Terrafirma Travels

To Poole for the morning, lucky to get unrestricted parking on the Quay; there aren't many spaces now a lot is pedestrianised. Walked the Quay admiring, or curling our lip, at the boats. RNLI Museum in old launch building closed. Saw the lifting bridge open, holding traffic for 10 minutes just for a single modest yacht - could have been Holland! Walked up the High St, first two charity shops closed, oh no! But further on L was spoilt for choice but unlike yday didn't buy anything. We paid homage to the Old railway bridge and returned through slight showers to make lunch in the van while watching the Pilot and Harbour Master and Police boats come and go - probably their lunchtime too. Bit of chilling and bit of investigation of ferries to Outer Hebrides (!), and it was time to move on via a very slow trundle around Poole Park to Renée in Sandbanks. A nice surprise awaited us - Roma and her son Adrian. Much reminiscing and old stories, some repeated but still good to hear. Despit...

Up to Blandford via Bere Regis and Winterbourne Kingston, parked in Ham park. River looks terribly choked with plants. Bought a few things in Morrisons. Arrived in Crown Hotel at 11 on the dot. I would not have recognised Brian until he spoke, but he obviously knew me. Val with husband John - again I'd have passed in the street. Martin very recognisable. L and I had seen Martin in the market, perhaps 15 years ago, the others not for more than 50 years. We had coffee and reminisced while looking through the photos I brought from Mum's albums. Martin had to go. We moved on to lunch, which was excellent quality. Anecdotes abounded. Said goodbyes with promises to make it an annual event, and a WhatsApp group to keep in touch. I went for a wander while L hit charity shops. Went to old footpath that led to Infants School - 5yo terrors; lean-to garage that Dad used 60 years ago  - still there; old flat above Eastmans butchers where I stayed with Gran & Phoof when Mum & Dad we...

28 July 2025: Finally arranged the meet-up with old friends from Blandford days, triggered by writing to them after Mum died. Forecast suggest today is only decent weather, so drove straight to Studland. Found a great halfway stop on the faster route, Millers farm shop at Kilmington.  Managed to squeeze the van in the car park behind the huts. Said hello to people in Mum's old hut; Richard & Judy have had it since Mum sold it. Richard did some work on it for Mum before that so they remembered her and were delighted to meet us - lovely chat.  Had a 20 minute swim, so warm. Beach busy but not unbearably. Ice cream, stroll, tea. Really hot.  Hunters Moon is a CAMC site on the Bere Regis road, north of Wareham. V organised, clean ... and busy. Took some care choosing pitch given thunderstorm forecast, and given we'll be here 4 nights. It was pizza night, so we succumbed. Delicious. 

Up at 6. Away by 0710. Smooth boarding. No checks at all! Noone ever looked st passports. Remembered to turn off van's motion alarm. L braved long queue for cooked breakfast.  Spent a lovely couple of hours with Becks and crew on our way. Mixed feelings about going home; a slight Moitessier effect of wanting to keep on touring, versus the attractions of home kitchen and bed. Definitely fancy coming back and doing the WAW up to Jude in C Mayo. Here's a random pic from Dartmoor outing with Katherine & Pete a week later ... we had the follow this pony and her foal for half a mile until they could turn off.

Drove straight through Tipperary (and no, it was not a long way) and on to Waterford, to park by the River Suir, hopefully not as dirty as it sounds. Looked v muddy. Waterford is all about the Vikings who founded it, with repro longships and much promotion of the Viking chief Ragnald, aka Reginald. Yes, unlikely name, isn't it. A photo was taken of Nic posing as the bloodthirsty Reg.  Waterford is also famous for the marriage btw Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke, and Aoife, daughter of the King of Leinster, in 1170, a strategic alliance which was said to be the start of the Norman influence on Ireland - we sat in their thrones.  We found a shirt and a swimsuit in the Vincent's charity shop - more stuff to pack away! We saw lots of yachts moored on the river Suir, and a heron on a river bank. And there were numerous amazing murals everywhere. Waterford is famous for them. We had a quick look in the Church of Ireland cathedral, and then it was on the road to Rosslare, to our last cam...

We've had no condensation in the van all trip, despite the wet weather - summer campervanning is easier. Also only used the heater one morning for 30 mins, and that was more to exercise it as per manual. The kids last night were a real noisy pain, huge football game with screaming past 10pm - feeble parenting. This site seems to attract kids, so avoid it in future. L's turn to start today, through Tralee and north following the WAW as usual. First stop the ruined cathedral of St Brendan at Ardfert, which was splendid in its melancholy state. The young man from OPW was very earnest and knowledgeable so we learned about the phases of building from 10th C onwards and the adventures of St Brendan the Navigator who 'may' have discovered America 200 years before Columbus and started twenty or so monasteries all over Ireland - truly the entrepreneur of the 13th C. In Ardfert we found the perfect little cafe with tasty coffee and wonderful scones. Then on round Kerry Head with ...

As we packed up to leave the campsite, we had forgotten our plan to toddle a short distance to the Gallarus Oratory, a 1200 year old stone church, cleverly built to resemble an upturned boat. When we did remember, we in our seatbelts, were ready to leave. So we sighed, drove around the corner and there it was. (Perhaps our shortest journey so far.) It is a remarkable building. There's a door and a single small window, angled to let in light and keep out rain. It's dark and quiet inside, and you think of the monks who prayed here in the Dark Ages. Seamus Heaney wrote about it, as 'a core of old dark'. He imagined the monks leaving the confined oratory to the wild brightness of nature outside, their faith renewed: 'the sea a censer, the grass a flame'. Nic then drove us northward up the very steep Connor Pass. He likes twisty roads. At the top is a spectacular viewing area full of cars and campervans, with a great swathe of curving white beaches, green mountains a...