else was charging their phone up, and I realised that opposite the dishwashing sinks (2 of)  there is a couple of double sockets and actually there's enough room to put a stove and prepare food (if you've remembered your handwash) and store food (if you risk using the fridge) and you could store your items there too if you placed a bit of blind faith in the other campers. 

What a world away from Mannix Point in Kerry, The Apple in Tipperary, even Hillfoot in Dungiven, where there's a busy inviting kitchen that people walk through, rest a while in, chat in. Things don't go walkies so much when people develop a relationship with their fellow campers. When there's a place to sit, potter and prepare food. When everyone chips in and even, dare I say it, share a bit! 

Here's a campsite with so much potential. There has been no investment. The complaints I had about this place four years ago have not changed one tiny bit. The Share Centre is a charity and I understand it's a daily struggle to keep the doors open. I sympathize with that. I would be up for supporting the place. But people do not want to struggle when they go on their well earned break. They do not want to work really hard huffing and puffing carrying heavy camping equipment to a pitch. They do not want a frankly grotty amenity block. They want to wash their hands hygienically, have a shower in privacy, basic stuff here! 

My suggestion, and I don't expect to be listened to here (as I highlighted my concerns four years ago, and nothing has changed), is that a road needs to be installed through the centre of the campsite. There is a curve of land that is already in a hollow, prone to churning up mud, hence the reason why cars are not allowed on site. It starts at the car park and heads diagonally towards the rear of the site, towards the main road and the ropes activity area. It does not need to be a tarmac surface. Many campsites have a rough rubble road, what planners call a metallised surface. 

Is Planning the issue here? I don't think so, the site already would have Planning Permission to operate as a campsite. I don't know if there's any extra permission needed to install a roadway that would also improve drainage if pipes were installed too, may as well have those too if you're going to dig a hole in the ground to fill with rubble and stones! 

Righto, if you've skipped to this bit, this is the camping bit.

Below is my trusty Vango Icarus, I have had this for four years but it is getting on a bit. Still functional and no tears or pole breaks or leaks and although I fancy the new colour of green on the current ones, plus the redesigned and much bigger 'panoramic' windows on the same, I'll use this one until it is much more done than it is at the moment. I brought what I thought was fairly basic camping gear, whilst still being enough to be comfortable. I had a tea/coffee making station, a decent camping bed to sleep in and I brought the electric hook up cable in case I got cold so therefore I had a small fan heater. It proved to be unnecessary as I wasn't one bit cold. Doggins was accommodated in a 'pet pen' which is simply an alternative to a tether arrangement but I wish I'd just stuck to the tether as this is quite a heavy object to carry. She also had her own crate for night time use inside the tent. It made a handy coffee table too. 

So how did my weekend go? Well it was great to see my son, who is 17 and who I'd never been separated from for a whole two weeks before. We went in to the shops for some supplies, we went for a swim together on his day off on Saturday, and we shared a barbecue together, sitting up late with my son and his friend Damien til' all hours around the campfire. On the Sunday the tent got wet and so I had a wet pack up, which was sorted out later at home. Good weekend all in all.

Bed and Bedding is the make or break of a good camping trip. Here I used an Argos steel framed campbed. An old sleeping bag to use as a bit of padding. 5cm Decathlon 'Sleep In' bed which is a Self Inflating Mat and sleeping bag integrated. Pillows from home. I used the 'level' function on my phone to find the more level bit of the sleeping area to put my bed. I am very fussy in this regard! 

Six Mile Water Campsite, Antrim

Six Mile Water Campsite

I have been quiet this year thus far but I've now had two camping trips, only quick weekends so far but the weather has been kind to me both times. The first was at Hillfoot, where I camped alongside two other families and my nephew joined my camp. It was the first time I used the new tent I bought earlier this year. I got a Gelert Cabana 4 on sale at a price not to be refused as a very quick to pitch tent and so far it's been pretty good. It is a bit like a Tepee tent, it has a central pole but the tent is modified in that it has an inner compartment and has two poles near the front for extending the tent a bit regarding head height at the door. It is quite a funky fabric, grey and black swirly design but it does have one drawback - no windows. I haven't been bothered by this so far but I reckon a week of rain would have me going stir crazy in there - so it is a fair weather tent and really for solo camping (even though its supposed to be a four berth).

Bed set up is a Decathlon (Quechua) all in one Self Inflating Mat and sleeping bag, pillows from home and a spare green fluffy blanket just in case. I forgot to bring my camp bed, but I was more comfortable than I would have thought as this Self Inflating Mat is only about 3cm. The picnic mat is an oversized one from Lidl with a foil reflective back. 

Looking out, no windows! But there is a mesh doorway as well as the fabric one. 

Still getting great use out of my Coleman Mini Table

This was my first trip with Coco my Springer only, as a few weeks ago my other wee dog Toby was killed by a car when he got out through a hedge on to a road. Wee Toby is much missed, the whole family have been so upset. He was only two but he was a wee tinker and life is definately a bit quieter!

Lough Neagh

The campsite is close beside Lough Neagh. The campsite itself looks out onto a river which flows into the lake, and it is a nice outlook as the river is lined with boats being a natural harbour. The lake itself is a five minute dander due West from the campsite, just follow the river. In this picture you may just about see an aeroplane, which shows how close this area is to the International Airport. 

Funny quip - two little boys whizzed past me on bikes, one said to the other 'Is this called Lough Neagh' and the other little boy said 'No no...that is in Scotland!'. I think he was thinking of Lough Ness though. 

Stendhal Festival, Limavady

The great thing about the Decathlon Base Seconds 4.2 is that it folds into a circle which can be carried like a rucksack, making it ideal for a Festival situation. It is heavy, the circle is bulky too, but carrying camping gear in to a festival site is never an easy task no matter what and having a tent you can carry on your pack at least frees up both hands to carry other things. 

At Stendhal Festival only two in my family were going. Myself and eldest son aged 16. He's a big strapping lad of 6ft now and so he gets the job of carrying the tent on his back. I carry a large rucksack with all the soft things in it (clothes, blankets, sleeping bags etc). Then we have a trolley which carried our coolbox and everything else bungeed to the top. It was heavy going, festival fields are generally quite far from the car parking area, but it was doable! 

I've learnt a few little things about festivals now, although I am sure I have much more tweaking to do. I feel this was our best effort yet. I think I generally brought the right equipment. At previous festivals I've brought a whole kitchen outfit only to spend a lot of money on food from stalls anyway. This time I only brought tea/coffee making facilities, and I gave both of us a food budget of £50 each to do food and drinks for the whole weekend. A meal is averaging out about £6 - £8 with soft drinks being £1 for a can and alcoholic drinks (for me) being nearer the £4 mark. The £50 was about right. I still brought multipacks of soft drinks and crisps and also cereal bars for breakfast. There was one breakfast at another festival, when I had no milk left so went to the kiosk for coffee and something to eat. One coffee and a bun in a plastic wrapper was £5 and I had two of us to buy for. Ouch! £10 for a breakfast and still hungry! Never again, bring cereal bars and if you are even better organised, bring large home made flapjacks which will be far nicer. 

The festival had brilliant music with the highlight for me being 'The Plaintains', a local group made up of pupils from a Special Needs school. They did Status Quo's 'Rockin all over the World' and it was the most feel good band I think I've ever been to see. 

This Festival was very good value at £35 for a family. A far cry from the Sunflower Festival who put their ticket prices up this year and it would have been £140 for us both to go! 

Shepherds Rest, Draperstown

What a fantastic overnighter we had at The Shepherds Rest which is near Draperstown, Northern Ireland. When I say we, I mean my nephew and myself. Our very first Auntie and Nephew camping trip! We also had great company in the form of John, a fellow member of the Northern Ireland Campsite Forum. 

We arrived on the Saturday morning about 11am with what we thought was minimal camping equipment. I had planned this out throughout the preceding week, and it seemed to be a longer list than it should be. Especially when we were only staying one night! We brought the tent obviously, and our beds, and a chair each. I brought the coleman mini table I'm so pleased with - and another backpacker table which I could have done without. I brought coffee making things, as we were only planning on one night we planned to eat out. We brought the makings of a breakfast and that necessitated a cool box. I also needed our basic first aid kit, baby wipes, a dish washing bucket plus dish washing liquid, a plate, mug and spork each, and kitchen roll.

The site is in the back garden of the Shepherds Rest public house. The pub nestles into a pretty valley in the Sperrin mountains and as the name implies, this is sheep farming territory. I had the good fortune to be travelling from the west, so I approached it through the mountains on a lovely sunny morning. The clouds threatened us with a few drops of rain every so often, but they soon moved on. 

The site is in two sections, separated by a hedge. On the south side of the hedge are Caravan hardstandings, and some terraced grassy areas for tents. On the north side of the hedge was the true pub garden, but it is large and can hold tents as well. It has planted borders which at this time of year are bright with many flowers, the grounds are well tended, the grass freshly mown. There is a long path through the middle of this garden, with a canopied area at the back of the pub, slightly raised and with tables and chairs. This part of the building houses the function rooms, not the general bar area, so you don't feel you are under scrutiny all the time. The other end of the path brings you to a re-creation of an old Irish Cottage, complete with a small campers kitchen in one corner. There is comfy seating, a table and chair arrangement and an open fire. There are a few vintage items strewn about, interesting artifacts like a traditional butter churn and some gas lanterns. The fuel for the fire seemed to be provided by the site.

The electric kettle in the campers kitchen corner was brilliant, much quicker than faffing about with my own backpacker stove which is not that stable. We used it for coffees, hot chocolate for my nephew, and to fill two hot water bottles. 

As the summer is wearing on the night time temperatures are starting to drop. The heat wave we had in mid July is gone but we've still had quite good weather since, mostly sharp showers with sunny spells. The temperatures have remained normal (not exceptional like they were in the heat wave) but the nights are drawing in, getting progressively earlier and with it, it's cooler. We had good bedding with us, but the hot water bottles were nice to warm the beds just before getting in to it. I had to evict mine once settled as it was too warm. Then about 2am, I woke chilled to the bone. I'd taken a fleecy blanket and woke up enough to arrange that over me and an hour later I threw it off again as I was far too warm. 

A large family group with four or five tents had come during the day, and they were lovely people but there were a lot of them. They had quite a few children as well. The kids got very excited and were incredibly noisy that night. They were having a wonderful time, and I love to hear kids having a good time...just not at midnight! Thank goodness for ear plugs! 

The amenities for the campsite are housed in a room at the back of the pub. There are steps from the 'garden' into this area and they are quite steep, and I think, would benefit from a hand rail. That aside, the room that caters for the campers is really good. There is a corner for laundry (washing machine, drier and dedicated sink), another for an information area which was a table and notice board, with notices, services, brochures and a guest book. Just inside the door was a campers 3/4 sized fridge. The men and ladies bathrooms were to the rear of this room, one per gender. As the shower was situated in the same room as the toilet that meant it was essentially a wet room. The only problem with this is that when someone takes a shower they are effectively stopping others from using the loo. 

All in all, a great site and one I will definitely return to. I will leave the tables and chairs at home the next time, and use the picnic tables already there. 

Mannix Point 2013

How lucky were we to get a HEATWAVE on our second ever visit to Mannix Point! This was our annual holiday and we visited Woodlands Campsite it Tralee too but I'll deal with it on a separate review. The main thing is that I got back to my beloved Mannix Point and Woodlands just doesn't compare.

I was last there in 2011, and Mannix Point has lost none of its special atmosphere in the interim. There have been a few tweaks here and there but they are major improvements to the site. The main thing that attracts me and many others to the site is the setting. Honestly, this is a little piece of heaven. The best thing you can do is get up early to watch the sun rise and have the whole place to yourself. Get the kettle on and watch that whistle so you don't wake anyone else up. Then, steaming mug in hand, go and sit by the shore. Watch the birds and sigh. This is proper relaxation.

Killylan Mountain reflected on the water. Picture taken from the shore of the camping area at Mannix Point

Here's the link to my first review of Mannix Point, complete with some pictures. Go and read it and then come back to me here.

http://campingnut.blogspot.co.uk/2011/07/mannix-point-continued-welcome-to.html

We got the same pitch we did the last time, Pitch No 6 in 'Highfield'. I'd specifically requested it as I really enjoyed being in this corner the last time. As you can see from the following picture, the tents are laid out on a grid pattern. You may be able to see the white markers places in the ground, each with a pitch number on it. The pitches are huge, I took an eight man tent (visible bottom left, blue) and it fitted easily with room to spare for a sitting out area.

'Highfield' camping area, you can see other pitches for motorhomes and caravans in the background.

The original cottage which has been converted into campsite amenities and now has a new veranda all along the front. Note the bicycle racks, the other side of that display board shows a handy map of the area.

Now, back to those improvements. Mortimer, owner and proprietor, is very proud and rightly so of his site. The campsite suffered with last years rain, it was a washout of a summer for the whole of Ireland. The main improvement, so useful in wet weather should it happen, is the addition of a veranda to the front of the old house that houses the campers sitting room, campers kitchen and dining area, the office and the loos. The veranda creates a shelter along the whole of the front of this building, and at one end Mortimer has created a seating area complete with swing seat. As the front of this area is already abundant with flowers, this is a lovely fragrant place to be. 

New barbecue area in the back garden of the cottage.

Garden to rear of cottage with clothes drying area in the background. 

Creperie open summer mornings

The campers dining room area, photo taken from the campers kitchen