What we did in Ireland

This is pretty much how I was dressed the whole time!!  The weather wasn't kind to us but it didn't stop us enjoying our break.

Our first stop was Enniskillen, in Northern Ireland. This is Castle Coole a National Trust property.  Well worth a visit and free entry for us as we're members.  Nice grounds to explore too.  Then we headed over the border into Ireland to Sligo.  This was our base for 5 nights.  I'd picked a quiet scenic campsite but it had rather basic shower block facilities.  The site itself was rather windy as it was on a headland!  But it suited our needs as it was just a base.

Whilst in Sligo we went kayaking on Lough Gill and stand up paddling on the River Garavogue.  Both these activities we did with an experienced guide.  Expensive but amazing experiences.  We walked up hills, explored ruined abbeys and empty sandy beaches and enjoyed the beautiful scenery all for free.

I ate the biggest plate of seafood I've ever seen at Eithna's by the Sea a fab wee restaurant in Mullaghmore.  This was after the day of kayaking so I felt I'd earned it!!  Lobster, crab and prawns, yummm!

It's been a long held ambition of mine to catch a fish and cook it.  We went mackerel fishing and I caught loads of the wee beauties!  I also caught a pollock! :-)

Again the weather wasn't great.  OH was seasick and I held on to the side of the boat for dear life!!  But it was a great experience.

We then headed north with a quick stop in Donnegal.  We explored the castle and ate in the Olde Castle Bar.  I had the best Irish Lamb Stew I've ever eaten.  It was just delicious and exactly what my dodgy tummy needed. I have to say eating out was relatively easy as most places had menus that identified gluten, dairy, nuts etc.  I was very impressed.

We spent the next 3 nights on the Inishowen peninsula.  The campsite there was very basic and our neighbours were loud drunks.  We tried not to let them annoy us too much.

We went sea kayaking at Lenan Head in what can only be described as 'stormy seas.'  It was tough going but we did get to see some stunning coves, arches and waterfalls that few humans ever get to see.  Thankfully we were with a very experienced guide so it was reasonably safe!
 

Then we explored an abandoned army camp nearby (free!)  There were no keep out signs or safety warnings.  We scrambled over and in lots of ruined buildings.  Ireland was neutral during WW2 but the British had a few bases on the coast.  A huge gun had been in this spot.  There were 6 of these.

Standing on the roof here you can see the cliffs and bays in the background where we'd just been kayaking.  Don't be fooled by that patch of blue sky!! Look closely at the white waves on the sea!!!

We even went underground and explored the bunkers where the ammunition had been stored.  It was truly fascinating.

I really loved the way that nature was slowly reclaiming the land.  Most of the wooden structures on site had rotted and collapsed and only the brick structures remained.

 Very atmospheric!

Again we felt we'd earned a lovely meal so went to the famous McGrory's and I had yet another seafood platter. Different from the earlier one but every bit as delicious.  I even had a pudding as their menu catered for every allergy concern.

OH and his Teenogre tried some cliff climbing, again with a guide.  I knew I wouldn't be physically up to it so let the boys do their thing.  Afterwards we visited  Fort Dunree another defence base during WW2 but as it has a long history it has been made into a popular tourist attraction.  We preferred the abandoned one as we had more access but it was interesting nonetheless to find out a little more about why this coastline needed defending over the centuries.

We then headed over the border again into Northern Ireland with a quick stop in Derry to see the Maritime festival.  I ate a fab wild boar burger and sweet potato fries followed by a still warm coconut macaroon (not one of those wee fancy French macarons!!) We then spent time in our favourite place Balintoy harbour (one of the Game of Thrones locations!)  OH and his Teenogre went coasteering while I knitted and people watched.

It really is a beautiful place.  Unfortunately it was rather busy due to it being a public holiday but everyone was just enjoying the first dry day in weeks! We ended our holiday by having the best gluten free fish and chips in Ballycastle.

Like most holidays we spent a small fortune on some activities but did lots of free stuff too.  We ate out a couple times but mostly ate simple meals in the campervan.  The weather did affect us but didn't prevent us from doing the things we'd planned.  It would have been nice if the rain had stayed off though!

Next year we might venture into Europe.  I'm voting for the south of France!  At least there will be more chance of seeing some sun!!

Time for a break

Tomorrow I am off for a much needed break.  The campervan is packed and ready to go. I'm not taking my laptop with me.  I'm completely unplugging for 10 days.  The Teenager is in charge of everything including my car!!

Thank you for all the good wishes on losing Lucy.  She will be greatly missed but we have many happy memories of her.  Emma is a little lost but she'll be fine.

Back in a week or 2!

May bank holiday weekend

It's a very rare ocassion that I have my 3 boys together in the same room but we managed it this weekend :-) Middle son (with beard) got a selfie stick in a Secret Santa exchange and we had great fun playing with it.  This was the one sensible photo!!

The weather has been incredibly mixed with rain/hailstones/wind/sun all in the space of 10 minutes!  The girls don't seem to mind and love trashing free ranging in the top raised part of the garden.  See how they've managed to avoid eating the dandelions and go for the good stuff!

Stuff just keeps popping up in the polytunnel but I'm delighted my heirloom pumpkins have sprouted.  They're a French variety called Rouge vif d'Etampes.  I'm hoping they grow to full size and I can save seeds for next year too.  Finally my outside peas are starting to push up so looks like it might be warming up enough to start planting my raised beds at the front.

BUT my 6 tomato plants died :-(  They were Homebase ones and looked healthy enough but didn't have a huge rootball.  I planted them anyway but one by one they all died. So I took them back and got a refund! Dunno if I'll plant more yet.

We took a wee trip out in the campervan to Loch Katrine where you can sail on an old steamship (we didn't) walk or cycle round the loch and take in the scenery.  Sadly the weather was awful and we got soaked several times but well worth a visit.
 

As usual we went off the tourist trail and climbed up some of the hilly trails.  We had the dogs with us.  They're good at finding wee paths we can follow.  The hills were covered with heather and blaeberries I don't think I've seen such a large amount in one place! Every direction I turned there were thousands. Sadly not quite ready for picking yet but I'm hoping to persuade OH to go back in a few weeks ;-)

You can just make out the unripe red/pink berries in this pic

Back to work tomorrow and this is a 4 day week for me.  I'm not enjoying job sharing, for many reasons but only 8 weeks to go until the summer holidays.  Woohoo!!

Easter Holiday Weekend

Here in Scotland, The Powers That Be have decided that our annual 2 week Easter holiday should always fall on the first 2 weeks of April regardless of when it's actually Easter.  So this weekend we have Friday (Good Friday) and Monday off school.  Then we're back for 4 days before getting our 2 weeks Easter holiday.

So OH and I managed to get away in the campervan for 2 nights (my birthday treat!) by practically leaving straight after school on Thursday night.  We headed for Skye, stopping off at a few places on the way including Eilean Donnan Castle It's a fascinating place, steeped in history as far back as the Vikings (which is my particular passion!) Do click on the link! It cost us £7 each entry as it's a privately owned castle.  And I spent £6 in the gift shop on local honey.

There was a lot to see in the restored rooms open to the public so definitely worth a visit.  No photography was allowed so no pics of the inside.  Sadly the weather was against us or we'd have spent more time exploring the outdoor parts.  They catered well for other languages and we heard at least 3 languages spoken in our wanderings.

We wild camped both nights.  Firstly in Glencoe on Thursday night and in Tarskavaig on Friday night.  We have stayed there before so knew where to go. Both nights were cold, rainy and very windy but we were snug and warm inside our van.

It's not for everyone but we just love getting away for a mini break in the van. It doesn't cost us much compared to using a hotel or B&B.  Obviously there are fuel costs but wild camping is free.  And we take our our own food but always try to spend a wee bit of cash in the areas we visit as well.

And I still have 2 days of holiday to get some house and garden planning done before the longer 2 week break :-)

Can't live without them?

 

I really wish I could live without supermarkets.  I've long avoided Asda (due to the Walmart connection and how they treat their staff), rarely visit Tesco (dominating in some towns resulting in small shops losing business) and now will avoid Morrison's thanks to their treatment of farmers highlighted in HFW's programme War on Waste plus the revelation that British dairy farmers are NOT receiving all the extra money from the sale of their milk.  How did we get to the point where supermarkets have so much power?  We're tempted by the 'convenience' of getting it all in one place.  In other words we're too lazy/busy to visit more than one shop to get everything we need.  They know this and encourage us in with the promise of making it easy.

 

And I hold my hands up.  I hate food shopping now I have to go at the weekend or after work. So doing most of it online seems like a good idea.  I know lots of people who've had a terrible time with their deliveries but in all the years I've done it I never have.  Until now.  I'm currently in dispute with Sainsbury's over an undelivered order that they took full payment for.  A total of £83.25 to be exact.  That's a huge chunk out of my food budget as I was stocking up at the start of the month. I've made several phone calls now and have been assured it will be refunded in the 'next few days.' That was a week ago. It should never have been taken in the first place and I'm still waiting to get MY money back *sighs*

 

Could I live without a supermarket? It's doable and would take a lot of effort/time but it's something I want to give some serious thought to.  I could support local farmers and stick a finger up at Tesco/Asda/Morrison's/Sainsbury's!! Watch this space ;-)

 

Winter weather requires soup!  I didn't have any chicken to make my favourite Chicken n Rice soup (chicken stock, rice, carrots and leeks) so knocked up this veggie version using whatever was lying around.

 

Vegetarian 'Chicken' n Rice soup

 

3/4 bag frozen chopped carrots/onion/celery (it was all that was left in my freezer)

3 'handfuls' rice

2 'handfuls' red lentils

6 teeny tiny leeks from my garden

1 carton of butter beans (only 5 months past the use by date!)

enough veg stock to cover

 

No real recipe, just put everything in the pot except the leeks and butter beans.  Bring to boil and simmer until rice is cooked then add leeks and butter beans for last 5 mins.  That's it.  The Teenager declared it 'delicious.' I had mine with some GF home made bread.

 

 

OH and I managed to sneak away for a night in the campervan.  We both have sole custody of our children with very absent exes and rarely have a night where it's just us being a couple. We ended up in Stonehaven, a lovely place I'd never visited before despite having a family connection to it.  We wild camped in the car park to Dunnottar Castle, full of history. We do like our ruined castles ;-)

St Andrews and Largo

 

On Friday night OH and I went on a short road trip in the van.  I'd never been to St Andrews so we headed east.  We wandered round the town admiring the university buildings and the ruined medieval castle and cathedral. This was the cathedral by moonlight, almost a full moon.  We had fish and chips from the award winning Cromars.  Very tasty!

 

 

Just look at the huge beach!

We found a good spot to park up for the night (so good that we had 4 other wild campers near us!)  In the morning we went for a walk on the beach.  It was very windy and very cold.  Despite that, it was full of runners, dogs (OH found a new friend!), horses (the 2 figures on the right in the distance), kite surfers (to the left of OH in the sea) and land yachts!  Later on we also saw a beach volleyball tournament!  And of course just to the right of the beach is the famous St Andrews golf course.

 

We then had a leisurely drive round the Neuk of Fife and stopped in Lower Largo, birth place of Alexander Selkirk the real life inspiration for Daniel Dafoe's Robinson Crusoe.

 

Now there's a fabulous front door!!  I just loved their boar's head knocker :-)

 

On our wander through the village we found this amazing gate.

 

And this amazing totem pole.  I've just looked it up and they're both by a local artist Alan Faulds.  Very unusual.

 

Although it was cold (come on weather it's May now!!) it was dry.  I think we got the best day of the Bank Holiday weekend as today it's foul with tomorrow's forecast even worse.  I'll be spending my day's holiday tomorrow on schoolwork. Actually it's school paperwork, the scourge of every teacher.

A few more holiday snaps

 

The fab thing about wild camping is you never know where you'll spend the night and you never know what you'll find.  We didn't stay in Torridon but we parked up to have our evening meal (chicken fried rice, with all the ingredients taken with us) by the shore.  After we'd eaten, the rain calmed down to a 'light' drizzle and we went for a walk.  We passed a wee sign that said 'Open Air Church' with an arrow pointing across a field.  We followed it and found this.  Despite the rain, it was just amazing!

 

Of course OH had to climb up and be the minister!  I've not been able to find out much information about it yet but it really intrigues me that people would have an open air church in such an inhospitable environment.  There are plenty of churches in the area but it makes me wonder if it has pagan origins that were then taken over.  I've been interested in Celtic Christianity for ages so will dig deeper when I have more time.

 

This was taken at Inverewe Gardens.  I put my hood down for the photo but it was steady rain at this stage!

 

If you take a holiday in Scotland you have to be prepared for the weather.  When the sun shines it's a beautiful country.  When it rains, you pull on the waterproof trousers and jacket.  And wait.  There's a saying here that if you don't like the weather, wait 20 minutes.  It usually changes! The best time to visit is late Spring and the Autumn if you want to avoid the dreaded midge.  Now that really will spoil your holiday!!

Wee holiday

 

 

I don't think I've mentioned here that OH and I recently bought a campervan :-)  Luckily we share the same frugal values and each of us had saved a goodly amount to buy this lovely vehicle.  We bought it in February (which is the 'quiet' time apparently for buying them) after missing out on 3 other vehicles because we didn't act quickly enough.  We've had a few overnight outings but this time we went away for 3 days wild camping ie not using campsites.

 

We headed north to Inverness and then went across to the west coast following the north west coastal route.  I'd always wanted to visit Applecross, which is a peninsula that was only accessible by boat until the start of the 20th century.  Then a road was built literally up and over the mountain. 

 

 

This is us halfway up.  The road is VERY steep and VERY narrow (single track with passing places)and frankly VERY scary.  There are huge warning signs at the base that basically say turn back now!This is the 'famous' hairpin bend where we stopped to take a pic.  I really wouldn't recommend it. 

 

By the time we arrived in Applecross the weather turned really nasty.  Heavy rain and gale force winds forced us into the Applecross Inn where we spent a few hours by the wood burning stove eating excellent food.

 

We left by the newer longer coastal road that goes round the mountain, still steep and narrow but marginally less scary.  We headed for Torridon in search of a place to park up.  We found a lovely quiet spot in the car park of the Beinn Eighe and spent the night being battered by heavy rain.  Next morning we walked up a bit of the mountain before heading further North to Inverewe Gardens.  We have a family membership so entry for us was free.  We got rather wet.  Again!



 

 

Afterwards, still heading north, we stopped off at Corrieshalloch Gorge.  This is me being brave and standing on the viewing platform looking back at the falls.  You can just make out the suspension bridge above it.  As we were walking over it (I had to be 'persuaded' to cross it!!) some German tourists thought it would be funny to shake it.  Let's just say they got a mouthful from me!!!

 

After a quick stop in Ullapool for some delicious seafood (crab claws, scallops and cod) we found a nice stopping place that had a ruin in the background.  It was too wet to investigate (and it was getting dark) so we waited until morning.

 

In the morning, between heavy showers, we investigated Ardvreck Castle.  Luckily we didn't see or hear any of the ghosts!

 

With the castle on one side and Calda House on the other, we'd picked a fabulous spot :-)

Minutes after this was taken we had a heavy shower of hailstones!

 

We then meandered back towards Inverness via Bonar Bridge and back home down the A9 stopping for chips in Aberfeldy.

 

Despite the heavy rain, high winds and cold we had a lovely break.  In Scotland it's not illegal to wild camp.  Most people are responsible and leave no trace of their presence there.

 

Holidays are always too short but even a few days away together without kids is relaxing.  And I didn't think about work once :-)