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Steph CraneSteph Crane
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traveled in 18 countries Read more England, United Kingdom
  • TravelerIreland road trip
    Day 17

    Home

    May 3 in Wales ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    We watched the clouds/fog rolling in over the mountains and thought we should probably head home. Checked the weather and rain was imminent. Not much point climbing a mountain when you can barely see in front of you (we’ve done that before). Lovely drive out of Snowdonia National Park then stopped a little further nearer the border of Wales for a woodland walk and to stretch our legs. Then took turns negotiating M40, M6 etc to get home, 4 and a bit hours later!
    Finally home though after 2000 miles of lovely adventures with my best buddy
    😊🚐☀️🇮🇪    Read more

  • TravelerIreland road trip
    Day 16

    Back in Wales

    May 2 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Up bright and early to catch the ferry from Dublin. At the port, we watched a man trying to get his motorbike bump-started firstly with one man pushing then one of the staff chipped in to help to running back and forth. They got it going though so he could board the ferry. Hope he got it going the other end. It was literally plain sailing on the ferry, a spot of brekkie which was pretty good and just hanging out.
    Arrived to Holyhead around lunch time and headed on to Portmeirion, a village on the coastline commissioned and built by a Welsh architect taking 50 years finishing in the 70s. It’s a colourful looking village, quite quirky perching on a cliff face surrounded by woodland and the sea/golden beach. We took a walk around all of it. Was quite interesting. You have to pay for entry to the village, it’s all private and you can also stay in the many apartments there.
    Headed on to a supermarket then on to Snowdonia National Park to our campsite. Beautiful mountain range views again on the journey. Nice remote campsite with the view of the mountains. Hoping to climb Snowdon but the weather isn’t looking hopeful. No point if you can’t see anything/where you’re going. We’ll decide in the morning. Settled down for the night. No lighting around so literally pitch black outside. Our hat lights have been very handy.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland road trip
    Day 15

    Last day in Ireland

    May 1 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Early morning May Day run in to the town and back, shower then whilst eating brekkie we watched the ravens and robins coming down very close to the van to eat the bread I had put out for them. Very delightful.
    We drove in to the town to visit Kilkenny castle. Nice change to see a castle that isn’t derelict. Although it’s over 800 years old, it has been restored to a Victorian period. Started to walk the grounds but it started to rain so we left and wandered the high street picking up a tshirt souvenir from the pub we’d been to the night before then headed onwards slowly weaving our way back to Dublin.
    We picked a route that went through the Wicklow Mountains, the road is an old military road that takes you through a vast rural, wilderness of scrubland where ever you look you can’t see anything man made (apart from the road). It was amazing and yet another diverse scenery and experience. We eventually arrived at the south of Dublin at a sandy cove, a lovely scenic end of Dublin where lots of locals were swimming. There’s an area called Forty Foot (no one knows why) but it’s a 250 year old swimming/changing point into the clear waters of the Irish Sea. We didn’t dip this time but maybe another day… was quite busy especially as it was sunny again - did I say how very lucky we’ve been?! We even saw an elderly man walk out of his house across the road to the cove in just his swimmers, goggles and hat! Good for him. As we were walking we also spotted some seals in the sea and a heron wading in the shallow waters.
    We walked up to the high street in my last search of oysters/Guinness. Been keeping an eye all round the island but not had the opportunity, Dublin is usually good for these. Found a lovely restaurant doing the oysters so was very happy though no Tabasco sauce, shame. They were great though plus we also ate dinner there too. Was a lovely last meal in Ireland.
    We drove on to our stopover where we had stayed when we first arrived. Another campervan pulled up next to us so we chatted to them for a bit. They are from Denmark or Norway, we couldn’t work out but they are taking a year or so out to travel Europe. They’d already done (wet) Cornwall for a month and planning on doing Ireland for a month then back around Britain before heading in to mainland Europe. Sounds brilliant.
    Watched the last episode of MAFS, last bit of drama in our lives then to bed listening to the rain.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland road trip
    Day 14

    Blarney

    April 30 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Bit wet overnight, we’ve been so lucky on this trip with the weather. V short trip round the corner to Blarney Castle. Got there early so we could ‘do’ the Blarney Stone before lots of queues. Quite a tight, steep, narrow stepped climb up a tower to the top of the castle where the stone lay. After a short queue, I laid on my back, under the guidance of the photographer and reached out to the stone, upside down as is the tradition. Needless to say I only touched the stone with my hand whilst Gary skipped past. Nope! We had already joked earlier that this was NOT going to be something he would entertain. Germs and wotnot. Kissing the stone is supposed to give you the gift of the gab - to string a yarn. The stone itself, however, is part of the Stone of Scone which was used by the Scots to crown their kings. This stone is now used by the British monarchs to be crowned upon. We had a lovely wander around the grounds observing absolute masses of wild garlic again. That and the new spring growth really lifted the views. We even spotted 3 or 4 baby foxes frolicking on the path but they scattered as we approached. So cute.
    We drove eastward to Cork and in particular a little islet off Cork called Cobh (pronounced cove) to visit the Titanic museum. After the Titanic was built in Dublin, it sailed round to Cork to pick up its Irish travellers then on to France then across the Atlantic to New York. We all know what happened after that. The museum was the original ticket office for the ocean liner. On our tour, we were given a ticket with the random name of a passenger. We were then guided around as if we were going to be in the Titanic itself, how it was laid out, where the actual pier was interspersed with photos and stories from passengers and the captain. It was very interesting and obviously very tragic. We got to see at the end whether our characters had survived or not. (Ours did, phew!). After a quick wander around Cobh and an Aldi supplies stop we drove on to Kilkenny for the night. Whilst making dinner, a couple of robins bobbed about, one even sat in the step of the van to my delight! Then some ravens were circling so I threw some bread out for them all, they were all coming over very close. One raven even dropped me a feather it had been playing with. Thanks dude. Fair trade.
    After dinner we walked in to Kilkenny town, stocked up on emergency mint imperials from a sweet shop that weighed them out - they were probably left from the war as they were a bit hard but I’m running low so needs must. Dropped in to a really old pub - Kytelers Inn, established in 1324! Got there at the right time to grab a seat and a pint before the local Irish band started. They were so good. Very talented and quick-fingered on the banjo/guitar/whistle. I might have to pop back when we visit the castle to get a tshirt.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland road trip
    Day 13

    End of the WAW

    April 29 in Ireland ⋅ 🌬 10 °C

    As we’d parked up at a hotel carpark, we went in for breakfast which worked out handy as Gary needed to do a little work too. Once he was done we headed down to Mizen Head, the most southwesterly point of Ireland and the end of the Wild Atlantic Way. After sheltering from a quick downpour, we had a little wander around the building recreating the story about the old lighthouse with lots of beautiful huge paintings of flora and fauna. Some nice scenery too, another cliff/beach. I swiped some seawater in one of my spray bottles to see if I can recreate my beach hair - will report back! We then headed eastwards to a little town called Schull suggested by one of Gary’s gym buddies. Not much going on there at all, quite run down so continued onwards towards Blarney/Cork area to do some washing/shopping. We stopped at a spot near Blarney Castle for the night. Once we’d eaten the car park suddenly got super busy with youths in sports kit and old, wooden sticks walking past us to the field behind. After a quick research it turns out they were playing hurling, an old Gaelic national sport. 15 players in a team throw, kick, hit with their hand or the stick a small cricket sized ball to score a point in a goal that is a football style goal under a rugby style goal. It was quite fast paced and good to watch. All the players have to wear helmets/face protection, v dangerous sport. Watched for a bit then returned to the van for more MAFS.Read more

  • TravelerIreland road trip
    Day 12

    Ring of Beara

    April 28 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Got up early for a sunrise run, shower, brekkie, water restock and onward leaving the Ring of Kerry for the Ring of Beara, the next peninsula down from Kerry in County Cork. The route is a little shorter than the Kerry one, still following some of the Wild Atlantic Way but more rugged, quieter and still as scenic. The roads are probably harder to negotiate in larger motor homes and coaches, so pleased we have the size of van that we do. We just meandered along, the sun was shining stopping periodically to be amazed by the views. The photos NEVER do it justice. Quite a few towns/villages have different coloured painted houses and shop signs hand painted. Seems a thing in this area. Brightens it up I guess if it’s raining so much. Headed right down to the end of the peninsula for a few more snaps then back along the coast to a village called Castletown Bearhaven so Gary could watch the football. Found a pub to settle in whilst Gary mingled with the (English) clientele and I crotcheted. I ordered a couple of bags of nuts which filled a gap, then I realised they were out of date. One bag by only a couple of months but the other said 2021! They tasted fine. Bar lady couldn’t get her head around it, said they would’ve been audited. And yet… so she offered me another bag! I heard someone later asking for nuts which she was happy to still sell but advised them that they were out of date!
    After a stirling win, we drove on to a hotel car park stopover in Bantry. Gaz cooked a great spag bol then we settled for the night. Another car park where an annoyance hangs out. A car was coming and going a few times through the evening and every time they parked up they were banging out really, really loud music - maybe Eastern European music/turkish? It was sooo loud for us it must have been deafening in their car. Thankfully, by gone 10pm it went down considerably. Whether someone had a word? There’s quite a few of us campers here. Started to rain over night, first lot of rain we’ve had for a while. We’ve done good so far.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland road trip
    Day 11

    End of Ring of Kerry

    April 27 in Ireland ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    Continued on with the Ring first of all heading to a beautiful sandy cove to see if their cafe was open but it wasn’t so continued on to the next stop, another deserted beautiful beach for a swim. Very cold morning (5 degrees) but the sun shining made it more bearable. Could only stand a minute or 2 in the water, my feet were numb before I’d even waded out deep enough, but felt good afterwards and I always love the sea salt hair. We’d pre-made a coffee for when we got back to the van to warm us up though I did feel chilly for a good few hours afterwards. The Atlantic Ocean working its magic. Moving onwards, coming off slightly heading to Valentia Island, a small island off the ring that we could drive on to. There is a small mountain with a view, amongst other things so thought would be good to walk up. We parked up along a quiet road about to walk up when the farmer opposite the entrance told us we couldn’t park there, we need to drive up the mountain (€10). I said I’d prefer to walk up. She said we’d still have to pay €4 each! Incredible! Mountain nazi! Scrapped that and went on to a spot where some prehistoric foot prints had been found. At a glance they just look like holes in the rock but are actually made by a tetrapod, a lizard like creature, 385 million years ago! That killed 2 minutes. Drove back out the windy roads to the car ferry to cross back to the mainland, a short 5 minute journey but good fun then onwards north bound completing the rest of the ring. Not so much of a view on the northern section and easier to drive too, less precarious roads/mountain cliffs. We completed the ring back where we started at Killarney, found our campsite for the night and walked in to the town, a lovely 4 miler, scenic stroll in the sun. Stumbled across a woodland full of wild garlic as far as the eye could see. Very fragrant and lovely. Random! Also passed a field of deer too. Wandered around Killarney town, went for a lovely curry, oldest pub ‘only’ late 1800s then cab back to the site. Chilly night ahead.Read more

  • TravelerIreland road trip
    Day 10

    Start of Ring of Kerry

    April 26 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    We’d parked by a castle overnight so felt we should probably go and visit it after our breakfast in the village. Bunratty castle is one of the only complete castles in Ireland. Original site was a Viking camp in 970, a castle being built on in 1425 then restored in the 50s to what it is today. The grounds also contain a village of various types of dwellings, shops, school etc from different ages in Ireland. Was an interesting morning spent looking around. We then headed off past Limerick and south again to pick up the Ring of Kerry, a 179km scenic circular route around one of the south peninsulas. The original reason I wanted to do the Ireland road trip.
    We started at Killarney and began clockwise round as recommended so we don’t get caught behind buses and large motorhomes. We only did a small stretch but the scenery was already stunning, shear drops overlooking woodland or vast lakes, mountains, very green. Very windy roads a lot like the Furka Pass in Switzerland. There are lots of historical/natural wonders around the Ring that we can just stop at. Everything seems very well signed which is handy as the phone signal is intermittent. We stopped for a walk through the woodland to Torc waterfall then further on stopping at a high up viewing vista called Ladies View where Queen Victoria once came. Beautiful view. We continued on to find somewhere to stay. Where we hoped to, in Kenmare, was right next to a stone circle. There were no overnight camping signs so that was a no go however we visited the small stone circle anyway. The guy running the entrance was giving out little cards to write wishes on and hang on the wishing tree by the stones. Very sweet idea. Made our wishes and thanked the goddesses as a little robin flew down and landed on the stone next to me. The symbolism of our ancestors wasn’t lost on me. I was quite touched.
    We continued on and stopped for pizza in the same village. Not really anywhere to stay but the chef at the restaurant gave us some tips. These didn’t pan out so we drove further along to a motorhome stopover in Sneem, by the water. No facilities but a nice view. Popped into the local pub to use their facilities then a quick wander around the village whilst the sun set. We will complete the Ring tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland road trip
    Day 9

    Easy day

    April 25 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Stayed on the most expensive campsite, taking advantage that they’re the only one and motorhomes aren’t encouraged at all in the city. Charged €44 for the night but we had to pay extra for the showers (that wouldn’t wet a mouse) and washing up, had we needed it! Shameful.
    As we are a little ahead of schedule it allowed us to do a few things such as early morning run whilst observing lots of sea swimmers, much needed clothes washing and a little food shop/brekkie whilst we waited for it including a lovely chat with the Cordells. Popped into Galway city but didn’t feel too inspired. Chatted to an ‘Army fan though who had also gone to the gig in Dublin. It started to rain so we headed on further south towards the Burren region in County Clare. Quite a barren, rugged landscape but just as spectacular as the rest of the country. We stopped at Aillwee Burren showcaves. Good thing to do whilst it rained. We had a guided tour around the cave, discovered by a farmer around 1940 but he kept it a secret until the 70s. A fascinating cave dating back millions of years created by a river, mind blowing. Bear remains were found there from hibernating bears dating back 10,000 years ago. That’s a long nap! Our tour guide was really good and so were the caves. The entry fee also included visiting their birds of prey centre. It was getting close to closing time so we’d missed the displays but as we were walking around, one of the trainers asked if we’d like to view one of their practices. Of course! A young man was learning the ropes and they brought out an African white backed vulture called Dyson. I’m guessing he hoovers everything up as this was also an exercise class for him as apparently he is a little overweight (vulture fat shaming!) We got lots of information about the species and how they are (wrongly) frowned upon, their poor reputation when in fact all the good they do that is misinformed. Such a beautiful bird as it soared very closely over our heads. Amazing experience and great timing from us. We skipped off happy in to their cheese shop, stocked up on cheese and fudge then on to our stopover in Bunratty just north of limerick, right next to a castle for the night. Popped in to the local pub next door for a strategic use of facilities. An old pub dating back to 1620, lovely features inside decked out with tons of police patches from mostly US adorning the ceilings/walls and every surface. Fascinating if not random. A guy playing acoustic Irish songs in the corner was a nice touch too. Back to the van for cheese fest Ernie and Bert style - crumbs in the bed.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland road trip
    Day 8

    Driving

    April 24 in Ireland ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    Yesterday was all about the driving - 250 miles, around 6 hours! We left Donegal heading southwest, mostly along the scenic wild Atlantic way route, beautiful landscapes from sea, wilderness, mountains, sheep (and lambs) everywhere . I lost count of the times I said, “this is lovely“. First stop was Dun Briste sea stack, a huge rock separated from the mainland over millennia. Photos never do the scenery justice. Gary got the drone out too for a fly around. There’s quite a few large Eire signs on the ground made from rocks around the country, one of which was here (plus at Malin Head) that warned pilots during the war that they were flying over neutral Ireland. Stretched our legs a bit then on for the next leg of driving. To Achill Island, a rugged, but beautiful island off the west coast. Banshees of Inisherin recently filmed here. Lots of lovely free roaming sheep and their babes everywhere, so lovely. Please don’t eat lamb, people!
    We headed to the gorgeous Keem beach, the approach being down the mountain, a little like Spain, towards the parking area. We were so lucky that there was barely a cloud in the sky and being so sheltered it was a lovely, warm day - the bay looked like we were abroad, crystal clear, turquoise water, sandy beach.. until we got in. Was freezing! As expected. We didn’t stay in for long. Was invigorating though. Back to the van to get changed then onwards again to Galway. What with the rush hour traffic by then we didn’t get to our campsite just outside Galway until 7ish. Checked in and headed straight for the bus into town. Which didn’t show so we shared a cab with another lady from said bus stop. Dropped in the city at the Latin Quarter, where the Craic is, apparently. Bit more of a cultural vibe, reminded Gary of Hastings, true. Had a wander but really needed to eat, quite busy in the street so went a little outbound to a Thai restaurant which was beautiful, good amount of spice to our Thai curries. Went to find the oldest pub (not open) so the next on, The Quays, still 400+ years old with a live band playing modern then Irish songs whilst Gary watched the footy on the screen in the old man bar! Lovely fresh Guinness and 0% for Gaz. Wanted to see another bar called the Crane Bar, because why not but the description didn’t really match up. Was more a rough estate pub than the swanky bar that was promised. Quick snap of a gnarly, incoherent man by the pub then retreated back to the pub we’d just come from. After the footy finished we caught a cab back to the site to sort the van for the night of everything that we had dumped and run earlier.
    Halfway through the trip now. Half way around the island and over 1000 miles driven so far. We are on schedule and weather has been cold, windy but more importantly, mostly dry, thankfully though I think rain is expected.    Read more

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