What’s the craic

 

Fàilte from Norn Iron. Well, it’s been fairly busy since we last posted. We took a quick trip to Nottingham on the way to Newark to drop off our home before spending a few days in London, then jumping on a plane to Ireland.

 

In Nottingham, we managed to catch the bus into town and then promptly turned the wrong way, so instead of 5 mins round the corner we ended up doing a walking tour of the city before finally finding Nottingham Castle!! The upside of getting lost was that we found a beach, water and a beach bar right in the middle of town. Complete with an amusement park, games and food trucks, the ‘sea’ was geared towards the little ones and the bar towards the parents!  We didn’t go for a paddle but it was one of the better beaches we’ve seen 😊.  After a wee wander round the grounds of the castle, I posed with Robin Hood (well his statue anyway) before we headed to the ‘oldest pub’ in England. There are at least three other pubs who claim that honour, but we had some lunch and a beer anyway.

 

After leaving Nottingham we headed to Newark on Tyne and spent a couple of days cleaning, packing, sorting, chucking things before handing our home over to Brownhills. We picked up a rental car and must say the guy who rented it doesn't do his town any favours. We mentioned that we were packing but were also going to do a little touring of the town and he advised us there wasn’t anything to see. We beg to differ 0- Newark was actually kind of cute. We didn’t go touring till our last day and we wished we’d gone sooner. They had some lovely old buildings and a central square with markets, a castle (under restoration) and a few cute cafes, bars and restaurants!

 

Heading to London we stayed in an apartment in Shoreditch which had a number of bars and restaurants within walking distance plus both Spitalfields and Brick Lane Markets within a 15 mins walk. As we’d already done the tourist thing the previous times we’d been here, we were able to wander around like locals. It was great to catch up with an old school friend Jacqui after 20 years and wander the markets – heading out to Camden also. Our final night was spent seeing the Book of Mormon at the Prince of Wales Theatre which was excellent.

The low point of the visit was witnessing a cyclist thief in action – he was completely covered in helmet, high vis jacket, mask, sunnies and was cycling towards us (I did wonder why he was on the footpath and not the cycle lane about 30 secs before), as he went past he plucked the cell phone out of the hand of a young woman walking towards us and sped off down the road – broad daylight, lots of people around but no way of identifying him. The poor woman was shocked and so was I. I don’t think I’ve never seen a blatant theft literally 1m from me!!! It was so fast none of us had time to react. And pretty much everyone had cells in their hands so it could have been anyone. We didn’t and from then on, I was waaay more cautious.

 

The next day we headed to Stansted airport and off to Ireland and the next leg of our journey.

 

Arriving in Dublin, we picked up a car, got talked into upgrading and paying more (sigh), and headed straight north, stopping off in Slane for the night. Slane is a wee two-road village with, you guessed it, a castle, a big old church and plenty of history. We had a great night visiting the two next door bars plus our accommodation bar, met some locals and had a lovely dinner. The carpet in the B&B was tartan (as were the curtains, headboard and blanket), there was a lovely library, lounge, bar and restaurant – very comfortable and a great start to our Irish adventure.

 

After a good night’s sleep, we headed to Belfast via country roads and a drive through Armagh. We pulled in to see a very ornate church in Armagh (2nd from left bottom row above) kinda blocking the road – there were quite a few people walking in, so we thought we better head out and it wasn't too soon. As we turned out the gate a funeral procession turned in!!

 

Arriving in Belfast, we stayed in the cathedral quarter with a short walk to the city centre and city hall. No trip to Belfast is complete without visiting the murals from the Troubles as well as the peace wall and peace murals, so after taking the hop-on/off bus to orient ourselves, we then returned the next day to look more closely at the murals. We had some great bars and restaurants all around us, so headed out to the Dirty Onion for dinner and the Yardbird for a drink where we met an English guy and his father. The Dad was in Belfast as part of his 80th b’day celebrations. He had served in the armed forces in the UK, in special branch and as part of the British PMs protection detail during the Troubles. He had never visited Belfast freely before as he’s always been in armoured vehicles and behind armoured walls on all previous trips. He was really interesting to talk to. After taking a pic with the giant ape at The Foundary, we moved on to the Thirsty Goat where we spent the rest of the night. We met a couple of lovely young Aussie chicks, Elyse and Sally – thanks for a great night, we enjoyed chatting with you and having a wee boogie.

Feeling a little jaded, we headed off on the Causeway Coastal Route around the NE and N of Northern Ireland before spending the night in Articlave. What gorgeous scenery - quite reminiscent of the north of Scotland also. Lovely beaches and cute towns.

 

On to Swanlibar (just over the border in Republic of Ireland) where we passed back and forth across the RI and NI border. We stopped off in Londonerry, Donegal, Ballyshannon and Blacklion on the way – so a good taste of the countryside. We managed to catch the NZ vs. Ireland game in the WRWC this afternoon – go the Black Ferns!!

Londonderry

Donegal 

We’re heading to Doolin tomorrow via Galway, continuing our trek south down the west coast.

 

Slán go fóill (pronounced "slawn guh foh-ill").

J&T xx