As we approached the Severn Bridge toll booth we wondered how much we would have to pay as were were in a motorhome and not a car - very surprised to be charged for a car. A great start as we "saved" over £7 thanks to this.
After a couple of stop offs we arrived at the Dock and parked up in the queue behind a caravan and another motorhome. We then managed to get 4 hours sleep before we boarded the ferry at 2am.
Passports were packed - although to my disappointment no one asked to see them!
We arrived at Rosslare around 7am in the morning and made our way towards Dublin. We stopped off in Arklow and I stocked up on Kimberley and The Mikado biscuits (you cannot buy these in England). After breakfast we then made our way to the Camac Valley campsite near Dublin.
Once we had settled in we walked to the bus stop which was at the park gate and 15 minutes later were on the bus on our way into Dublin City. No idea why- but the bus driver waved us through and we didn't have to pay your fare.
After walking round the shops we took a break in St. Stephen's Green park - the sun was shining.
A shopping mall in Dublin.
After a cake and milkshake break
We then took a boat trip on the River Liffey.
We sailed past the Customs House and various "designer" office buildings:
We then sailed up to Samuel Beckett's Bridge - harp shaped.
Then past the Jeannie Johnston - a replica of the Tall Ship which transported a lot of the emigrants from Ireland to America.
We finished the day with a cocktail.
The following day (Jim's 60th birthday) we woke to brilliant sunshine. After a breakfast we made our way back to Dublin. Our first stop was the City Bus Sightseeing tour - various views of Dublin:
We didn't visit the Guinness Factory as we had visited there over 20 years before and we don't like Guinness.
We got off the bus at Phoenix Park and had our morning coffee's with Bayley's Cake - after all it was Jim's birthday!
Views of Wellington's Monument in the Park
We then walked along the river towards the Famine sculpture:
The sculpture is a commemorative work dedicated to those Irish people forced to emigrate during the 19th century Irish Famine. The bronze sculptures were designed and crafted by Dublin sculptor Rowan Gillespie and are located on Custom House Quay in Dublin's Docklands.
This location is a particularly appropriate and historic as one of the first voyages of the Famine period was on the 'Perserverance' which sailed from Custom House Quay on St. Patrick's Day 1846. Captain William Scott, a native of the Shetland Isles, was a veteran of the Atlantic crossing, gave up his office job in New Brunswick to take the 'Perserverance' out of Dublin. He was 74 years old. The Steerage fare on the ship was £3 and 210 passengers made the historical journey. They landed in New York on the 18th May 1846. All passengers and crew survived the journey.
In June 2007, a second series of famine sculptures by Rowan Gillespie, was unveiled by President Mary McAleese on the quayside in Toronto's Ireland Park to remember the arrival of these refugees in Canada.
This felt very uncomfortable and the atmosphere around the sculpture was very uneasy.
We then viewed a slightly more cheerful sculpture on the other side of the river - a dock worker
We then made our way to The Fire Restaurant for cocktails and Jim's birthday meal.
What an absolutely fantastic day we had.
The following day the weather was still great and we managed to eat our pancake breakfast outside
We then packed up and made our way up to Northern Ireland (was surprised that there was no border - the only way of telling we were in Northern Ireland was that the signs were now in miles and not kilometres. We travelled up to Portaferry via the Strangford Loch Ferry. Once at Portaferry Uncle Jimmy (who I hand't seen for around 16 years) met up and had drinks and dinner with him.
The following day we made our way up the coast via Belfast and onto Coleraine and then our campsite at Balleyness near the Giant's Causeway.
At almost every turn on this journey we came across the most stunning scenery
At this final stop we made a cuppa and admired the wonderful view - our little mascot Teddy Bear enjoyed it too.
Part 2 to follow…...
Thanks Anne and Jim. Great story.
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