Northern Ireland 2023

The weather forecast had been for torrential rain but when we got up it was blue skies all the way, so we quickly got ourselves organised to make the most of it. Suited up with welly boots and armed with bucket and spade we set off. We decided to start by walking along the coastal path, it was a bit boggy in places from last night's rain, but it was a nice walk. At one point I heard Luca saying that he needed help to get up a rocky incline, Zachary (10) responded immediately with "wait i'm just coming to help you" which he did. Once up the incline Luca told him he was the best big brother in the world. It's small moments like that you wish you could bottle and keep forever,

The walk was nice but Barbara and Zachary eventually disappeared in the distance as Luca kept stopping every 2 minutes to investigate something on the path, but we eventually caught up with them on a small beach where they started digging their way towards Australia. Barbara went on ahead to see if the seals were visible, and took so long we went to look for her, we found her talking to someone who had been out walking their dogs, as was probably predictable, Barbara knew her. It turned out to be the sister of Gill (Barbara's sister in law). It's a small world in Northern Ireland. We went back to the main beach and the boys continued to dig and look for crabs and generally have a lot of fun together. It was getting near lunchtime and so Barbara headed back to put the coffee on, and we followed about 10 minutes later.

Whilst the boys helped barbara bake some fabulous scones, I went to Newtownards to get supplies. Driving in Northern Ireland requires care and attention. In my experience drivers here tend to drive fast and close. The dual carriageways and motorways are excellent but apart from that it is mostly narrower, twisty roads. when i drove to Newtownards, I had to go slow for a couple of miles because I couldn't safely pass a cyclist on the twisty road, not long after i did pass him I had the same issue with two horses, a road closure and then a lot of traffic. A good SatNav is essential if you are going to be driving whilst here on holiday.

Adrian and Gill arrived mid afternoon and we spent the rest of the day and evening with them. We took the boys out to the funfair in Bangor which they really enjoyed and just as they were on the last ride the heavens opened and the promised rain made its appearance, so we quickly headed back to the cars and home. We had an evening of good food, board games and laughter and the boys went to bed exhausted but happy, it had been a really good day.Lue lisää