Touring

A newly opened site, just at the back end of last year was my choice for this weekend, namely Bonners Lodge. We enjoyed some fine weather as we made our way Westward past Consett, down the A68 and then onto the single lane track that is Longedge Lane. This is about 1.5 miles long, you can’t see far ahead, but it does mostly have places where two vehicles can (squeeze) past each other. We got to the end of the lane and then headed for the caravan park. This is located at the side of a B+B, again at the end of a single track lane, but you can see all the way up this, so you can spot any oncoming traffic.

We arrived and were warmly greeted by Ken and Michelle. We could take any pitch we wanted and once set up, Ken offered to take me on a ‘tour’ of the site to see where all the facilities are. We took a pitch which backed onto a field opposite, so was very open and spacious. There is hardstanding for the ‘van, and enough to get in and out, so a plus when it’s a bit wet! We duly set-up and then I was shown around the site. Following this we enjoyed some glorious weather and relaxed for the rest of the day. There was one caravan already on-site when we arrived. This housed ‘treeman’, namely Tommy Craggs who was working on some commissions for the site in return for some camping space. He was busy working on a fantastic Red Kite sculpture in the middle of the field, check out the pictures below! Another two units arrived later on, one a small camper van and the other a converted horse box, or at least it looked like one! This housed a family with 4 kids, who made short work of playing around and using the playground. The animals around the site also were viable entertainment.

Sunday and following breakfast we headed out to stretch the legs a little. There is plenty of walking to be done here, the Waskerley Way Route is accessible by a public footpath, running from the B+B itself, so perfect if you want to use that. We opted for a more minor route around the farm itself and then back to base. We caught Ken again and stopped for a chat. Back on site, 2 other units were departing leaving us and ‘treeman’. Sunday came and went and before we knew it, it was Monday morning and time to pack up.

We were just about to hitch up when Michelle came for a chat. Firstly apologising about the boiler (and lack of hot water). They had offered the use of another building and its shower unit, which was very generous. Following our chat we departed and headed back to storage. A great site, deserves to do well and has very friendly owners, the kind of people you remember and want to return to see.

The site has hardstanding pitches, EHU is 10A. The washblock is excellent, very well done. Each separate male/female section has a toilet, 2 sinks and a shower. There’s a hair dryer in the female section along with electric hand dryers in both. A games room is also provided which has seating, a pool table, microwave and sink. Very useful for campers on a rainy day. Bins, CDP all very tidy. Horses are held in the fields and to top it all a rather great looking playground for the kids, although we didn’t test this obviously!

• Date: 12th May 2018
• Nights: 2
• Pitch #: Barker’s Bay
• GPS: 54.801119, -1.896905

A super early start saw us heading up the lush Northumberland coastline in good time, arriving at our chosen site slightly before 12pm. Potland Farm, we’ve been here a few times before as one of our chosen local sites. We were warmly greeted by Mike as usual and began setting up on pitch 3, a new one for us! The weather was doing well, some sunshine breaking through. We initiated our set-up routines and were soon enjoying a rather long Saturday due to the early start.

Sunday, and heading out for church we discovered something new, namely the padlocked gate at the entrance! Recently installed since last year, the site now has a height restriction barrier along with padlocked gates. The padlock is accessed via a number, which Mike forgot to give us, so we had to disturb him early doors, although a fellow caravanner came to give me the number. After accessing the gates, we soon made haste on our travels. Upon return our only fellow caravanner had gone, leaving the site to ourselves! I washed the ‘van as the weather was still very good and then settled for the evening. Another smashing little weekend away. To note, there is now toilet roll in the wash block, another first!

The site has big pitches and EHU is 10A. A toilet is provided along with fresh water, waste water disposal, bins and CDP point. Arrival is via a height barrier and gates, so check this before entering. There is enough room to pull off the road before you meet the barrier, so just take care. A great CL and one we will continue to return to.

• Date: 28th April 2018
• Nights: 2
• Pitch #: 3
• GPS: 55.206640, -1.593726

With the weather finally improving, we had high hopes for some sunshine this weekend, so a trip to Northumberland was booked in. The site I’d chosen this time was a CL in Powburn, very close to the River Breamish CC site we’d visited back in 2012.

The journey there was smooth and straight forward. The entrance to the site can easily be missed, but I made sure we didn’t miss this one! Access to the farm is via a single track lane, which is well maintained with no potholes. The CL is accessed via the back of the farm buildings, well sign posted. We duly arrived to find 4 of the 5 pitches taken, so we began to pitch up on the remaining pitch. Just as we were about to put legs down the owner, Harry made an appearance. He told us that this pitch was reserved for another client arriving and that we would be put in the ‘top’ field, as we were only here for 2 days! So, avoiding the grass we swung the ‘van around with the mover, hitched up, drove back to the entrance and then had to reverse all the way back up the sloping site, through a gate and park in the top ‘private’ field. Not really a manoeuvre a client should be expected to do, which resulted in a bit of clutch abuse. Never-the-less, we pitched up and enjoyed our evening.

Sunday, weather very nice – hooray! We had a relaxed morning with breakfast and then headed out for a walk. I was planning on going to the river, accessed via a public footpath from the site, but it was still water logged, so we retreated. There is an old railway route running past the farm, I though we could walk a bit of this, but this seems to have been commandeered by a quarry company, so no luck there. Returning back to the ‘van, we sat outside a little and then enjoyed some lunch inside. We noted a few cars running over the grass which won’t impress Harry, but the gravel road is simply not wide enough to avoid this, bad weather is going to bring this problem – and as this site is open all year, some work needs done here to avoid this.

Overall this site is very nice, pitches are mostly hardstanding (5), but access involves driving your vehicle on the grass, like most small CL’s, so it can get muddy. EHU (16A) and water points are plentiful, bins and CDP are also neat, located by the toilet. Talking of the toilet, this is a very nice space, located in a farm building. It is nicely tiled, very clean and contains a sink, toilet, mirror and waste bin. Grey waster is in the ‘hedge’, or as we were told, in the woods access via the back of our field! That is a bit much in my books, a couple of appropriately placed drains would help this situation. We enjoyed our stay, and it has a cosier feel than the CC site located just down the road. Price is very reasonable as well.

• Date: 14th April 2018
• Nights: 2
• Pitch #: 55.454548, -1.907636
• GPS: 55.454637, -1.907132

Saturday:
A relaxed start, not too early – we picked up the ‘van and headed West. We’re off to Blackpool today so we used the A69 to get to the West side and then picked up the M6 to take us South. We used a new service station for this journey, namely ‘Tebay Services’ on the M6. This is a nice services, we enjoyed some hot food (no Greggs here!) and a coffee. There aren’t any dedicated caravan parking bays, but there were enough HGV spaces to take one of these. Following this we soon arrived at Pipers Height, it’s very easy to find being just a stone’s throw from the M55. This is the first time we’ve ever turned up at a campsite without booking it prior. With the weather being so poor the week previous, I didn’t want to book anything and lose money should we have to cancel. We booked in without any issues, although they don’t take credit cards and then were assigned to pitch 18. Most of the pitches on the site are a good size, but 18 is a little small. We aren’t using the awning this trip, so it wasn’t a problem, the pitch is just fine for the ‘van and car. The rest of Saturday was food, TV and relax!

Sunday:
Weather was nice, clear sky and sunshine. We didn’t venture far apart from a trip to Tesco’s to pick up a couple of items we needed. The site started to empty quite a bit today as most of the tourers left. There are quite a few seasonal caravans here as well, so a lot of cars and kids left today as well.

Monday:
Rain and more rain. No chance of getting anywhere today, so we relaxed indoors!

Tuesday:
Glorious weather, woohoo! Off to Blackpool promenade we go. I was going to use the bus to get us there, but there’s plenty of parking in the town centre and would be cheaper than the £5 return ticket per adult. So off we went and parked in the central car park off central drive. This places you right by the tower in-between the North and Central piers. We had a good walk about, took in a Gregg’s breakfast and also discovered that thimbles have disappeared from Blackpool! We spent 3 hours there and then returned back to the site. Weather still great, I washed the ‘van and then we explored the site, mainly via the dog walk, it really is a very nice site.

Wednesday:
Weather still good, not as much sunshine but fine for exploring. So on the agenda today was Stanley Park and Blackpool Zoo. Firstly Stanley Park, which we soon found and parked there. I wasn’t sure if there was any parking there but there is, along the road into the park and coupled with a small car park at the visitor centre. We explored the park and coupled it with memories from visits earlier in our life. We enjoyed a good breakfast at the cafe there. There’s plenty of grounds to walk through and on a warm day, would provide an excellent day out. With the wind biting a little however, we left the park and headed for the zoo. The zoo is only a couple of minutes drive from the park, so we were soon there and parked up, this time at £2.50 per day. We headed into the zoo and spent a good couple of hours looking around. There’s an excellent range of animals and facilities, again in warmer weather a good day can be spent here. Once we’d covered all the animals we left and collected our photo on the way out. Blackpool promenade, zoo and Stanley Park are essential to visit if coming to Blackpool. With further time and better weather we’d have liked to have covered Blackpool South and Lytham St Annes, there’s certainly plenty to do here. Back at base, we relaxed and waited for the forecast rain to descend!

Thursday:
The rain came through the night but the actual day wasn’t too bad. Regardless, we usually like to stay on site on the penultimate day, do a spot of cleaning etc. This is what we did, whilst watching a few new arrivals.

Friday:
Smooth journey home.

The site is very new and so has excellent facilities. All pitches are hard-standing and fully serviced with own water tap, 16A EHU and grey waste disposal. The washblock is superb, underfloor heating and kept spotlessly clean. Showers are large but utilise the push button valve, which only lasts a few seconds. Surely there is something better in this day and age for such a modern washblock? The lighting could also be improved as the toilet cubicles were very dark, although I did see one spot wasn’t working so this probably the cause. Pitches are separated by small hedges so are well defined. There is a children’s play park and a dog walk on site as well. Reception sells some basic food items as well as providing plenty of information on the surrounding area and activities to do. There is a clubhouse on site as well, but this is located over on the static site, so doesn’t impact on the touring area. Entrance is via an ANPR barrier, so no key fobs here! For Blackpool, it’s an excellent site.

• Date: 10th March 2018
• Nights: 6
• Pitch #: 18
• GPS: 53.784935, -2.979533

Our centenary trip, could anything go wrong with all of this experience behind us? Well yes it can, for the first time ever I drove past the site entrance!

For this landmark trip, I decided to head for a weekend in Brompton-on-Swale. A small CS site that was fairly new, it ticked all of the boxes for our requirements and was also located close to Richmond, as I though a trip there on Sunday would be a good idea. So we picked the ‘van up and had a smooth ride down the A1. The first snag was that the usual access road from the A1 into Catterick had been closed, so a diversion to South of Catterick was required where we picked up the new road structure and headed into Catterick. From here we headed into Brompton-on-Swale, but the site entrance is concealed around a bend and even with the sat-nav showing the exact entrance, I still overshot the entrance. So, a nice extra journey down the B road heading for Richmond pursued. Not the best of places to find somewhere to turn around! The sat-nav indicated a road we could take to turn around, this I initially followed and luckily found a spot where we could turn around. Just as well as it was looking a little narrow in places a little further on. Now heading back to the site, I took it a little more cautiously near the entrance and made it in this time.

We entered the site and found that the only access to the pitches was via a rather sharp right turn bend down a little ‘steep drop’. We managed to get around (just) without taking any plants with us. There were 3 empty pitches so we headed for the middle one, pitch 3. The access road is not wide enough to accommodate a reverse in without being on the grass, so we used the mover to position the ‘van. The weather has been very wet of late and there would be issues being on the grass. We were soon set-up after this. Not the best of starts to the weekend, but it keeps you on your toes!

The owner made a brief appearance to check we could pitch okay and then resumed his roadworks. He and couple of other guys were making good the top end of the access road. This they duly finished on Saturday which is when we realised that you can have an easier drive in the top way, rather than the first tight turn. The toilet block, located at the top end of the site consists of a toilet, sink & shower – one each for both male and female. CDP is also located here. The water tap is on the field itself, which I managed to miss and pondered around the toilet block looking for it! EHU is 16A so perfect for a winter stay.

Saturday came and went as usual. Sunday, following breakfast we headed in Richmond as planned. We eventually found the car park after trying to park in the centre of the village – a very busy place. We walked around the shops that were there and managed to pick up a plant pot which was required for home. There are plenty of cafes and pubs for meals and drinks, but we didn’t stay. Returning back to the site, we relaxed for the rest of the day.

Monday, weekend over so we began our usual packing routines. Once ready we used the mover again to hitch up. We then took the access road via the top end of the site, this is perfectly wide enough but very bumpy, with many potholes. We took it very slowly, 1st all of the way out! Back on the road, we were soon heading home and back to storage.

The site has good potential, the toilet block and 16A EHU are good points for positives. Some things to look into for improvements would be: level out the access road; ease the drop on the entrance turn and make it wider (move the plants). The access road by the pitches is only hardcore for tyre tracks, the middle is still grass, which means in the rain you get very muddy. Make this track all hardcore and widen it so you can reverse in without using the grass. Despite this, a great little site which I hope does well.

• Date: 17th February 2018
• Nights: 2
• Pitch #: 3
• GPS: 54.395204, -1.674980

Back to Durham Grange for this weekend’s getaway. A straight forward journey down the A1 and then you’re there! We were warmly greeted by the wardens and then left to select a pitch. We chose a pitch by the dog walk, which gave a good view of the site. No room to reverse, so the mover was put to use. We began our set-up routines and were soon enjoying a spot of lunch. A new purchase for this trip was a new fan heater. Our current convector heater has no fan and takes quite a while to heat the ‘van, so I though we’d try one with a fan this time. Did the trick alright, the ‘van got to temperature much quicker, so a thumbs up on that one. Weather wasn’t up to much, some sleet and snow and rain, it can’t quite make its mind up, so we didn’t plan on doing anything really, other than stay indoors!

Sunday, off to church. The site is barrier protected and the key fob needs pointing at the barrier for it to work, just so you know! Back on-site at dinner time, and we spent the rest of the day relaxing.

Durham Grange is a good site. Hardstanding pitches with 16A EHU. Wash-block spotless. There’s a play park for the kids and a dog walk. Reception sells some basic items. Service points are dotted around and are excellent. Park & Ride for Durham is just over the roundabout across from the site, a little hairy on foot but ideal once you’re there, you can also walk into Durham down by the river. There is a constant ‘hum’ of traffic noise from the A1, but you switch off to it and don’t notice it really after a while. We’ll be back next year.

• Date: 3rd February 2018
• Nights: 2
• Pitch #: 14
• GPS: 54.795747, -1.530499

Our first getaway of the New Year and we headed for the Railway Inn, as it ticks all the boxes and has become a favourite for Cath’s birthday. We picked up the ‘van in the freezing weather, the snow had pretty much disappeared but the storage yard was like an ice rink. We both put to good use the snow cleats that we had and managed to get hitched up without anyone falling over. The journey to the site was pleasant and incident free.

We booked in upon arrival and as usual was told to take any vacant pitch. The site still had a covering of snow and the first pitch we selected proved troublesome to reverse into as there was some ground undulation, causing us to get stuck in the snow. After a few attempts we decided to take the pitch next door, this we managed to get onto no problem at all. We weren’t planning on doing much this weekend, just relaxing, so Saturday came and went with our usual routine. The site was noticeably busier than usual, there were 7 other units there when we arrived, never seen so many before at this time of the year.

Sunday, a relaxed breakfast in the morning and then the snow started again! I went to fill the Aquaroll only to discover that our water tap had frozen. Checked next door’s pitch and they were the same. So I headed for the North side of the site, where the snow was less and found a tap on an empty pitch, this worked so I managed to fill up there. We had lunch in the pub and returned to the ‘van in a very pretty snow scene. Nothing for it but to keep warm inside! This we did and enjoyed some films. Water was empty by tea time though, which was strange. Upon investigation, I discovered that I hadn’t tightened the cap properly and water had been leaking away, doh! Monday morning, the snow had started to melt but still plenty on the site making it a winter wonderland as we packed away. We towed off the pitch fine and were soon on the clear roads back home. Back at storage, the ice had melted luckily, so putting away was a little easier!

• Date: 20th January 2018
• Nights: 2
• Pitch #: 12
• GPS: 55.308148, -1.650764

A new venture for us after 7 years of touring, we’re spending the New Year weekend in the ‘van! With the dynamics of family life changing with children growing up etc., we’re in the position to get away for the weekend. So again a local site was required that’s open all year, and Finchale Abbey seemed the natural choice as we normally go there at the end of the year but failed to do so this year due to other commitments.

We packed Friday morning and then the snow began to fall and the temperature was at zero. Hoping it would be just a simple flurry we soldiered on, picked up the ‘van and headed for Durham. The weather got worse and we were soon travelling in the worst snow and ice we had ever been in with the ‘van. After a cautious journey to the site we arrived in duly booked in. Again, we had booked a serviced pitch to make use of the 16A. However the ‘T’ sites are up a hill and around a bend, which was covered in freezing snow. I made an attempt at the hill, but lost traction on the bend and started to skid towards the embankment. Not wanting to pursue this any further upward I tried to reverse the ‘van back down the hill. But gravity won out and forced the caravan to simply head toward the toilet block. After slipping back some more I decided a change of action was required. This was to unhitch the ‘van and use the mover to correct the angle and take her back down the hill. This we duly did and then re-hitched the car to take us to our new pitch which we had been offered, namely B3 which was at the bottom of the site, much better! Unfortunately however, this pitch has a rather severe drop onto it from the road which would have grounded the ‘van. So after some mover, manual pushing and finally back on the car, we eventually got the ‘van sited. That was the hardest arrival we’ve ever had to deal with in our 7 years, but all ended well.

Despite being a serviced pitch, B3 has no water supply, so a trek to the service block it was (uphill!), only to discover that the pipes were frozen, so no water. Returning back to the ‘van our neighbour offered the use of the supply on his pitch, so we managed to fill up. The rest of Friday we spent in the ‘van and relaxed on this most unusual long weekend.

Saturday, the snow was melting, but we decided on a ‘stay indoors’ day and just enjoyed our free time with books, films etc.

Sunday, New Year’s Eve. We headed for church in the morning, thankfully all the snow had now disappeared so it was a very pleasant drive. More relaxing and then night time came, any activity? Well there was a residential party going on in the hut next to the toilet block, but nothing else, very quiet in fact. So New Years’ day came and we packed up and headed home, on dry roads!

We’ve been to Fincahle now 5 times. It’s getting expensive at £29 per night now. The hills and sloping pitches don’t make it easy if the weather is, snowy and icy! It might be time to look for another winter pitch for next year, we’ll see.

• Date: 29th December 2017
• Nights: 3
• Pitch #:B3
• GPS: 54.817486, -1.540929

Saturday:
With a short drive ahead, we had a relaxed start. Picked up the ‘van and headed South for York. The drive was pleasant, most of the A1 is now complete making the journey very smooth and delay free. I used the A64 to get to the East side of York, much better than the A59 and A1237 (far fewer roundabouts). We arrived just before the booking in time of 12pm, but got booked in without any hassle. We were met with a warm greeting and given all the details, then we made for our pitch.

The pitches are of a generous size, so easily maneuvered onto. We went through our usual set-up routine, no awning for this trip though. We then enjoyed food, drink and TV for the rest of the night.

Sunday:
Following breakfast, a trip to York and the Christmas Market was the order of the day. We took the bus from the stop just outside the site entrance. A quick 10 minutes later and we were in the center of York. It was very, very busy. The market was very nice from what we saw of it. But the crowds were a little off putting and trying to get some refreshments anywhere was near impossible. So following a couple of hours trecking around, we headed back to the site. The weather was very good, albeit a little cold. Back at the site we relaxed for the rest of the night.

Monday:
Weather has turned a little poorer with rain. But being our anniversary we decided to relax in the ‘van all day and do nothing basically, bliss!

Tuesday:
Weather still poor, so we spent some time at the shopping complex (Monks Cross) just around the corner from the site. It killed a couple of hours, but neither of us are keen shoppers, so we stretched our legs and then returned empty handed! Back at site, we were entertained with a couple of ‘vans that arrived, unhitched, re-hitched and then left? Weird or what!

Wednesday:
A trip to the NRM in York was the order of the day. Following breakfast we headed on the bus to York again and departed at the station looking for the museum. We found it following a quick wander through the station. We spent a good couple of hours there taking in everything it had to offer. We also took a trip on the Mallard simulator, which was a little bit of a letdown if I’m honest. Following a coffee there, we headed for York town, glimpsing the Christmas lights and markets once again, but thankfully a lot quieter this time. With darkness falling upon us, we headed back on a rather crowded bus. Back at base we followed our usual evening routine.

Thursday:
Our final day, so typically we choose to stay on site and relax for the day. Apart from filling with fuel and posting a birthday card, we had a small meander across the site and then stayed indoors for the rest of the day. Weather has improved slightly, although clouds and rain look set to move in once again.

Friday:
A smooth journey followed our packing up in the morning. Taking note that between York and Darlington, the A1 is pretty much all 3 lanes now, joy! We put the ‘van back into storage and headed home, possibly the last trip of this year due to other commitments, but we’ll see.

The site is well laid out with two main ovals forming the foundation for the pitches. In between these two ovals is a lake and toilet block. The toilet block is a formidable size. You have a covered courtyard type area and then numerous doors feeding off into individual wash cubicles and a gents & women’s area. The wash cubicles are quite simply massive, comprising of a toilet, sink, shower and hair dryer. There are 8 of these cubicles and are very welcome. The standard gents/women’s area are again each of a generous size and offers toilets, sinks and showers here as well. The only thing missing I would say is piped music.

Pitches are a mixture of hard and grass, all of a generous size. Pitches all have EHU and water and grey drainage. A chemical point can be found at the rear of the wash block. Pitches have hedge borders so are well defined and quite private. Access to the site is via barrier, this is key fob operated with a £10 deposit for the fob, all standard. Access to York is simple via the bus stop just outside the site. All in all a nice site. I think I prefer it to Rowntree, as it is adults only and has a nicer layout I feel. Whilst the bus is not quite as convenient as walking into York, it suffices just as well. Thumbs up from us.

• Date: 18th November 2017
• Nights: 6
• Pitch #:7
• GPS: 53.981541, -1.0326864

Saturday:
The earliest start to date – 5.00am and in complete darkness. A bonus with the new storage site is that you can quite safely collect your caravan in the dark due to the floodlighting. This we did and proceeded to head West along the A69 still in complete darkness. Only when we reached the M6 did we start to see the sunrise. So this was a new experience, which blends in with the whole trip going to Ireland, full of new expereiccnes. There are no service stations on this route to the ferry, so I had found a layby which was removed from the road, allowing us to stop safely and get some refreshments. As a bonus we found that there was a cafe there, namely Route 75. Here we enjoyed a nice bacon sandwiche and a cup of coffee. Very nice it was too. From here we headed straight for Stranraer and Cairnryan and the Stena Line Port. We arrived in good time and booked in, all straight forward, and then we waited in our lane until boarding began. We entered deck 3 which is the lower one, and then parked up and headed for deck 7 where the main lounge was. We found some seats and awaited departure. The journey was calm with not too much ‘sea’ movement, we enjoyed a beverage and relaxed for the journey. Following the two hour trip we began departure and headed on toward Belfast. The journey from here to the campsite was straight forward, although the roads are rough in a few places! Weather throughout the journey has been miserable, with constant rain and drizzle, resulting in one dirty caravan. We eventually got to the campsite and booked in. A very pleasant guy went through the necessaries and then we headed for our pitch. The pitches are all hardstanding and fully serviced. Although after reversing the caravan on, we found that we still needed to level the ‘van side to side, so we finished the procedure with the mover. All levelled up we relaxed and had some tea, TV and chilled for the rest of the night.

Sunday:
We awoke rather late, understandble after such a long journey! We enjoyed some breakfast and then headed out to the heritage railway to take us to the ‘Giant’s Causeway’. We arrived and then were dissapointed to find that the train wasn’t running today, so we drove there instead. We parked up and paid of dues and headed down to the rocks. First impressions are that the rocks are smaller than what you first imagine from pictures. It was very good to see them and nice to cross that one of ‘the list’. There’s a visitor center there, cafe and a bus that can take you down to the rocks rather than walking. An experience that I can recommend to anyone. Following this, we headed a little further East along the coast and found the rope bridge at Carrick-a-Rede. Due to the winds developing before Hurricane Ophelia arrives, the actual crossing of the bridge was closed, but you could still walk down to it. This we did, although there are a lot of stairs involved, so be prepared. At this attraction there is a shop, cafe, toilets and ample parking. We enjoyed the walk to see the bridge, the weather was holding up well and then we headed back home to the site. Tea, TV and relaxing was the order of the day now, with a caravan wash inbetween – which took a little longer than normal due to the muck we picked up enroute!

Monday:
A definite stay-on-site day as Hurricane Ophelia was due to hit us mid-afternoon. This offered us a relaxing day as the caravan rocked gently in the rather strong winds! Glad to say however that we survived the storm with no damage.

Tuesday:
Winds have died down and just the rain prevails. So following breakfast we decided to head into Londonderry and see what it has to offer. Following the hours drive there, we parked up and wandered about. It’s not as big as what I had imagined and indeed felt a little rundown. There are is a modest amount of shops to browse around and of course the ‘Peace bridge’ over the river Foyle. We soon covered most of what was on offer and then headed back to base. Weather is trying to improve, brief bursts of sunshine do make a welcome appearance.

Wednesday:
A fairly early start following breakfast, as today was the trip to Belfast and to the Titanic Experience. We arrived and parked in the underground carpark. We opted for the ‘White Star Premium Pass’ tickets, as this gave us access to all the attractions along with dicount for food and shop purchases. We started with the ‘Discovery Tour’ which was excellent, lasting about an hour. For this you are given headohones and walked through the exhibition building and also shown the docks where Titanic (ship 401) was built. Following this we broke for a coffee and then headed for ‘SS Nomadic’, the only remaining White Star ship in existance. This was great to walk around, as it felt and indeed is a mini Titanic in all respects. From here we went back to the main building for the ‘Titanic Experience’, which offered a lot more than I was expecting. Full of videos, information boards, displays, really excellent. Finishing this, we headed to the shop to pick up the thimble! The whole expereience took us just over 4 hours from start to finish, so plan a whole day if you want to visit. Enroute back, we made a diversion to see the ‘Gobbins Cliff Path’. The path walk itself was closed until next year now, but we though we’d take a peek in the visitor center. It’s quite small and doesn’t take long to get through it, but we ticked it off the list at least. Then back to base, via Larne – quite pleased we didn’t take the ferry to there with P&O, it would be a bit of a slog with the caravan! Back at base, tea, TV along with a few utilities to take care of.

Thursday:
A more relaxed day today with it being the last. We decided a visit to Bushmills would be a nice idea. This we did, it doesn’t take long to cover the village, it has your typical village stores along with the famous Old Bushmills Distillery. The distillery offers tours, being the oldest working distillery in Ireland. Following our tour of Bushmills we headed for ‘The Dark Hedges’, a set of old beech trees arching over a road which has been used as a location for the ‘Game of Thrones’ show. There were plenty of people there all meandering and taking pictures. We did pretty much the same thing and then headed back to base. A tour of the campsite followed, to take some pictures and have a final soak up of our first campsite in Ireland. The rest of the night followed as we prepared for an early departure tomorrow.

Friday:
Following another rather windy night, we packed up and headed off for the port in good time. The journey was a little wet, so the ‘van was sson not-so-clean again! We arrived at the port and checked in and then parked up in our lane, number 11. Boarding then went ahead and soon we were relaxing, this time in deck 8 with a cup of coffee. I remembered this time to use the correct staircase (red for deck 3), so we found our rig straight away this time. The journey back home then pursued. Back at storage, head-torches on and we put the ‘van away in the dark for another day.

The site overall is of a very high standard, we certainly were very happy with it. Check-in was smooth and the staff very welcoming. Note, you can take your rig up to reception, there is enough space to turn around! The pitches are all fully serviced and have access to free WIFI. The washblock is the best spec you can hope for, easily up there with the best (piped music, yeah!) and the biggest showers I have been in to date I would say. There are individual sink cubicles for those that require them as well. CDP being located on the end of the block. Entry is via keypad, top marks for everything. There is a motorhome point and bins with recycing. Electric is 16A and there are plenty of light bollards dotted around the site. The touring area (50 units) is comprised of 3 oval shape sections, beyond which are some static caravans. Most of the touring section seems to be mostly taken with seasonal ‘vans, which is a bit of a negative in our opinion, but necessary on a site of this size and calibre. I don’t think we could have found a better site for Northern Ireland.

• Date: 14th October 2017
• Nights: 6
• Pitch #: 37
• GPS: 55.194611, -6.517284