Ireland Trip - Day 1
Today was our first day in our new camper van! We got the van last Friday and today is the first day off we've had together since. And it just so happens that this is the first day of 2 weeks off work, so we're jumping in at the deep end and will be spending most of those 2 weeks on the road in Southern Ireland.
We're new to camper vanning, and have got a lot to learn about all sorts of things. What to pack and where to camp are just two of them. We've both spent most of our spare time since getting the van sorting stuff out for it, and although we think we've got everything we need, we're both paranoid we've overlooked something important. And despite lots of internet research on overnight camping, we're still not sure about where we stand. We don't intend to stay on designated camp sites all the time, so we're trying to get our heads around where it's ok to stay without upsetting anyone or getting shot by an angry landowner.
Today we spent the morning finishing the packing, and then in the afternoon we drove to Anglesey, where we are spending the night in the van before the crossing to Ireland tomorrow.
We found a place that looked perfect for an overnight stop. A little car park right by the beach just outside Rhosneigr. As we drove up we saw that there were already 3 other camper vans and motorhomes parked there. There was a sign there that said "no overnight camping" but we thought that as the sign looked about 100 years old, maybe it was out of date and it would be OK. But after quizzing a man in one of the motorhomes, it looked like we might get shot, or at the very least moved on, by an angry landowner.
Apparently all the land round there belongs to a Lord, who is rather fussy about who stays overnight! It turns out that this Lord is also Price William's landlord for his home on Anglesey! I suppose there's also a chance that the man just made all that up so he could have the car park to himself, but we decided not to take any chances.
We had our dinner, and then drove to a place called South Stack which is a RSPB reserve. We think we should be OK here but I'll let you know tomorrow. We've just parked at the edge of a little car park looking out toward the sea. There are no signs here to say we can't stop overnight, and no gate so we can't get locked in and miss our ferry!
During our journey today, I spent some time thinking about a name for our van. We'd already spent quite a while mulling it over before, and had decided we'd name him during our first trip. I understand now what Prince William and Kate have been going through. Thinking of names is difficult. And then in a flash of inspiration, I thought, if George is good enough for the future king of England then it's good enough for our van. Claire liked it, so George it is. And of course our decision was affirmed by the Prince William connections later in the day.
We're catching the ferry from Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire (near Dublin) tomorrow morning, and then we'll be heading over to County Kerry which is in the south west. Hopefully we will get as far as Killarney national park, which is where we plan to spend the first few days.
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Location:Anglesey
Bostin , we wild camped for a weekend all over Ireland in our van, and to be honest we were told we were the kind of travellers they was not too fussed about! We found little lanes here and there and just parked up at the end of them. It may be different in an official camper though as ours was a homemade job in disguise! Anyway have a great time for your moms 50th. Don
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