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Steph CraneSteph Crane
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traveled in 18 countries Read more England, United Kingdom
  • TravelerIreland road trip
    Day 7

    Back in to Ireland

    April 23 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    Sad to leave Northern Ireland as the scenery has been stunning but looking forward to continuing on to discovering the rest of Ireland too. Before we left N Ireland we popped in to another derelict castle called Dunluce. Nice little wander then on through Londonderry to cross the border (with the fam) then up to the most northerly point in Ireland, Malin Head. A different, very rugged landscape. Quite epic. We walked the rugged coastline to ‚hell‘s hole‘ - 2 rock faces with dramatic waves then over to the look out/signal post/Eire sign used during the war. V windy and bracing. This point is also the start of the Wild Atlantic way, the coastal route all the way down south that we hope to follow.
    Next was a bit of a drive down to Donegal stopping just a couple of times to stretch our legs including a little woodland full of bluebells and wild flowers. Very pretty. Have definitely come at a good time as there’s spring growth and blossoms everywhere, very lovely.
    Arrived at Donegal, by the harbour, our stopover for the night. Ready for our dinner so found a nice old pub next to the (small) castle ruins nearby. Had a bit of a walk in the lovely evening sun around the little harbour/ruined abbey, waiting for the footy to start. By then, the car park became a bit of a drugs run? Constant stream of cars back and forth, in and out, sitting, waiting, then more car swapping, mostly men, in pairs, not all young. It was quite bemusing just how many there were. What a hub we’d stumbled across. Ironically, the Garda station, plus 2 cars is just opposite the car park! An older man pulled up next to one of the bins, lifted off the main bin and put a large red bag inside then drove off. When the council emptied the bins this morning, it had gone! It was such an interesting evening, who needs football for entertainment? It’s not even a quiet, out of the way car park. There were quite a few of us parked up, right next to the high street. Anyway, we weren’t murdered in our bed so ready for lots of driving today!    Read more

  • TravelerIreland road trip
    Day 6

    N Ireland sightseeing

    April 22 in Northern Ireland ⋅ 🌬 11 °C

    Managed to get a run in as we had facilities (shower), brekkie, water replenish then off to our first stop - Gleno waterfall, north of Belfast. Little walk around, chatted to some locals who had just bathed in it (chilly) then carrying on northbound following the Causeway Coastal route to our next stop, Cushenden caves. A lovely bracing walk along the beach though the cave was v small. Quite scenic though. Made a quick brew then on to our next stop, Dark Hedges. A line of beech trees planted in the 1700‘s along a road that have grown over the road in an artistic way as now made famous in Game of Thrones. We need to research places more before we arrive as we paid a fiver for the carpark (touristy cash cow) when we could have pulled up further/closer especially as it’s only a short visit and quiet during the week, just to take some snaps. Was lovely though. Next, bit of a hike to Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge that transverses 2 small islands that salmon fisherman used to use to get themselves down to the sea. Quite exhilarating crossing especially in the wind. We debated finding a stopover by this point but time was still early enough to carry on with the trail we’d mapped out. So onwards to a little village called Ballintoy harbour which we would’ve actually stayed at but turns out we couldn’t anyway (‚no overnight camping’ signs). The approach to the harbour was stunning, zigzagging down the hill to the sea. Another filming location and I can see why. Can’t beat a coastal scene. Quick wander around then on to Giant’s Causeway. Another bit of a trek but the late afternoon sun was starting to come out making the views lovely again. Quite impressive, the stones. As we were a little later, the info centre was closed but we researched the stones anyway. A major volcanic eruption many million years ago causing the basalt rocks to form under high pressure. Bonkers how nature works! Another long walk back up the hill back to the van and we were done! 6 stops today and around 10 miles of walking. Lovely to follow quite a bit of the Causeway Coastal route giving stunning views of the coast/sea. A couple of miles up the road was our stopover for the night, cook dinner then catch up on MAFS. Zzzzz.Read more

  • TravelerIreland road trip
    Day 5

    Belfast

    April 21 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Nice drive in to Belfast, so quiet around the city as shops don’t open until later in the day but the indoor Victorian market was open so we headed there first. Only a quick visit though as had a walking tour booked. Marti was definitely an eclectic character as per his own description but he was a very knowledgeable fellow giving us great background, history and detail of Ireland, Belfast, the ‘troubles’ and Belfast now and the future. It was only the 2 of us on the tour so he tailored the sights to us showing historical buildings, street art and some fascinating places. He quickly realised we knew not a lot about a lot so stopped asking us teacher style “who was” “where did” questions and just chatted. Was a great starting couple of hours introduction to the city. Marti was a nice man. We did get accosted by a drunkard but Marti handled him like a marine!
    When we were finished we found a lovely restaurant for a roast then a little more wandering the city. Surprisingly still relatively quiet and barely any cars, really nice to see. Would love to come back again and visit in the evening, some great character bars and culture. Drove over to the Titanic district but didn’t do the museum as time was getting on. Continued on to our first campsite of the trip, just south of Belfast, so we could use the facilities. Did a chat with the babies, missing them all. Lucas been a bit poorly over the weekend - starting pre-school icks.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland road trip
    Day 4

    Into Northern Ireland

    April 20 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    After another wild camp, went for brekkie.
    My turn to drive northbound over the border into Northern Ireland. A very underwhelming border crossing however beautiful scenery. Headed for the Mourne mountains, reminded me a lot of the Peak District. Had a little walk around Silent Valley Mountain Park then drove on to a town called Newcastle to stop for a brew and (wedding) cake on the beach. Checked on my gran who’d had another fall - she’s ok. Trying to eat an eclair stood up was never going to end well!
    Headed on to Tollymore forest park in the hope that we may book their campsite but they were full. Lovely sunny weekend so no go, The park is where some of Game of Thrones was filmed. Looked like something else was in the early set up stages of being filmed too? This was a lovely walk also, beautifully well maintained woodland along waterfalls/streams. Spring has well and truly sprung here too so lots of blossoms and wild flowers. Didn’t see any red squirrels, sadly. Drove a little more north to a village called Whiterock in County Down, right by Strangford Lough, again very scenic. Burgers for tea then a call with Alex/sleepy Leo. Gary watched the footy and I checked out the scenery. All on a Saturday night! Belfast tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland road trip
    Day 3

    Sightseeing with friends

    April 19 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Slept well in our only hotel stay of the trip, taking advantage of the shower then met up with Fredrik and Maria for breakfast. The plan being to get out in the van and visit a few of the many, many historic/scenic places in the area for our last day with them.
    We headed north of Dublin to our first stop of a 5000 year old megalithic burial site though we couldn’t actually visit the actual tombs as it required a 2 hour guided tour that didn’t start until a little later - no time for that! My mistake not researching better. On to the next stop, a ruined abbey (Slane Abbey) in the dreary rain making for a more ambient scene. Ambled about on the site for a bit then cracked on to the next ruin, Old Mellifont Abbey, a little more east. Another ruin but the rain began to ease, thankfully. Couple of snaps here then onward again, to the east coast. We headed to Ardgillan Castle in Skerries which is a small castle by the sea. An actual complete building this time taken over by the council, a little like an arts centre. We had much needed tea and cake in the tearooms then meandered around the lovely grounds which also lead down to the sea front. The sun came out with force by then so made a complete contrast to the earlier part of the day. Drove on to the other end of the town to find somewhere to eat enjoying the sea and sun, Maria and Fredrik commenting on how they’re not used to the low/high tide as Sweden is a non tidal country. Had a nice dinner then took the guys back to Dublin, mindful that we had to drive on to our new stopping point before it got dark. After quick farewells on the main stretch in Dublin we drove only a little way north of Dublin to our stopover for the night and caught up on some tv. Ready to start the next stretch of our adventure - head north.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland road trip
    Day 2

    Dublin

    April 18 in Wales ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    Woke up to a beautiful sunrise over the sea. Quick brew then headed off to Holyhead, Anglesey for the ferry. Nice easy journey across the water arriving in Dublin a couple of hours later. Whilst the van was checked at the Wales port, in Ireland, the police check was more lax - quick glance through the window “just the 2 of you?” then “ from the uk?” “ have a safe journey”! He was busy juggling 2 queues of vehicles!
    Bit of a pickle trying to find somewhere appropriate to park over night but after a little negotiating the city we found somewhere suitable sized and not massively expensive.
    Met up with our lovely Swedish friends Fredrik and Maria. Maria had been fortunate enough to successfully interview Justin Sullivan, the lead singer of New Model Army for her new book about how music affects you emotionally so she was buzzing. We headed off to Zizzi’s for pizza then a quick dip into Temple Bar to check out the ambiance/Irish music then swiftly moving on to the venue (Opium) stopping for a pint in the pub next door. Once into the venue, we caught the support band (sounded like the Mission to me) and checked out the merch. Band finally came on playing some bangers, some new stuff and quite a bit of chat from the singer. He must have been inspired from his earlier interview 😉. Sound wasn’t great but that was more the venue. Great to watch the lighting lady too. She was having a great time and doing a marvellous job. Mesmerising. Called it a night after the gig with the guys grabbing a quick wrap on the way back to our hotel.    Read more

  • TravelerIreland road trip
    Day 1

    And we’re off!

    April 17 in Wales ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Looking forward to getting back out on the road, meeting up with friends and traveling around Ireland.
    Our first trek was to north Wales for an over night stop before we catch the ferry to Dublin from Holyhead in Anglesey. Bit of an epic, just under 5 hour drive but no issues, thankfully. Couple of good podcasts saw us through. Found a lovely stopover near Conwy on the north Wales coast, right next to the sea, beautiful. Went for a walk, set up for the night, had dinner and Gary watched the footy whilst I watched the glorious sunset. We’ll be up bright and early for the morning ferry to Dublin. Let’s hope it’s not choppy!Read more

  • TravelerEuropean road trip
    Day 43

    It’s my birthday!

    October 5, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    50 today! Yay! Had a lovely, leisurely breakfast, eggs of course and fizz plus tea ’n cake. We then packed up and drove off to our last day/night on our epic road trip.
    I was recommended to visit Kortrijk as it’s on our way to Calais.
    A nice little town, easily walkable with usual historic buildings. Gary bought me a pair of birthday earrings and we had a mooch ending up in an Irish bar of all places for dinner. Decided we wanted to do something fun so went bowling afterwards. Nice little bowling alley and it was good fun then walked back towards the van.
    By the river we’d seen someone earlier in the day setting up some stuff but didn’t know what. On our way back we could see there was a small machine in the water spraying fine mist of water into the air in a fan shape. It turned out it looked like they were rehearsing a light show (possibly students?). Images/video was projected on to the water mist creating a visual display visible from all angles/sides. They played atmospheric music to accompany. It was beautiful. A fitting end to my birthday. Almost like it had been planned…
    Slept well on our last night. The van has been great to us. New mattress topper has come into its own, no sore hips and we haven’t really been under each other’s feet. All in all a very memorable trip that has both felt like we’ve been away for ever yet it’s gone so quick.
    Up bright and early to get the ferry back. If only we could get out of the car park! (We did, finally).
    Thanks for reading my blog. I’m pleased I kept a record.    Read more

  • TravelerEuropean road trip
    Day 42

    In to Belgium

    October 4, 2023 in Belgium ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Headed in to Belgium in the morning as the laundrette we needed was not far from us in that direction, (Maastricht on the border). Shame to leave Netherlands so soon but we’re on a tight schedule. Did some last minute essentials washing to get us through whilst Gary worked for the last day this week. I went for a walk to the local park.
    After a spot of shopping whilst chit chatting to Alex/Lucas it was my turn to drive southwest to our first proper stop in Dînant. An old town by the river with a citadel on the hill overlooking. We stopped at the the top of the hill to observe their small military cemetery commemorating French/Belgian WW1 soldiers plus Commonwealth graves of WW2 soldiers retreating from Dunkirk/shot down/crashed/strategic Germany raids. We then headed down into the town and walked along the river. Very pretty town but not much in the way of shopping - hoping to find myself a birthday gift. We walked to Notre-Dame de Leffe, a small abbey built in 1152. From the 1200s the canons started to brew beer for their visitor which turned out to be safer than drinking the water. This tradition has continued on and off over the years though now Leffe beer is brewed at a larger distillery with the abbey still being funded through the profits. Of course, we had to stop for a Leffe whilst we were there.
    Dînant is also the home of the inventor of the saxophone, Adolphe Sax. There are 60 saxophone ‘statue’ tributes around the town.
    Spent a couple of hours here then went on our merry way to our overnight site overlooking the hills (and cows) slightly north east. Lovely last day of my forties.    Read more

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