Arrival on the Emerald Isle

Friday 26th July 2013

Ireland Trip - Day 2

I am pleased to report that our first night in George was a success! We didn't have any confrontations with any angry landowners, or anyone else for that matter. We slept OK, despite a nearby lighthouse flashing at us all night, and were only disturbed once by what we though was a serial killer trying to get in, but turned out to be a seagull on the roof. We haven't found that we've forgotten anything significant yet.
We woke up to sunshine and a sea view, had a quick breakfast and then got George tidied up inside before heading off to catch the ferry. On the way to the port, we drove past a sign for South Stack, so it turns out we actually just stayed in a random car park last night! It was probably better that way though, because the real South Stack is right next to the annoying lighthouse.

I'm writing this whilst sitting in the Premium Lounge on the ferry, eating and drinking as much free food and drink as possible. Claire's bag is already bulging with little packs of biscuits that I've taken from the snacks counter. We paid extra for seats in the Premium Lounge, as we'd heard that sometimes it's hard to get a seat on the cheap deck. I think we would have been OK today, but we are determined to get our monies worth via the free biscuits.

So far, the ferry experience has been much less traumatic than I was expecting. Parking the van was fine - last time I came on a ferry it felt like the cars were crammed in like sardines and I was worried about the cars banging together, but there seemed to be plenty of room. And the sea is calm so I don't feel seasick. Hopefully it will stay that way, because after all these free snacks, things could get messy.

There's not much more to say about the ferry journey, except Claire went very quiet and pale and finally admitted to feeling seasick! She blames it on the fact that she'd been playing Angry Birds on her phone.

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We got on the road in Ireland at about 1pm, and spent the rest of the afternoon driving across the country. We've been through a rainstorm that I think was even wetter than Scottish rain (!) and seen countless statues of the Virgin Mary by the roadside. It's a bit like being in Greece, only wetter. There are some incredibly quaint towns and villages here. In one village, there was a long traffic jam, that seemed to be caused just by people slowing down to gawp at the thatched cottages, wishing wells, and Virgin Marys.

We arrived in the town of Killarney at about 6pm and drove around the town for a bit in search of some toilets and a supermarket, but found neither. There seems to be a distinct shortage of public toilets over here. Either that or they're secret. We have noticed that the Irish seem to be a bit stingy with their signposts, so maybe that's the problem. Although we've spent a lot of the day on the motorway, there aren't really any service stations like on the motorways in England. Just small garages and shops, which may have a toilet in if you're lucky.
We decided to cross our legs, and manage with the food we've got, and went in search of somewhere to spend the night.

I have downloaded the Irish Ordnance Survey map for County Kerry to my iPhone (an app called ViewRanger if you're interested - it works like a GPS and doesn't need a phone signal to work), and we also have a paper copy borrowed from my mum. On the map there were loads of very promising little grey coloured roads, which according to the key were minor roads. However, it turns out that most of these grey roads are not public roads at all, but are private roads, or footpaths. At one point we thought we'd found an ideal spot, down a long narrow grey road through some woodlands teeming with wildlife, but when we got to the end there was a really strange woman there. She looked like she was on drugs and had quite a menacing look in her eyes. She was probably just tired from a long day walking, but just in case, we went elsewhere. We noticed a lockable gate on the way out, so it was probably for the best.

After a bit more searching, we settled on a spot in a small car park in a woodland area. There are no signs up saying what we can or can't do, and no gate. We've enjoyed some meatballs in gravy and cheese and onion Smash, and are now sitting relaxing in George with a beer.

I'm not sure why, but I hadn't expected Killarney national park to be so touristy and busy. I think it's the Irish equivalent of the Lake District. An amazing place, but a bit frustrating when you have to share it with lots of other people.
Tomorrow we are going to go for a walk starting from our overnight site (about time, as we've spent the last 2 days sat down in George!). We're going to walk to the places we wanted to park George but couldn't.

The walk shouldn't be very difficult, so we will have some time in the afternoon to find a campsite to spend a night or two at. We thought we ought to make an effort every few days to have a proper wash, although my record for "baby wipe washing" is five nights, and I'd be interested to see if Claire would still allow me in George after that long. So we're going to find ourselves a campsite so we can make use of the facilities there.

I'm having trouble uploading photos I'm afraid, so you will have to just imagine what all the things I'm writing about look like.


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Location:Ireland