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! 

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. 

That bloody Satnav, going to Woodlands campsite Tralee, and the review and trip report

For reasons unfathomable now we made our journey through the night. We left home at 2.40am and drove through Dublin to Limerick, then on to Tralee. The Sat Nav helped and hindered in equal measure. The Sat Nav was bought four years ago, and in Ireland they've been road building like mad in that period of time. So when part of our route early in our journey was closed with road works and then the diversion signs we were following suddenly disappeared, we found ourselves on back roads, in fog, in Caledon in Tyrone of all places. I set the Sat Nav at that point and for daft Sat Nav reasons we ended up in Newry. I had a map in the car but checking the date it's even older than the Sat Nav. Had I known we'd be going to Newry we'd have just pootled down the motorway. Ah well. 

(In hindsight - wonderful thing hindsight - I should have headed down the west coast, as everyone on my holidays told me that there's a new road that is motorway all the way from Sligo to Killarny)

The Sat Nav display showed us driving across empty fields the most of the way to Limerick too. I turned it off after the umpteenth time it recalculated our journey. We had taken a break outside Dublin, got roadside coffee and paid our E-toll for the ring road around Dublin. Then we took another break later in Adare, just past Limerick. We got a stretch of our legs but it was 7.30 and nowhere was open for breakfast. By this time nothing less than a Full Irish Breakfast would do. 

At Rathkeale we found a hotel just off the carriageway. I made enquiries. €10 a head for the works, including fruit salad, cereal, unlimited coffee and pure orange juice as well as our Full Irish. Just the ticket. 

When we were practically there, bearing in mind I'm not familiar with Tralee, the Sat Nav redeemed itself and brought us straight to our site which was wonderful considering it was now 9.20am and we'd been driving for hours. 

I know drivers, van and lorry drivers, who could do this journey with out batting an eyelid. I know people who have driven that kind of journey and longer and it is absolutely no problem to them. I am not one of those people. I am full of admiration for people who drive for a living! 

Now, newly arrived at Woodlands I approached reception. This is where I was glad of that coffee. The thing about Woodlands is you need your wits about you. I had phoned beforehand and got a price. That was not the same price that I saw being written down on a form by 'HER'. I shall call her 'HER' because I did not find her particularly warm or charismatic. 'HIM' is much easier to deal with, and at least you don't get ripped off (obviously the resident husband and wife team). The price she wrote down was €9 more per night than I'd been quoted by 'HIM' over the phone. Michael is his name I believe, he's grand, friendly enough. Anyway I called her on the sudden price increase. There was a little bit of blustering from 'HER' and I paid the price I'd been quoted previously for the four nights and I left feeling a bit cross. 

Ok we could put this down to a genuine mistake, although the reason she gave me at the time doesn't stack up. But then the kids reported to me over coming days that things got a little more expensive in the shop when it was her serving in the campsite shop. A packet of sweets jumped 40 cents for example. Fizzy drinks also jumped in price. If Michael was serving things were a little cheaper again. Maybe it's just me, but I don't like the feeling of 'what can we do them for' rather than sticking to a genuine price. Maybe he was was undercharging! I don't know. Still it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. 

The pitch we selected was lovely though. It was the start of our amazing heatwave, and we were pitched under two Ash trees which gave a lovely bit of shelter from the full sun all day. The site has got lots of planting all around, so the flowers were in full bloom and it made the place look very pretty. 

overview of campsite from the web

Used a Lichfield Challenger 5 tent

The amenites are all in one block, a two story building with what I take to be living accommodation upstairs. The ground floor housed a reception (with aforementioned shop selling sweets, drinks, milk, and I think it sold gas cannisters and the like too), a games room with two pool tables, both male and female showers and loos, dishwashing and laundry areas, and a 'sitting' room which had all the comfort of a prison cell. The campers kitchen was functional and had some dishes and pots available for people travelling light. 

It is hard not to compare Woodlands to Mannix Point, but Woodlands just isn't in the same league as Mannix Point. The campers sitting room in Tralee is ok, 'functional' but at Mannix Point it's full of musical instruments and old photos on the walls and comfy seating. The campers kitchen in Tralee was 'functional' too. The prettiest part of Woodlands is probably the barbecue area outside the campers kitchen. The area has been created with a couple of picnic tables, and a built in barbecue which is just the right size to hold a disposable barbecue. On the other side of the barbecue is a few pots of herbs, with a sign saying help yourself to the herbs for your barbecue which I thought was a nice touch. I saw this area being well used by backpackers, cyclists and bikers, basically anyone travelling light who didn't bring a chair. 

Barbecue Area, pic taken on a misty morning

Can't comment on the guys toilet facilities, but I found the ladies to be regularly cleaned and there was a hairdryer on a hook on the wall which was useful. The room was split in two, with a row of showers along one wall and on the room divider there was a row of sinks opposite the showers. On the other side of the divider was a row of toilet cubicles. Maybe 10 or 12 in all. Towards the front door of the room was a cubby with a further two sinks, mirrors and the hairdryer. I think there was a fold down baby changing station in this area too (didn't really absorb it all as it's a long time since I had to change a nappy). The only down side to having the showers in the same space as the toilets is that everywhere (walls, doors and toilets) is dripping in condensation from the shower steam. I've been to plenty of other sites where the showers and the toilets share the same space and there's enough ventilation to wick the steam away. Not here though.

There's an enclosed play area with slides and swings beside the entrance, and a barrier with a key fob with a refundable deposit. The access is from a main road, over a bridge which crosses a river and the road is plenty wide enough for two vehicles to pass without having to pull in, even the bridge. I would still recommend, whatever the site, for caravanners to use Google Street View to have a look at the access. 

The good thing about Woodlands is it is very close to a large town (is Tralee a city?) and that brings with it a cinema (€9 a head), a swimming pool with lazy river, sauna etc (€43.20 for family ticket €12 for child ticket but there is no time restriction on this - I thought it was too dear, my kids went on their own and reported it's not as good as Lisburn Swimming Pool), all the restaurants and coffee shops you could shake a stick at. It was also closer to Killarney from this site than it was from Mannix Point and Dingle Penninsula is on the doorstep. So as base to explore other areas from Woodlands is good for that. 

The area is adjacent to a wetlands area - the sign to the Wetlands centre, slightly downstream from the river that you cross to access the site, should give that away. So watch out for beasties. Midges, mosquitoes and Clegs/Horseflies (damn they hurt) are abundant and deet didn't seem to make a pick of difference. In fairness there was midges at Mannix Point too, we were pitched close to a boundary hedge, but the sea breeze helped to blow them away. I would recommend a variety of insect repellents, a anti-histamine tablet if you re-act badly and Anthisan cream or your favourite bug bite cream. 

The 'tent' section to the north of the Amenity block is worst affected with midges, there's a tall flood bank to one side of it (I wish I'd spotted that before pitching the tent). The other parts of the site seem to be much less affected by the local wildlife according to those people I got into conversation with. It seems I picked the worst pitch regarding beasties. There are no marked out pitches, just pitch where you like. 

tent pitch area, there were hard standings elsewhere on the site. 

There is a lovely campsite dog (I believe the site welcomes dogs, we had left our dogs at the Kennels at home), he's a black labrador and he's called Finn. He is very sedate and is generally kept on a long tether outside reception, unless he is going for his walk when his custom is to go through down a little hill and through a flower bed. Unfortunately I went and pitched my tent right on his little route and so I was saying hello to Finn twice a day. The first time he stopped dead and looked at me, as if to say 'why did you put that stupid tent in my way'. 

He is also an alleged cake stealer. I had a tea cake wrapped up in tin foil which was home made and pretty substantial and would have fed us for a week as it was quite big. One day I turned my back for literally one second and when I turned back there was only tin foil, wafting across the grass. Luckily we got about half of it eaten. I was tempted to phone Miss Marple. Not once did I see the dog or the cake again that day. I think the fact he was keeping a low profile speaks volumes. 

Coleman Mini Table - Review

I have used this little table quite a lot now for over a year and feel that I could give an accurate review that reflects it's performance with actual use.

This little table won the Camping Magazine award in 2010. It is unusual because in this category there is no other brand making a table of this size and this 'folding suitcase' design. It folds up quite tiny, not much bigger than a laptop bag and so it is really handy even just to keep in the car. I have used it as a 'sitting kitchen', ie, I can relax on my camp chair and boil up the kettle and spoon in the coffee at the same time. Much better when on holiday! I also use it as a small dining table, three of us sit our camp chairs, which do tend to be quite low, and it's a better height to eat from. If you want to, you could sit on your knees on the ground. I also use it as a drinks table, plonking it right between two camp chairs it's just the perfect swing your arm from table top to mouth distance. 

Stock promotional photo

I am a big fan of this little table but it has one drawback. It is a bit wobbly on one axis. The longest dimension of the table is quite steady but along it's shortest dimension there's a bit of swing. This is fine as long as you know about it.

The pro's of this table is that it is a great height for so many functions, the adjustable legs mean it can be level on uneven ground or even gradients (although I hate pitching on a slope!) and the cargo net is utterly fantastic. Why all tables don't have this feature I don't know. Here's a scenario of why the net is so great.

Take one day, everyone sitting around and having coffee and a chat. Sometimes you reach forward to pick up a pen for that all important word finder puzzle you're working on. Sometimes you check the phone, just to see what's happening on Facebook. Once checked, you reach forward and place the phone back on the surface. Suddenly, it's lunch time. It's easy to heat up that can of Heinz Tomato Soup and it's served in big chunky bowls with a plate of roughly sliced up baguette. Oh No!!! The table is covered in pens and phones and sun cream and a pack of cards . No Problem. Just chuck it all underneath and enjoy soupy heaven and fresh french bread in a jiffy.

Coleman Mini Table 9 and a half out of 10. 

Buying a tunnel tent tips and hints

Going to a tent display, should you find one near you, is an ideal way of getting a feel for the kind of tent you'd like. I often advise a tunnel tent as they are one of the easiest designs and can come in family friendly sizes. Here's a few things to look out for:

• A tunnel tent usually has three or five flexible poles. The ones with five poles aren't much more difficult to erect that the ones with three poles. 

• A tunnel tent often has different lengths of poles. The pole will have a colour (usually in the centre of the pole so you won't see it through the pole sleeve) which corresponds to a colour sewn on to the end of the pole sleeve.

• A tunnel tent which has all the same length of poles won't need colour coding and eliminates a certain amount of faff. The Vango Icarus is an obvious example.

• Tents often have separate bedroom pods that are designed to be unhooked before striking camp. This is not necessary, bedroom pods can be left in situ when folding the tent up.

• Many tents are factory vacuum packed. This means that when you go to fold up a tent it is nigh on impossible to get it back into it's supplied bag. Look for an 'oversized bag' as a selling point. 

• A steel poled tunnel tent will be sturdier in a gale, but has a heavier and bulkier pack size. You can compensate by carrying poles and tent separately, but then you risk leaving the poles at home accidentally (and you won't be popular for that!)

• A polycotton fabric tent won't heat up as quickly in the mornings should it be sunny, so you'll get an extra bit of sleeping in time. Again it's heavier and bulkier pack size (and expense) , but you decide if it's worth it.