A key stop on this trip was always going to be Newcastle in County Down.  It’s where Kerry’s mother, Martha, was born and she fondly remembered her early years in the seaside town.  Kerry still has family there and desperately wanted to visit before we make the move to Australia.

As we drove down from Lough Neagh we passed through Newry, only to find our way temporarily blocked with an Easter Sunday march, it was a reminder of Ireland’s troubled past.  Finally moving out of Newry we were soon passing through the Mountains of Mourne that make such an impressive backdrop to the touristy town of Newcastle.

For the next few days, the weather could only be described as changeable, we met up for a barbeque with family and as the sun went down behind the mountains the weather fluctuated from sunshine to rain and threw in a little bit of hail just for good measure.  We woke the next day to beautiful blue skies and were sent on our way with a wonderful homecooked Irish breakfast in our bellies.

The Easter long weekend did provide a few other hurdles for us because we desperately needed some washing done and many of the shops were closed.  Of course, nowadays there are those roadside laundromats and Google maps was as good as it’s word as it sent us off to the little seaside town of Ardglass down by the marina.  However, even the all-seeing eye couldn’t take into account that some piece of shit would dump a pallet load of compost bags in front of the dryer.

It provided us with a wonderful coastal journey but we wouldn’t have fresh underwear until we got to Enniskillen.

The next day we crossed from Northern Ireland into the South and even though we were still travelling North… we have remained firmly in Ireland.  Confused?  Welcome to County Donegal.  The lush green landscape has been replaced by rugged coastal scenery as wind our way along the Wild Atlantic Way.

Yesterday was unexpectedly warm, hot almost, as we found a campsite in Teelin. We had a wander down to the harbour, where Chloe decided to slither downhill upside down and finished our walk off with the sun on our backs and a pint of the black stuff in the local pub, the strangely named Rusty Mackerel.  Ireland is a treat when the sun shines.

Today we hiked up the Pilgrims Path and crossed along the treacherous tracks above the Sleive League Cliffs.  The cliffs can be five hundred metres high in places and our thirteen kilometre walk in a strengthening breeze involved lunch in the ruins of the old church at the top the cliffs, a flat white in the carpark and a long haul along the road as we trudged back to the van.  I lugged a bastard drone the entire way and never flew it once due to the unpredictable winds.

We earned our seafood dinner at The Mackerel, the only problem was getting out of the pub.  With a roaring peat fire and locals keen to give us information, one Guiness can often turn to two.  We even got one with our picture on it.

Kerry is continuing the reels she made of our last trip.  She already has two for Ireland and the can be found here and here.