gloriousgardendonut

[gloriousgardendonut]

[gloriousgardendonut]

Looking In and Looking Out

It's been a while since I last wrote the blog. It's now December, two thirds of the way through the Gap Year and nearly three months since the last instalment. People had begun to ask me why I'd stopped the updates and I even got a Christmas card from a cousin with a note stating she was looking forward to the next instalment - where was it? I began to feel guilty but couldn't decide why I'd struggled to do one. I wondered if I'd had some kind of writers block (but that seemed a bit self righteous, after all I'm no Bill Bryson). I then wondered if I'd been too busy (but that seemed over indulgent as I spend most of my time chilling out these days). I then decided that the true reason was quite simple - I just couldn't be arsed !  The risk I've took here is that you will now stop reading, asking yourselves 'why should I  be arsed reading it if she can't be arsed writing it?' But please hold on, give me a chance and let me explain.

They say when you stop and get off the treadmill strange things happen. When daily routine, stressors and racing against the clock stop, you suddenly have lots of time to sit and think. It's then you realise how much stuff is in your mind, especially how much stuff you've been juggling or ignoring for a long time and haven't dealt with because you've been too busy. You realise you've lost yourself a bit and then you might do something drastic to get off that treadmill. For me it was the gap year.

I admit that when I left work to embark on the gap year I felt  'burnt out,' 'demotivated', 'worn down', 'weary', 'out of steam', 'tired' - thank god for Roget's Thesaurus to help me stress that bit. My job for over 20 years professionally and most of my life personally has been to care for others and be strong and in control. When you get in the habit of being a 'tough nut' and putting others first you begin to forget to look after yourself, or ignore and block out your emotional needs when they arise. It becomes a default setting to put a brave face on and get on with it. You also become guilty of thinking people can't survive without you, so you give even more of yourself to meeting the needs of others. I'm a nurse of course and we all suffer from the 'can't say NO Syndrome', but I'm a mum, grandma, partner, friend and colleague too and in all those roles I've not been very good at saying no. But more importantly I've been rubbish at saying 'hey I need help, I don't feel great either'. I don't regret caring for others at all, but somewhere along the line I grew armour and whilst that's good at protecting you it also stops you from baring you’re all when you probably need to - before you ask, no I've not become a nudist!

Initially, I found writing the blog really enjoyable, I had just left a very busy and demanding job and so had excess energy and lots of enthusiasm to do everything and anything with my new found freedom. But it unexpectedly became very difficult for me to put pen to paper or rather finger to iPad keyboard to continue with the blog. On reflection I now realise that at some point in summer I began to look inwards and was subconsciously thinking about the 'burn out' and trying to fix myself (Sounds like Coldplay - I know!).

I began to spend a lot of time simply  trying to enjoy the moment, focusing on the simple things, avoiding distractions and being quiet. Simon took over social media updates with lots of photographs on Facebook whilst I just smiled for the camera, but rather preferring to just play with my dog or sit quietly and admire the view. During that time I was able to admit to myself that my mental health had taken a battering over the years and that the gap year had unexpectedly become a vehicle for change and I was now taking the time to think things through, so as to move forward having taken stock and control of the issues that were weighing me down. So following in the footsteps of our lovely Prince Harry who recently raised the issue of mental health so brilliantly to the nation and beyond as something we can talk about, I too thought it a good idea to share this with you as my reason for absence on the blog. Of course I'm not going to share the nitty gritty details of my confused and complicated mind, but will advocate for people taking time out to deal with their stuff, before it builds up and becomes a burden. I now feel better for it.

So what the hell have I been doing besides self-psychoanalysis and searching for the meaning of life you ask. Well, all that being 'in the moment' included a 6 weeks road trip in Europe - France, Luxembourg, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium and a 4 week road trip in Scotland, incorporating the The North Coast 500, Isle of Skye and the East Coast. What can I say -  it was amazing!!!!!!

And here's why……… Driving the length of Denmark in the middle of the night through darkened villages and empty roads to arrive at its northern most point of Skagen Beach at 5am, walking the dog on its white sprawling beach with bare feet and sand between your toes. Energised and ready for a bacon butty and a brew on the van stove before the locals even get up for their morning skinny dip.

Driving through Germany's breathtaking Black Forest, round hairpin bends and through forests that reach into the sky. To arrive in Bavaria at Lake Constance in blistering heat and luckily bagging the last camper van spot on the beach side campsite, followed by a harbour stroll and lakefront restaurant seat to devour seafood and vino..

Dreamy sunny days following Germany's historical 'Romantische Strasse' from Fussen to Wurzburg with stunning scenery and medieval towns and villages all along the route. Pottering in craft and antique shops, around squares and parks, old walls and buildings, resting to sip Darjeeling tea or lick an assortment of ice creams - puppies favourite!

Driving through the winding country roads of France, past endless fields and forest, getting lost and stopping a while in quant villages to rethink and munch cakes at the local patisserie. Visiting ancient sites like The Somme an the beaches of Dunkirk, appreciating our freedom and the sacrifice of others.

Strolling the lanes and canals of Brugge old town, admiring the windmills and watching the boats go by. Dining al fresco and admiring the town houses surrounding the square. . Avoiding the trams and storming onto the beaches of De Haan, Belgium with your puppy to run, play and splash in the sea, then resting a while under the the village parasols partaking of the assortment of Trappist beers 'Westmalle Dubbel and Duvel'. Nectar!!!

Being overloaded in Amsterdam City with noise, people and those 'bloody bikes', but escaping across the river Ij on the crammed free ferry to the greenery, quiet, calm and traditional dijk houses of North Amsterdam to indulge in a spa bath, local shop provisions and a double bed for the night!

Getting tipsy in Luxembourg City, walking the ancient casements, window shopping the fine and expensive stores and seeing the night lights slowly replace the sunshine and glow across the city whilst everyone makes merry in the old town square.

Walking the vast forests of Luxembourg countryside to escape the heat and chase sticks with the puppy! BBQ, music and beer into the night watching the stars spread across the sky. Breathing in the night air and wondering if that last 'pee' in the campsite toilets will get you through the night.

…………..and on and on I could go but you get the gist.

Then after a few weeks at home we were eagerly off again this time up the M6 to Bonnie Scotland - starting with a few nights in the Cairngorms staying at Glenmore Campsite with walks along the forest, loch and 'beach'…yes a beach. Then a visit to Inverness City with castle and bridges to explore, tea at the Victorian Market and a walk along The Ness Way.

Onwards then and across the Skye Bridge for a 3 day circuit of the island. Delayed at a landslide for 3 hours but experiencing for the first time a rail to road diversion around the landslide, the new me had no problem with the wait. Skye is stunning and majestic, a place you can just sit and stare at and a place I need to return to in the future to walk some of the Cuillin Mountains.

Continuing on the North Coast 500 for a scenic route around the highlands we chanced the Bealach na Ba - a high and scary single track pass to Applecross Peninsula, a remote village with pub, café, beach and campsite - perfect, all we needed! The Wester Ross area sounds like and is as addictive as Game of Thrones, it has stunning scenery around every corner, huge mountains reaching out to the sea, inlets, coves, harbours and villages, lots to explore with great walks. There were fabulous campsites along the way, brilliant beaches for dogs, especially  Gairloch, Altandhu and Durness, wild and windy, but raw and fresh, definitely blows the cobwebs away and makes you feel alive. At one point we really thought the gales would blow the van away. Going to the toilet with the dog proved very difficult, sideways pee is not good!!!!

Nearing the middle of the 'way' we stayed in Melvich at a new campsite attached to the Halladale Inn, just us and two other vans, holiday season over for most. As the pub was so close, 10 steps, we partook of a lovely meal, fine ales and the company of another couple with a collie dog called Dotty, who became Skyler's love interest for the night!

Then the mountains shrink and the lowland fields arrive as you head across the east coast to John O'Groats,  a very commercialised place, probably crazy busy in summer, but if you turn right at the infamous finger post and walk along the coast, you escape the crowds and  reach a pretty stoney beach where we saw otters and seals.

On then to Wick, a place worth visiting and having a potter to Pultneytown and harbour with some interesting history on the herring trade and the worlds shortest street. Finishing the NC500 after passing through Lairg, Dingwall and outskirts of Inverness, we spent time in Nairn and Crieff on the East coast of Scotland before heading to Crail our final destination, where we parked the van up for a few days to begin our stay in a luxury beach hut we'd booked at the beginning of the gap year as a little treat.

Months before we arrived we had planned to have a memorable bonfire night at the beach hut. Our plans included a BBQ, champagne, lit fire pit, bubbling hot tub, and maybe in the presence of speedos, bikini and fireworks - a little romance!

Alas, when we arrived they said the hot tub took 5 hours to heat up in cold weather, so sacking that off as well as the beach wear, we layered up for the BBQ and stoked the fire pit, we swapped champagne for mulled wine and waited……….and waited……….and waited…………not a single firework !!!!

So on that note we headed home a few days later, having completed most of our gap year travelling plans: Ireland, Ridgeway Trail, Coast to Coast Cycle, Europe and finally Scotland - around 8000 miles in the van and 8 months of our lives. We were tired, yet totally refreshed. Now home we feel we have achieved our dream and had an amazing and unforgettable experience, whilst some of it was planned, much of it wasn't and as with the firework finale that wasn't to be, I will leave you with this thought

"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us" E.M Forster

[gloriousgardendonut]

The Ridgeway Adventure

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Walking the Ridgeway, my own way - one woman and her pup

Genesis 13:17 ��                Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and                  in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.

Whilst camping I met a man who originated from Zimbabwe. He told me a story of how he had applied to become a British citizen many years previous after fleeing his own country for fear of persecution. At the time there was a mix up and due to his own misinterpretation of a letter regarding his application he thought he had been denied citizenship. He was a Christian and prayed to God for help. Whilst doing so he came across the above quote from Genesis. On reading it he decided to take it literally and walked from Aberdeen to Lands End  in the hope that God would help him in his predicament. On his return from his walk someone explained to him that the letter was actually saying he could stay in England and due to language difficulties he had misinterpreted it.  He explained to me how he was overjoyed and had enjoyed walking all over the British Isles ever since. He also believed that God had rewarded him as in Genesis. Interestingly, this conversation took place on our campsite the morning of the England versus Sweden game in the World Cup. Having our camper van adorned with England flags he had asked about them and we chatted about how we'd be watching the game later in the local pub. Later in the day he and his wife arrived unexpectedly in the pub and  joined us in cheering England on to victory, he said it had been another wonderful experience for him as he'd never watched football in a pub before. But I diversify, my reason for this bit of blog is to share my thoughts on the recent National Trail I completed. My reason for walking wasn't concerned with religion but rather a personal challenge I set myself for the Gap Year to do something by myself (without other humans). Of course my lovely new pooch came with me to keep me company. As it turned out the walk gave me plenty of thinking time and possibly helped me to see 'the light' in relation to many things on a personal level. I'm sure if people were able to walk everyday, heads and minds would be much clearer and mental health difficulties would be less than they currently are. I might add that having a dog as well helps my mental health enormously so recommend it to anyone. So 'The Walk' - The Ridgeway National Trail - 87 miles from Overton Hill to Ivanhoe Beacon, an ancient trackway used since  prehistoric times and passing  through The Wessex Downs, The Chilterns, secluded valleys and remote woodlands of Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Recommended completion time 6-7 days, recommended average daily mileage 14-15 miles, recommended direction West to East. But hang on……recommendations are all well and good but what about the unexpected! For one the unexpected heatwave in England with the highest temperatures since 1976. Then add to that a 15 month old pup that flits from Duracell high power mode (crazy, spinning, jumping) to flat battery mode (puppy nap, refuses to move) at regular intervals through the day. Then finally, start and finish points along the route miles from our pre booked accommodation and in the middle of nowhere. So with these factors in the mix the 14-15 miles per day was the first criteria to be abandoned, replaced on good days with 7am starts we were able to achieve 10-11 miles and on others with later starts maybe 6-7 miles. The heat was usually above 30 degrees by 11am so afternoon walking was not an option for the puppy. Also the puppy got really tired every 2-3 days so we had to include a couple of rest days for him to recover, but is was good for me as well and usually meant we were raring to go the day after. The other big issue was the M40 or more precisely accommodation we'd  booked to the west or east of this. We'd booked a log cabin on a smallholding near to the start of the walk and hoped we could do more of the walk than we did by the time we had to move to our next accommodation - a campsite near the end. As it turned out we still had 40 miles to go (still in the middle) when we had to leave the cabin and go to the campsite. This meant we either needed to return east each day (40 miles first day, 30 miles second day and so on). This would mean taking up valuable pre-lunch walking time and not getting too far before we had to stop because of the heat. So I had an 'ingenious' idea instead of driving back 40 miles, we could pop down the road to Ivanhoe Beacon and start walking backwards, well back to the middle not actually backwards. This would mean we maximised more early morning walking time. Not the traditional way of walking a linear route,  but who cares, we were being adaptable to circumstances and we still eventually walked the whole 87 miles and were probably unique in being the only women and pup do do the route that way……EVER!! We took celebratory pictures at the top of the Beacon (the official end), then celebrated with a pub lunch, knowing we still had 40 miles to do and knowing our excuse for a pub lunch was a fraud!   So what did I see along the way, well the obvious on any national trail is lots of fauna and flora. One of the Ridgeways distinctive characters is chalk, created tens of millions of years ago by the coalescing of dead seashells and mud, it is the stuff you walk on throughout the walk sometimes bright and shiny under foot sometimes buried just under the surface in field and woods. A famous site along the Ridgeway is the chalk horse  on the hillside, you can't actually see it from the Ridgeway, but if you go into the valley you can. Apparently the chalk is permeable and in wetter weather can become very sticky under foot, not a problem for us with the heatwave, rather the glare off its surface probably enhanced the suntan and made us feel even hotter. In the west there is much grassland and pasture, whereas the east was heavily wooded with beech trees, the replacement for the ancient oaks cut down during deforestation many years ago. Interesting and much to the dismay of the puppy, there is little water along the Ridgeway. The chalk soaks it up and so there are no rivers or streams until you get to the middle and hit the Thames at Goring Gap. Unfortunately whilst you can see the Thames for a few miles along this part of the route, there's little opportunity to actually dip your toes in it. We arrived there on a particularly scorching day and found only one place along the bank that was low enough for the pup to enjoy a paddle. In fact he smelt it first and flew down the path so fast to dive in I thought he was chasing something and went into a little panic. The last thing he chased was a sheep in the lakes, not to hurt it but to play with it. He was only 10 months old, it was a scary moment filled with thoughts of an angry farmer reaching for his gun and shooting my new baby dead, alas he returned unharmed, smiling and having no idea of the danger he had just been in. So water lacking we had to take extra supplies in the pack to avoid dehydration. As well as chalk there is stone and at the start of the walk is Britain's largest henge at Avebury. There is a misconception that henge are circles of standing stones like the famous Stonehenge, but this is untrue, they are in fact enclosures, with banks and ditches with opposing entrances. The one in Avebury is spectacular and would have been more so back in the day when more of the chalk was exposed creating a brilliant white circle around the henge. Another place I visited along the route was Waylands Smithy a Neolithic burial chamber enclosed by huge Sarsen stones dating back to 2800BC, wow….that's old. Whilst there in the middle of nowhere and thinking I was on my own, a woman appeared behind one of the stones, after a sharp intake of breath I decided she looked 'of this world' and although she did not acknowledge me (strange), she seemed harmless standing there hugging the stone. Waiting for her to leave, me and the pup did a few modern day selfies and once she'd left I decided to hug the stone too, well when in Rome…… of course it just felt like a cold hard stone with no special powers but to me amazing all the same as it had been sat there putting up with stone huggers for over 5000 years. Talking of strange things along the Ridgeway, as mentioned the east of the way has a lot of woodland…..'if you go down to the woods today, you're in for a big surprise'……… One evening whilst relaxing and partaking of a little vino after a fine days walk along the next section of the way, Simon decided to tell me that he had spoken to a chap that day whilst out cycling. He had told the chap about mine and the pups walk and the chap said he'd done the Ridgeway himself and had a jolly good time of it, until the day he did the Grim's Ditch bit! My eyes widened and my heart quickened as I reluctantly asked for more information. Apparently, according to Simon, the chap had found the place dark, overgrown and difficult under foot with old and gnarled tree stumps, he'd stumbled through feeling increasingly uneasy and a little chilled in his bones. On hearing this I immediately grabbed my guide book and scoured the pages to find this place, my god, there it was 2 miles of it in the middle of the the next days route. I remember swilling an extra glass of rosé before bed and telling myself to put those thoughts of ghosts and superstition out of my head. After a restless night we rose to glorious sunshine and a renewed sense of not believing in ghosts. We set off and within a few miles I became very aware that we were entering Grim's Ditch, my mantra being 'I am a big girl, independent and adventurous, the sun is shining, my dog has big teeth, there is nothing to fear'. All was quiet, it was narrow, a little overgrown meaning I got stung by nettles and kept tripping up over the gnarled tree stumps, did I feel uneasy? A little, it was long, seemed to be never ending, I remembered I was in the middle of nowhere, alone, an easy target, who was Grim anyway? what was he?……………..then suddenly footsteps, heavy, right behind me, my heart leaped, I turned, the chill entering my body, eyes wide I spotted him, right behind me……………the local jogger, 10 stone wet in bright yellow silky shorts. We exchanged hellos and he ran on and I sighed with relief. For the rest of the walk I felt no further fear, in fact the woods became my favourite place on the route, a retreat from the blistering heat, quiet and peaceful. The puppy loved it there too, running and exploring to his heart's content. So then there was the fauna - the animals. I love animals, except COWS, I fear cows, I avoid cows, I have run for my life to escape them and I know they are killers - Google it, you'll find cows have turned on there own farmers and trampled them to death. So when I start any walk I think 'will there be cows?' Normally I have Simon with me on walks in the countryside, he's adept at speaking to the cows and shooing them away whilst I do a large detour around the field they are in. Also he believes the branch he usually picks up before speaking to the cows will protect him, which is good for him. But on the Ridgeway I didn't have my protector. What I did have was an unpredictable dog. Previous I'd had Barney, a tricolour Collie not dissimilar looking to a dairy calf and often the main attraction for curious cows thinking I'd stolen one of their gang, hence my fear was tripled over the 15 years I had him walking with me. Alas no longer with us, I now had this other new dog and was unsure how cows would react to him and him to them, remember he's chased sheep recently. I decided he would always be on the lead when we went anywhere near animals until I knew him better, this left me vulnerable if the cows liked the look of him and wanted to come over. Advice is to let the dog go if you are chased, I wasn't sure I could do that. Anyhow a stroke of amazing good luck, there are very few cows along the Ridgeway, in fact we came across only 2 different herds, one we easily managed to avoid as they were at the other end of the field. The second lot was more difficult, a huge herd bang in the middle of the field we had to cross. On entering this particular field of cows I could see the way marker and kissing gate directly opposite me and beyond the mad staring eyes of Patch and buddies in the middle of the field. Patch is the name I give to the scariest cow in the herd, the one that has a black patch over one eye and makes it known with its killer stare that you've been spotted as soon as you enter the field. Practically choking the pup with the shortest lead possible we detoured round the edge of the field at speed (walking fast, stooping low and avoiding eye contact), all the time observing with military precision all parts of the fence that we could hurl ourselves over in an emergency. We made it to the kissing gate and with sudden lack of dexterity and jelly like fingers we eventually managed to get the gate open and dived through it to safety. Patch and his cronies didn't move an inch and continued to chew the cud waiting for the next fools to pass by. As well as cows there were sheep, chickens, squirrels, pheasants, the odd deer, birds (red kites everywhere) and lots more including horses. This area has a lot of Gallops, this was something I'd not seen before, it's fields with brushwood hurdles for training race horses, the area has many racing stables and most famously the gallops at Lambourn Downs next to the Ridgeway. In fact the Ridgeway in many places is a Byway, meaning it is open to cyclists and horse riders as well as walkers. I walked the Ridgeway at the end of June, it was on the whole really quiet, I saw few people besides the stone hugger, Grim the jogger and a few others, not sure if it is busier  at other times. I did bump into one lady out walking her dogs, she told me she had lived on the Ridgeway for many years and in recent years she had seen less and less people completing the trail, she thought it may be because people had started walking abroad. As our dogs played together we chatted about this and that, then she told me she had lost one of her own dogs the day before, it was ill and had to be put to sleep, the lady cried, I knew just how she felt I'd done exactly the same things a few a months before, a few days after I lost Barney and cried on the first person I saw out on my walk. I comforted her and told her about Barney and we cried together for a brief moment. Eventually we went our separate ways, I didn't ask her name, she didn't ask mine and we'll never meet again but it was one of those moments in time when out of the blue you are able to share something special and find comfort in a total stranger. Later in my walk I felt I needed to give a different stranger a very wide berth. I was pottering along in the sound of nature when I suddenly heard music, as I proceeded it got louder and I could make out that it was some kind of dance music, it seemed odd as there was no housing for miles just fields and tracks. As I turned a corner I saw a large vehicle, it looked like a large mobile home but the whole back end was open like it had been cut open with a tin opener and was now a platform at the back. On the platform was various furniture including a settee and an old tin bath. All around the van were trinkets and boxes of stuff, the music was very loud now and there was odours and a tinge of smoke coming from the van, but I couldn't see in past the beaded curtain spread across the opening. It resembled a den of iniquity and thought it best to sneak past unnoticed, but then the pup started barking at the van, I hurried on not wanting to disturb whoever was inside and briefly wondered what I'd  do if someone came out and invited me in, alas they didn't do so that particular story never happened. All in all this walk was fabulous. There's loads more to enjoy than I've talked about here and I'd definitely recommend people to do it. The Ridgeway is fairly low level and without the heat and a young pup you could if you’re a seasoned walker do more mileage and complete it within a week. I'd recommend booking accommodation along the way or as you go, although you'd need to plan that carefully as some parts are quite remote and it would mean extra walking into the villages to get to accommodation. You could probably wild camp quite easily although it's illegal - but maybe avoid Grim's Ditch unless you are one of those ghost hunter people! On a personal level I feel my confidence has grown and that whilst not always wanting to do things alone I know now that I can and at the same time enjoy it as well. Of course having the pup means I'm not really alone, a dog makes you feel safe, makes you laugh, keeps you company and can be the thing that gets you chatting to other walkers. Also having a taxi service (Simon Preston) to pick me up and drop me off also meant I wasn't alone and didn't have the hassle of carrying all my stuff with me or massaging my own weary feet. On a practical level as the walk can be remote supplies are essentials as there's no local Mickey D's or Ice cream van. I put glucose tabs in my drinks and took lots of drinks for me and the pup. A sandwich suffices but I also took bananas and malt loaf to snack on and obviously the puppy needed food which he supplemented with his own snacks of sheep poo and discarded tissues. As I was on my own I made sure my phone was charged and took a power pack to top up the charge if it ran low, this proved a god send one day when Simon couldn't find me and I needed to give him extra information and my phone ran out of charge, without the extra power I would have been unable to direct him to me. Walking gear, well it was 30 degrees, whilst a bikini would have been nice I opted for shorts, t-shirts, walking boots and a hat. I had a jacket in my pack but didn't get it out once in the 10 days of walking. Confession - I wore the same shorts everyday as they were so comfortable and had big pockets. I also just whipped my shorts down without a care when I needed a pee, no point in finding a bush as no one was around! And finally maps, although the Ridgeway is really well signposted there were still a couple of occasions where it wasn't clear and I had to work things out. Having the trail guidebook was good as well as they give you lots of extra information and things to look out for along the route which you might otherwise miss. So special thanks go to Simon Preston for all the encouragement as well as nightly foot massages, endless cups of tea and being able to actually find me up tracks in the middle of nowhere.  Thanks too to my pup for being the best friend and showing me what a great walking companion he is going to make. And thoughts to my beautiful Barney who was missed every day of the walk, but who gave me my previous 15 years of walking adventures and good times. Without these my horizon of possibilities would be less.

'A horizon of possibilities means the entire spectrum of beliefs, practices and experiences that are open before a particular society, given its ecological, technological and cultural limitations. Each society and each individual usually explores only a tiny fraction of their horizons of possibilities' Sapiens - A Brief History of Humankind, Yuval Noah Harari.

[gloriousgardendonut]

[gloriousgardendonut]

Boats......

"Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats" - Ratty - Wind in the Willows. So we swapped the campervan for a boat  we have boated before in both cruisers and narrow boats and love it. In fact Simon has a long term plan to live on a boat…….oh as well as live in a mobile home…….oh and in a cottage that needs renovating……and finally on a plot of land where we actually build our house from scratch! We've boated before on the beautiful Norfolk Broads, once in summer, which is very busy, but amazing to see so many boats and once in Spring which was very quiet and more relaxing. We've also been on the Oxford Canal with the excitement of using locks but also the daily worry of not dropping the 'windlass' - that's the bit of equipment essential for opening the locks. We've also been on the Union Canal in Scotland via the engineering marvel that is the Falkirk Wheel - essentially a rotating boat lift that replaced a staircase of locks that took a lot of time and energy to navigate. Doing this in a barge was exciting and scary for those a little uncomfortable with heights. For this boat trip we started in Ely in Cambridgeshire with our boat hired from a boat yard on the Great River Ouse. Ely is a city but it feels like a market town. The cathedral is worth seeing inside and out, the architecture, paintings and fittings are spectacular. Only a short distance away from the centre is the river, which is a hive of activity for boaters and the locals. We spent a day and night in Ely walking along the river, site-seeing and trying the local bars and restaurants. We had one of those days when you blow the gap year budget because it's sunny, laid back and a relaxing place to be. We  made up for the little blow out by spending zilch for the following few days by staying on the boat and relying on the supplies from home - emergency pasta and gin cocktails (Portsmouth gin at that - a present from a friend on finishing work for the gap year - chin chin Jacque Ashton). The boat was a cruiser with two 'wee' cabins, one had seats and a mini kitchen and the other cabin had a bed a wash basin and separate compartment with shower and toilet. A tight space but palatial compared to the van. The compartments were separated by the central driving compartment, where we alternated the role of captain and ships mate throughout the week, although someone took the role of captain much more seriously than the other. The bed was a strange triangular shape with the head part under the bow of the boat (that's the front). On night one claustrophobia set in for me as the space was small, confined and difficult to get out of without doing a backflip. So whilst Simon stayed put, myself and the dog moved to the front compartment where you could convert the seats to two single beds. I had one, Skyler had the other…..until about 5am when Skyler decided he'd jump onto mine and we'd share - a tight squeeze but there's nothing quite as nice as a doggy spooning you. For a week we cruised at 4-7 miles an hour along the River Great Ouse and its tributaries the Little Ouse, Wissey, Lark and Brandon Creek. We also went along The Cam where you can go as far as Cambridge, but we had decided not to visit the bigger towns or cities on this particular trip. Boating is best enjoyed if you sit back and just watch the views go by. As a commuter I spend 2-3 hours a day travelling along the motorways and busy roads of Lancashire, often on autopilot with the main objective of getting from A to B as quickly as possible; A and B being home and work. I spend little time taking in the scenery as a matter of safety. With a small boat it's very different,  there's not a lot you can do other than chill out and spend a lot of time looking at the scenery. Once you do that you begin to see in great detail the views, the wildlife and nature in action. Swans teaching their signets the ways of the river, cows chewing the cud and flicking their tails, herons watching majestically from the banks, dragon flies frantically chasing your boat, ripples shimmering and breaking against the waterlilies and disturbing for a second the stillness of the yellow flowers sprouting from them. The vistas stretch for miles across fields with tiny villages recognisable by their church spires poking out on the horizon and then suddenly the vistas disappear and you are enclosed by reeds or trees of every variety, shaded but penetrated by flashes of sunlight. Every so often there is the excitement of a bridge - or rather getting the boat through it without hitting the sides. Then comes the mooring up!!!! Mooring is actually a simple task if logic is used and all remain calm -  steer the boat in, knock off the power, secure the front end and then secure the back end, job done. Alas, for us mooring seems to cause a lot of tension, a row often errupts with choice language, raised voices and a lot of disagreement about who's fault it was the mooring didn't go to plan! Arguments aside there is something really lovely about being tied to the river bank, knowing you are there for the night far from civilisation in the peace and tranquility of the countryside all 'alone'. That is unless you listen to local folklore which can make you a bit nervous about the 'alone' bit. Local folklore has it that at night out on the paths near the waterways and fens of Cambridgeshire and Norfolk there is a ghostly presence known as the 'Black Shuck'. Described as a large black hound with red eyes as big as saucers that prowls about howling so as to make your blood run cold. Apparently though there are tales of the Shuck helping out the fairer sex who may find themselves  lost in the fens and that he has on occasion  guided them back to the safety of the villages. I could find no details though on what he does to men, making Simon a little nervous when conveniently I was already cosy on my PJs when he had to take Skyler out on the dark mooring for his before-bed pee…………ARH-WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Of course you don't need to sleep out in the middle of nowhere with wild beasties. Along the rivers and canals are pretty villages and pubs where you can enjoy the local hospitality, often these moorings are busier with other boaters and locals so there is that sense of safety in numbers if you don't like being in more secluded places. Littleport is one such place, an hour or so up the river from Ely, we stayed there on our first night, crossing a little bridge from our mooring to the Swan on the River,where we had a few glasses of the amber nectar and a lovely meal. Word of warning though, remember you are on a river and you need to be able to walk in a straight line at closing time back to your mooring, otherwise you'll be getting a bit closer to those waterlilies mentioned earlier than you hoped. Of course being on the boat doesn't mean just looking out and doing nothing, being on the boat is a perfect time to indulge in pastimes you might not get a lot of time to do in your busy working week. There's talking, reading, writing,  playing games, taking photos, drawing, painting, maybe like me learning sailing knots and discovering local folklore. Cruising for 3-4 hours a day seemed about right for us as it gives you the opportunity to do some off boat activities too.  Off the boat you can potter around the local area or walk for miles along the river paths (essential for doggy owners - remember the dog needs to pee and unless very clever can't cock their leg over the side). We are suckers for pots of tea and cakes at the village tea rooms and love to get a little mellow at the local pubs. Whilst cruising you may also come across a local markets, village fetes or visitor attractions. We visited Denver Sluice Complex, a historically controversial piece of waterway engineering built to prevent the often catastrophic flooding of the villages and fens around the rivers in  this low level part of the country. Historically this lock and sluice system didn't meet the need it was intended for and blame was put on insufficient funding and miscalculations in its engineering structures (even John Rennie had a go). This resulted in more flooding and difficulties for village and boating trades over many years. Now it is in working order and whilst some feel it is still not as a good as it should be it has prevented further widespread flooding of the area. As for the traditional boating trades, as seen with many other areas across the country an increase in rail and road networks has meant a decline in these trades leaving the rivers free for mainly leisure boating. The railways are definitely evident in the area as the lines cross the river in several places and we did moor up very near the train line on a couple of occasions. Not everyones cup of tea, but we both love the sound of trains and watching with  interest the origins of the freight on the freight trains, these often come from far and wide reminding us of how big the world is away from our boat and little piece countryside mooring. It was strange (van owners will understands this),  but I felt a little guilty abandoning the campervan for a boat at the beginning of the week.  However, by the end of the week we were sad to be leaving the boat behind after such a relaxing week and would have loved to carry on for longer, but boating is not cheap unless you own the boat of course. We agreed as we left that if we ever got a boat it would be a barge rather than a cruiser, with a tiller and not a wheel, the bed would be big and square, not a triangle and we'd have our mooring on the river not in a marina, it would be next to a field and a railway line with a short walk to the village tea shop and pub. Simon as always has begun  researching this and will shortly bombard me with results in his bid to go and live on a boat. Unfortunately he is a hoarder and you can't live on a boat if you are a hoarder, so I have given him a load of charity bags in a bid to get him to have a clear out….. Watch this space!!!! One good thing about getting home was having the luxury of a proper bed to sleep in, although for the fist night I seemed to retain a sense of gentle rocking like I was still on the boat, but maybe that was Skyler pushing his luck and wriggling in for a spoon!!! So again with the words of Toad from Wind in the Willows it's back to the magnificent van (cart) for our next adventure in the gap year.

"There’s real life for you, embodied in that little cart. The open road, the dusty highway, the heath, the common, the hedgerows, the rolling downs! Camps, villages, towns, cities! Here today, up and off to somewhere else tomorrow! Travel, change, interest, excitement! The whole world before you, and a horizon that’s always changing! And mind, this is the very finest cart of its sort that was ever built, without any exception."

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The 50 list at age 50. Almost completed in the year with effort and commitment 

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Swimming with sharks and photo’s the old fashioned way! 

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It’s not just about travelling

When I decided to do a gap year, one question I was regularly asked was 'are you going away for the full year'. When I planned to do the gap year my idea was to do a good amount of travelling but not for the whole year. Rather I wanted to spend some of the time doing the things I felt I never had time to do whilst working full time. So part of the plan was to spend more time on existing interests and hobbies and to try new things as well. Whilst still working I started a hobby jar and every time I thought about something I'd like to do during the gap year I wrote it on a piece of paper and put it in the jar. I did a similar thing for my 50th year, choosing 50 things I wanted to achieve. With a lot of effort  and commitment my list was almost completed in that year , with just a few things left to try and do later. But interestingly the following year/last year I reverted back to not really having goals or things to achieve and quickly felt like I was back on a treadmill.

I have often contemplated what it would be like to retire (not that I want to be old before my time) and thought about how I would fill my days. I can remember thinking that I would have no trouble filling my time if I was lucky enough not to have to work, but actually when I really thought about it I realised that I wasn't actually actively pursuing as many personal hobbies or interests in my spare time as I'd like to and started to wonder if in fact I would get bored with no work taking up so much of my time. Whilst at work I was always busy and often juggling lots of things. Then in the two days a week I was off work my time was often taken up with family and social commitments, walking the dogs and 'pottering'. Whilst this was enjoyable to a certain extent I recognised that I never had any real time to myself for being thoughtful or creative or for actively pursuing goals like I had done in my 50th year. During that year I had revisited drawing, painting, writing stories,  poetry and crafting. I had ventured out and visited historic or interesting  places, attended sports and music events and even swam with sharks.

I  love reading and exploring new ideas yet I felt like my mind was not being stimulated in new ways. I also started to feel like I spent too long on social media which I love in regard to interactions with friends but also realised endless scrolling could  take me away sometimes from actually 'doing' things. That said 'blogging' is now a new hobby started mainly from encouragement by friends and family to keep them posted on what I was doing in the gap year. Although I enjoy writing and trying to be funny and interesting, I'd not previously thought of channelling that into a blog. Just creating the blog itself made me have to think and work something out which was stimulating in itself. The real challenge though is actually writing it and finding stuff to say that people might want to read (…..oh god I hope someone does find it interesting!). So thinking about the gap year I knew I would need to get a balance. Having an active mind I can spend lots of time jumping from one thing to another and never really focusing or deciding even on what to do, this is frustrating and can cause me to feel deflated and lost. I then feel angry about wasting time procrastinating. Yet I can also be super productive when I set my mind to it being  pro -active and focused and getting lots done. Again working long hours I realised that a lot of the proactive stuff was work related  rather than in my personal life. I suppose I felt I needed to come through the gap year knowing what I really enjoyed and wanted to pursue and what I could leave alone. Of course at the commencement of the gap year I lost my beloved dog - Barney and what followed in the weeks proceeding was an enormous need to seek out photos and reminisce. Whilst overwhelmed with grief I also took great comfort from looking back and seeing Barney's full and active life in photographs, this got me rummaging through boxes of photographs spanning my whole life. I quickly started to sort these out getting rid of duplicates or the really rubbish ones (who remembers the joy of getting your photos developed at Boots, the anticipation of opening the packet, lucky if half a dozen of the 24 exposures on the camera roll were any good).

For 3 weeks I sorted and then scrap -booked hundreds of photos, I realised I had a new hobby - scrapbooking !! That done I then started getting more creative collaging digital photos using a collaging app and having them printed in photo books - I have told myself that this was wise in the event of the Internet one day disappearing in a puff of smoke and all digital files being lost into the ether (so the conspiracy theory goes). I had also begun to philosophise that having these physical and visual artefacts would be useful in case of memory loss as I got older making excellent therapy. Old photos are often used for dementia patients to stimulate pleasurable long term memories and replacing the distress of short term memory loss.

So blogging, scrap booking, digital photo collaging is just the start. With time on my hands I've also been reading, gardening, crafting and sewing. I do great walks everyday with my puppy, listen to the radio and play music as often I like. I also felt inspired to get  my water colours out whilst in Ireland, I know I'm not great at painting, but having the time to sit, look out, and try to paint something is a pleasure in itself even if the end product is only exhibited to your nearest and dearest who will tell you anyway that it is brilliant out of loyalty and pity !!! The interesting thing is that 2 months in to the gap year and keeping busy with travel and all the things talked about above, I haven't actually been in the hobby jar yet. I'm saving it for a rainy day - literally !!!

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Barney - with us in spirit X 

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From one way to the next

We started our Campervan journey in Kinsale and finished in Muff (😃),  the official start and finish of the Wild Atlantic Way (WAW). What a fabulous journey from start to finish. I would recommend it as a must for anyone who loves to explore wild and rugged seascapes. The Wild Atlantic Way Route Atlas (Xplorit) is a must guide book, it has everything you need: detailed maps, discovery points, GPS, distance charts, mountains, rivers, lakes and forests. It helps you plan your journey well (thank you Helen for lending us your copy). Remember though, the way is 2500 miles long, whilst there is a general route, there are lots of offshoots as well. We spent 2 weeks on the route and did approximately 1400 miles. We saw numerous spectacular sites and so many areas with breathtaking scenery.  We did have to miss some key sites and rush through some regions more than we would have liked in order to drive from South to the North successfully in the time we had. Along the way you pass through 7 counties - Cork, Kerry, Clare, Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Donegal, each is unique and has loads to offer so if you want to do the whole route it may be worth splitting your time 7 ways. My favourite counties were Cork and Kerry, whilst Simon's was Donegal, but all of them have lots to offer. The roads are well signposted for the WAW and clearly point out whether you are travelling (N) or (S), so it is hard to go off track compass point wise, but with all the offshoots you could end up going sideways a lot and not moving forward, that's why it's key to plan your route at the beginning of each day, so that you choose what you want to see and get to your end of day destination in time as well. Whilst some of the roads are good a lot are rough, narrow and windy, again, it takes you a lot longer than normal to do miles if you have to keep slowing down or stopping to let other vehicles pass. Simon described the roads thus: M-marvellous, N- nice, R - rubbish and L- lousy.  I only had 2 mishaps though, first a dispute with a coach when I tried to turn round next to a gate on a single track road as I didn't think I could get past, but I hit the gate before realising there was a passing place next to the coach. One of those moments when the coach driver in question smiles and shrugs at you when you drive alongside and try to apologise for holding things up so long, but actually because they shrug so smugly you decide you'd like to smack them on the nose instead. Second was a diversion that took us 20 miles out of our way and then through a village packed with cars for an event that caused the diversion in the first place. In the chaos I managed to scrape a parked vehicle but naughtily just carried on my way as stopping seemed impossible without causing even more chaos. I felt guilty for several hours after, but then got over it when I convinced myself the car was stupid for parking in the middle of the village anyway when there was so much mayhem. As our mode of transport was a Campervan, we used campsites most of the time, but also tried to get a few freebies in along the way by using  Britstops and Irish Aires, these are either spots you can park up free or for a small charge. Facilities are usually limited so you need to plan to not rely on electric hook up, have your water topped up and your toilet empty or you may come a cropper. If you weren't camping there are lots of B&Bs and hotels along the route as well. There is also an abundance of pubs on the way, in fact this is very different to the UK where village pubs have been on the decline in recent years. Even in the most remote villages there seems to be at least one or more pubs. Music is also big along the way with most bars advertising music events at some point in the week. The only down side for us was that a lot of the pubs don't allow dogs, until very recently there was actually a law in Southern Ireland banning dogs from anywhere that sold food or drink. This law has recently been repealed, but we found that still not everyone is as accommodating of dogs as back in the UK. Saying that lots of people were dog friendly and we often had people coming over to stroke Skyler and comment on what a lovely dog he was. We were also able to take Skyler on all the beaches we visited and there didn't seem to be any restrictions. As well as plenty of bars, there was also usually a petrol station, café and either a Centra or Supervalu supermarkets in most villages  so you shouldn't be left without provisions for too long. The weather along the way was very changeable through May, we had sun, wind and rain at various points, one minute it was shorts-weather the next you needed full waterproofs. Luckily we had packed for this and so just layered up or down through the day as needed. Remember too, Southern Ireland uses kilometres rather than miles, this actually works to your advantage as in your head you are still thinking in milage and so get to the place you are going quicker. Returning to dogs, either leash laws don't apply or people do not adhere to them, we saw many dogs off leash and a few not even with their owners but running loose along roads, in fact two dogs nearly ran under the wheels of the Campervan, this was quite stressful as you wouldn't want to add 'killing a dog' on your list of things to do in Ireland. Finally, may be worth noting that all along the way there were posters on lampposts promoting either a 'yes' or ' no' vote on the abortion law. The Irish government has agreed to hold a referendum at the end of May on whether to reform the country's near total ban on abortion. The vote will decide whether to repeal a constitutional amendment that effectively bans terminations. Currently abortion is only allowed when a woman's life is at risk, but not in cases of rape, incest or fatal foetal abnormality. As a nurse working with and supporting young adults in the UK around this decision and where women have the right to choose, it is thought provoking to think how I would do my job in Ireland where there is strong opposition and traditional values around this issue. Touring the Wild Atlantic Way in Southern Ireland has been fantastic, we would highly recommend it. It needs time though as it is long and full of amazing sites that can't be rushed. As this is our Gap Year we have also now got the chance to visit Northern Ireland and so as we ended the WAW we started the Causeway Coastal Route from Derry to Belfast. The first day we stayed at Ballyness Campsite in Bushmills and walked along the old steam railway line and then cliffs to The Giants Causeway, rain aside another spectacular day visiting a world heritage site and for me another one of my things to do at 50 ticked off (2 years late, but better late than never). Tomorrow we swap the van for a hotel and visit Belfast for 2 days.

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Missing Barney, being consoled by Skyler X 

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The 6 regions of The Wild Atlantic Way, just starting the last bit - The Northern Headlands before touring Northern Ireland. 

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Gap Year Trip 2018 - Ireland continued

Week 2 - Summerfields campsite in Schull is a tiny and quirky campsite, a back garden really, we shared it with 2 vans the first night but had it all to ourselves the second night. May seems to be quiet on the campsites, yet all the main sites on the Way seemed busy, we wondered if summer would be more difficult to do the route. It took a lot of focused and considerate driving along the route and you don't get anywhere fast on the smaller roads, it is probably much more difficult in busier seasons. We'd planned to have a meal and a few beers in a local pub in the evening we arrived in Schull, but as none of the local pubs were adhering to the recently repealed 'dogs in pubs law' we got a big fat no at each of them. Luckily my daughter had contributed an Aldi shop as a gift on our departure and so we had lots of stuff in tins and packets back in the van to create a gourmet meal - tuna pasta is great when you're tired and hungry, it's also cheap. Next day we decided to head out on foot and did a 6 mile circular walk around Schull, first along the lovely coast and then back across the hilly back roads. Interestingly there seems to be a lot of property development or new building happening in some of the remote areas. Many properties were opting for big picture windows, well you would if you had the view here. It made us realise though that before central heating, these old properties would have relied on small windows and thick stone walls to keep that wild Atlantic wind out, they probably also shared with their livestock as well, probably similar to me with my sheepskin throw when it's a bit chilly in the van. As the sun came out we finished the day with a BBQ and a few beers - news from home was that the UK was expecting a heat wave and that temperatures would soar to compete with Ibiza, unfortunately,top temperatures bypassed Ireland and our Way remained The WILD Atlantic and chilly Way! Next day we soldiered on to Dursey Island in the drizzle and wind to experience the only Cable car in Ireland, I was a little unsure at first if Simon would brave it but as it was the only route onto the island he agreed to give it a go despite his fear of heights. With a 600 foot drop into Dursey Sound and the wind picking up Simon reluctantly faced his fears and boarded the cable car. His face was a picture for the first few minutes as fear set in and I must admit I felt a bit nervous too. We weren't sure which was worse, the rickety cable stanchions, the flimsy sliding doors or the jolt forward as you went through the stanchion that gave you a sense that you were about to fall into the water below. We survived though, the island was wild and remote but beautiful. We only stayed a short time but in that time managed a short walk with the dog held tightly. A sign at arrival on the island said 'dogs will be shot if off the road'. The woman operating the cable car assured us dogs are not usually shot. With a live dog and feeling a sense of achievement we caught the cable car back and continued on our way. We arrived next at Sneem Aire for the night and after pitching up walked into the village for a few well earned beers in the local hostelries. Sneem has an abundance of pubs and restaurants but is very small, there seems to be places like this along the route, yet other small villages with very few if no facilities. Next day being a bit behind time we had to cut across the Dingle Peninsula - a place we had visited previously when staying in Killarney but didn't have time to revisit on this trip. The WAW is long and whilst there is a South to North route or vice verse, there are also lots of off-shoots around coves and peninsulas, if you were a purist it would take a lot longer than three weeks to complete every little bit of it. Whilst we tried to take in all the key signature points, we quickly realised we had to miss lots of bits too, this didn't matter as we felt that every area we visited had something spectacular to offer and we encountered dramatic views all along the way. So onward from the dramatic scenery of County Cork and Kerry we caught the ferry that crosses the River Shannon from Tarbert to Kilrush and a short drive onwards we arrived at the seaside town of Kilkeel. We had planned another free night at a Brit Stop located next to the sea near Diamond Rocks Café. When we arrived the place was very busy with Bank Holiday weekenders and we'd hoped to use the café, but it closed as we arrived so instead we headed off along the long sandy beach to the town for a few provisions. The town is made up mainly of bars and as it was bank holiday weekend so plenty of people were partaking of the liquor and the atmosphere seemed lively. Back at the van the view was fantastic, just a little wall between us and the sea and the Atlantic waves crashing against the rocks. All seemed well and slowly over the evening the day trippers started to leave the car park. By 11pm we were the only vehicle in the car park. But something felt wrong, I could see Simon was watching vehicles coming and going with curiosity and knowing him well knew he was beginning to get twitchy. He had noticed a car coming very close to the back of the van and looking at it, then a van circled us twice. I got out and they drove slowly away. As Bradley Walsh always says on 'The Chase' always trust your gut. Our gut was telling us we were being watched but we were unsure if it was the campervan or the expensive bike on the rack either way we felt unsafe where we were. We were isolated really at the end of the beach road and an easy target, had there been other Brit Stoppers we'd have felt safer but there wasn't, so at nearly midnight we decided to pack up and move on. This meant us driving on unlit and bendy roads unsure of where we were headed. Luckily part way through the night we found a marina car park and pulled in there. Anyone who drives a campervan will know, that when you put the bed down at night loads of 'stuff' gets chucked in the front seats especially for us as we have a dog cage in there with a dog in. Packing up in the night meant our pull out bed had to be put away to accommodate the dog and cage, so at the marina where there were other vans with people in bed, we realised we couldn't get the bed out as we'd have made too much noise. So with Simon spread across the front seats and a gear stick prodding in his nether regions and me in the back seat sat up but sliding off the seat every two minutes into a dog cage, sleep was difficult. By 5:30 we couldn't stand the discomfort any longer so got up and moved on towards Galway. Interestingly one of the main signature points of the WAW are the Cliffs of Moher, which are supposed to be spectacular and a must see. During our night relocation we initially drove up to the cliffs visitor centre in the hope we could park there and get to see them the next morning. Unfortunately, we found the centre was cordoned off for improvement work and temporarily closed, this meant no overnight parking and us missing out on what is considered one of the best parts of the Wild Atlantic Way. We decided however that we could tick off we'd been but only as far as the car. Next day we did wonder how close to the edge we were on that precarious little road in the dark! So having been but not seen the cliffs we headed on to Galway in search of 'something' that would give us back a sense of normality. Most of the West of Ireland goes through small villages and towns, were facilities are limited out of 9-5 hours, we were also into the early hours of Bank Holiday Monday so felt going into Galway would be fruitless for refreshments or supplies but maybe a very good way to see the city and its architecture without competing with traffic jams and busy city folk. Indeed it delivered that, Galway at 5:30 in the morning in a campervan is a beautiful city it has the famous bay of course, but also a marina, historic buildings, parks, and quant shopping streets. But most relevant to our predicament at that point in time was not history or culture but a modern day retail park and those big beautiful Golden Arches we spotted from a distance. Our faces lit up when we realised that despite the hour we were about to partake in breakfast McMuffins, hash browns and lashings of tea - ah thank goodness for Micky D's! Fully refreshed we left Galway and headed to our next campsite stop - Eco Beach near Clifden. Martha and the Muffins van singalong over, we settled in to 2 days of relaxation. This campsite is wild, remote and on the beach - perfect for kicking back. We spent two days, walking the dog on the beach, reading, talking and just looking out at the sea. Oh and one mile down the beach at Claddaghduff is Sweeney's Bar, where we had a Guinness and the best Seafood Chowder for lunch. Also of note was that we were allowed 'inside' with our dog, renewing our faith in Irish dog friendly pubs that had been dashed in Schull. As well as the beautiful sweeping beach you can cross a causeway to Omey Island famous for its last permanent resident being a stunt man on James Bond films and for a horse racing meetings on the beach. Whilst at Eco Beach, Simon managed a peaceful cycle ride around the local area, whist I felt inspired to paint a water colour of the bay sat at the back of the van. Next we headed further along "those twisting, turning, winding roads of Galway and Mayo" (Saw Doctors van singalong) ....to Westport, having lunch on the pretty harbour and then on to Achill Island and camping almost on the beach and next to the local surf club. Surf was definitely up and we headed straight out for an almost horizontal walk along the windy beach, bracing as it was the views again were spectacular, Clare Island in the distance, some of the steepest sea cliffs in Europe either side of the bay and Slievemore mountain lurking magnificently in the background. After a van tea, we spent a few hours curled up just looking out at the bay and what made us smile most were the mummy sheep pottering along with their little lambs in tow. Next day we headed out for a 7 mile loop walk along an ancient track under Slievemore Mountain to visit the 'Deserted Village' An archeological area dating back to the Neolithic period 5000 years ago, the village itself has 80 plus derelict cottages and pasture land dating back to Medieval times. It is a tranquil but haunting site. Stepping inside one of the buildings with the remains of its thick stone walls you could imagine the shelter they brought to a hard working and isolated community on the wild Atlantic hillsides. We were grateful arriving back in Achill for a pot of tea and a slice of Banoffee Pie at the Beehive Craft and Tea Shop. So another week almost completed on our Ireland trip. Whilst this week has been amazing and we are having the time of our lives, there hasn't been a day when I haven't thought about and missed Barney. You see, van life, hills, beaches and adventure were his thing and not having him by my side is difficult. But I do now have Skyler and luckily he is loving this life too and proving to be a wonderful companion, although he keeps us on our toes with his energy and spirit. But what's most interesting is that when I feel sad about Barney he seems to know and comes to snuggle up to me.

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Well, you don't expect that when you step out of your camper van at 6:30am !