Tag: Road trip

The road to Doolin 🇮🇪

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After receiving recommendations from our Irish experts Becky and Sheena, we packed up our car with all our camping gear and embarked on our trip to Ireland. We are very new to camping, so a massive shout out to Rachel and Sallyanne for lending us the gear, and to my Mum for coming on the many trips to B&M and Home Bargains to help us find affordable utensils (thank god for ‘starting uni’ prices). To avoid an early start and a long drive, we stayed at a Travelodge in Holyhead the night before sailing. After a good night’s rest, we began our day with a McDonald’s breakfast before boarding the Irish Ferry. Surprisingly, we had booked the fast ferry, so we reached Dublin in just over 2 hours. From there, we drove to Doolin, one of Co. Clare’s most popular villages, where we stayed for the next 2 nights. After navigating through the busiest service station we’d ever been to, some incredibly narrow roads, a man with a big beard telling us to fuck off, and what felt like a thousand tolls, we finally arrived at the campsite.

It turns out trying to get a tent up in the wind is incredibly difficult! And as soon as we had it erected, the heavens opened, and so came the next challenge of trying to get everything from the car into the tent. Thank god for the cheap full length waterproof from Shein! It was Mark’s turn to be chef tonight, and I was treated to the driest carbonara I have ever had (unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of this glorious feast) whilst watching the Olympic closing ceremony. After a quick drink at the local pub, we settled into the tent for our first night of sleep.. and what a noisy night it was! The weather was wild, with wind, rain, thunder, and lightning. At 3am I found myself on booking.com and Airbnb trying to find any sort of alternative accommodation for the following night. We were concerned we would wake up with a floppy tent on top of us, but to our surprise, it held up well, and we woke up dry and surprisingly warm.

We had breakfast outside, and I provided Mark with an equally questionable meal of fried egg sarnie (tried to flip it.. cheap spatula = botched yolk). The weather looked promising, so we decided to visit the Cliffs of Moher. The website recommends booking for people monitoring purposes, but judging by the crowded car park, it seems they want as much money as possible! Finding a parking spot was a nightmare, with cars abandoned everywhere because there was literally nowhere to park. Thankfully, we managed to squeeze in behind a campervan and joined the crowds over at the cliffs. 

Car park queue…

The visitors centre was rammed, and so was the start of the cliff walk. The path is quite narrow (with plenty of people who don’t say thank you for letting them past – this absolutely boils my piss!) however, the crowds soon thinned out and we were able to fully appreciate the beauty of the cliffs. 

Here’s some trivia about the cliffs – they reach up to 214 meters in height at their highest point and stretch on for 5 miles. They have been featured in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Leap Year, and that terrible film Irish Wish. It is also a hot spot for flora and fauna, with as many as 20 different species of birds. We enjoyed the rugged and dramatic landscape and the jaw-dropping cliffs. We are glad we visited. However, it is far too busy, with the giant visitors complex, and the continuous 4.5-foot flagstone slabs set 15 feet from the cliff edge to stop silly people from getting too close somewhat ruins the experience. It’s ironic – a tourist complaining about tourists – but it’s true. A place that was once just like any other coastal walk is now being commercialized to the extent that its magic is being stripped away.

As the weather was still glorious, we decided to go to the beach. Lahinch’s crescent-shaped sandy beach attracts people from around the world due to its watersports and surf centre. Since neither of us can surf, we opted for a pizza and sat on the rocks to watch the pros in action. Then we continued along the coast to Spanish Point and grabbed some drinks while listening to a local musician playing the guitar. As the adults weren’t giving him much attention, he asked a group of children what they would like to hear instead.. so we were treated to the wheels on the bus! After refreshing ourselves, we went for a walk to watch the waves crashing along the cliffs. We ended the day with a BBQ, and just as the meat was ready, it started to rain! Fortunately, it was only a brief shower, so we were still able to enjoy the famous Irish beef.

It was another windy night (not just from Mark!), and we knew it must have been bad for the campsite owner to walk past the tent and say, “You survived!” Now came the task of packing away the tent and making everything fit back in the car. Luckily, it wasn’t as long and painful as we thought, so we treated ourselves to a quick look around Doolin and a coffee before the long drive to Galway.

Day 2 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

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This morning, I woke up to my car absolutely caked in bird poo… the joys of the seaside! At least the gulls are in the right place though, and not trying to get a maccies out of the bin by the Guildhall in Worcester. We knew the weather wouldn’t be on our side today, so planned a day with easy access to cafes and bars should we need to take shelter.

Cove harbour A hidden gem and an absolute treat! There are signs up saying please don’t post this place on social media.. but I’m assuming that’s more for someone who is an actual influencer 🤣 Cove has been a haven for fisherman since the 17th century, and is still in use today by a couple of small boats. There are no facilities here, and that includes no toilets. Luckily Santa was able to hold his bladder on this occasion… but the complete lack of anything means it’s the perfect place to just sit and admire the scenery and listen to the lapping of the waters. On one side are the pier houses, which are no longer lived in and only used to house fishing equipment. On the other side, once you’ve braved the pitch black tunnel, is a small beach. It’s such a stunning area, and the small car park perched on the cliff top means only a few groups of people can be there at any one time.

Oldhamstocks This was a special visit for Momma to find the final resting place of her great great aunt, who had a farm in the area. Luckily, one of the residents has put together a graveyard map, meaning we were able to find it relatively quickly. It’s a small hidden village full of history and an unusually high proportion of buildings listed for their architectural merit.

Dunbar According to ‘Visit Scotland’ website, Dunbar is “The town is renowned for its high sunshine record.” Obviously, for the entire time we were there, it rained 🤣 so we took shelter in a cafe, and I ordered a cream tea. The waitress came back a few minutes later to let us know they had run out of cream, and they were popping to the shop to get some more. What arrived was actually whipping cream and not clotted cream! So I did the English thing, had a little moan, but then told her everything was lovely. One of Dunbar’s attractions is its ruined castle perched at the entrance to the harbour. Once one of the strongest fortresses in Scotland, it is now a collapsed heap with only a small part remaining. It also has a battery, which offers great views out over the Forth of Firth, and an RNLI shop where Santa got elbow deep in a bucket of balls, and got 12 for £1.50!! If you enjoy a ‘live laugh love’ type quote, there’s the John Muir birthplace museum (free!) which is another great rain dodger to learn about the OG nature man.

Tantallon Castle We spotted this ruin from the road and decided to pull in for a closer look. We very nearly didn’t go in, because the weather was still shite and it was £7.50pp.. however it turns out English Heritage members get in for free, so we were straight through the gate! Tantallon is said to be the last truly great castle built in Scotland. It was besieged by Oliver Cromwell in 1651, and the army caused such destruction that the medieval fortress was abandoned after this last attack. There’s also great views of Bass Rock and lighthouse – home to the largest gannet colony in the world, earning it Sir David Attenborough’s claim to be one of the ‘wildlife wonders of the world’. There is a large part of the ruins still open to explore, so was definitely worth the entrance fee that we didn’t have to pay 🤣

North Berwick Boasting lovely beaches, coastal scenery, colourful buildings and the Scottish Seabird Centre, we really loved North Berwick. They are very rubbish conscious, and everywhere you look, they’ve made art out of all litter found on the beach. It also has plenty of cute shops, but unfortunately, with it being late on Sunday, most of these were closed. We did find an open charity shop, where Santa purchased more balls. The lack of open shops meant one thing.. the pub! We found a fabulous watering hole with plenty of taps and enjoyed the relaxation after a busy day exploring.

We finished the day by watching England win their first game in the Euros in a very local pub and a spot of seal spotting in Eyemouth harbour.

JOG to Durness 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

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We woke up to a glorious morning, and decided to have breakfast at one of the cafés in JOG. Most were actually closed 🤦🏼‍♀ but that seems to be the case on Monday’s when the season is beginning to wind down. Mark enjoyed a fry-up, complete with tattie scones and haggis!

Dunnet head Our first stop today was another lighthouse. But not any old lighthouse! It’s the lighthouse at the most northerly point of mainland Britain. A lighthouse fact – it has a range of 23 miles and flashes white 4 times every 30 seconds. In previous times it was run by a series of lighthouse keepers, whose job after dusk was to keep watch in the lightroom and ensure that the light flashed correctly and to character. How many times can you say lighthouse in one paragraph… It’s also an RSPB site as it’s home to many seabirds. But again.. we had another very poor seabird show. Another exciting thing about Dunnet head is it has a trig point. So that’s another one bagged in our trig bagging quest. We were really lucky with the weather, and because it was so clear, we could easily see the Orkney Islands.

Whilst doing my research I’d found a bright pink cake cupboard which is situated on the side of the road at Bettyhill. Everyone raved about it, saying it was the best cakes and treats they’ve ever eaten. Today however.. it was closed.. obvs. A bit further up the road we found a cute little cafe and treated ourselves to a haggis sausage roll. We found a scenic P along the route and stopped to make a coffee and to enjoy the sausage roll with the views.

Coldbackie beach A lot of the places we have marked on our map are a bit of a faf to find.. and this was no different. Once we found somewhere to park Ruby, we then had to find out how to actually climb down to the beach. We eventually found a gap in fence and headed down the hillside to the hidden shores below. Golden sands and clear blue water, with little signs of life.. it was absolute heaven. We had the whole beach to ourselves. If we didn’t need to reach our next campsite by a certain time then we would definitely have stayed there a lot longer. It was just so peaceful! And the photos really don’t do it justice.

Castle Varrich Because we missed out on Castle Sinclair, we really wanted to make sure we got to a ruin. Castle Varrich is perfect because it has a superb prominent position overlooking the Kyle of Tongue. We parked up in Tongue in the small parking area outside a hotel, and began the climb up to the castle. It’s such a beautiful walk, with views over the dramatic rocky peaks of Ben Loyal. After zig zagging our way through the trees, and a final ascent we made it to the castle ruins. The views were incredible, and you are now able to climb a metal staircase to the top for an even better lookout. The precise origins and age are unknown, but it is thought to be associated with the Bishops of Caithness, the Mackay clan or the Norse.

The rest of our day was taken up driving, but with each turn came something more breathtaking. There are so many places to pull over and take in the views and get some incredible photos. It is a game of dodge the sheep however! We arrived at our campsite for the night – Sango Sands Oasis. We were really keen to stay here because we had heard good things. And they were right! It’s situated on a cliff top with views over the award winning beach below. We had originally parked Ruby on the edge overlooking the sea, however it was on a bit of a slope and the wind was getting up, so me being a massive wuss, we moved further back so we didn’t roll off during the night. The rain then came and decided to stay for the rest of the night, which meant cooking in the van. I made a bloody good chicken curry which enjoyed with a glass of wine. We also decided that sleeping in the pop roof probably wasn’t a good idea due to the weather, so spent our first night on the ground level bed, which was actually very comfortable!

N.I Day 4 🏝

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Today is our last full day on the Emerald Isle. It was a toss up between a visit to Rathlin Island to see the puffins, or more of the coastal drive. As we were incredibly lucky to see the puffins when we did Skomer, we decided to continue with the last few towns and beaches along the Causeway Coastal Drive. Santa decided to have a morning walk whilst I had a little lie in, but unfortunately he didn’t take a coat.. and drowned rat is an understatement when we arrived back at the apartment.

Bushmills No visit to NI is complete without a visit to the distillery (just the shop as we were pushed for time!) Santa enjoyed browsing the many whiskeys on offer, and opted for a Black Bush (🤣) and a glass to go with it. He also got a smaller tot to have on one of the beaches later on in the day.

Ballycastle The eastern gateway to the coastal route. We managed to park in one of the only pay and display car parks in the whole of N.I.. and unfortunately when we were nearly in the town, I had a horrible feeling I hadn’t locked the car, so had to powerwalk back up the hill to check (obviously I had locked it 🤦🏼‍♀) Ballycastle is a bustling town with plenty of bars and restaurants, a harbour and a beach, the ferry to Rathlin Island, and a friary ruin just on the outskirts. It also has its own heritage trail, with information boards dotted around the town. We found a cafe with great views over the beach, and the coffee here was delicious – big shout out to Shorebird Coffee Hut. We had a lovely walk along the beach, then headed to Bonamargy Friary, along the side of the golf course. It’s picturesque, yet eerie at the same time, and is definitely worth a quick visit if you are in the area. As we were walking back to the car park, the heavens opened, and they opened hard! We were very soggy doggies when we got back to the car.

Murlough Bay It is said that this is one of the most overlooked places to visit on the Antrim Coast. The journey to the small car park is dow a long, single track winding road. But with every twist and turn, reveals more spectacular views. On the walk to the bay, a lovely old gentleman stopped us for a chat, and very enthusiastically told us about seal he had seen catching a massive salmon. He was so enthusiastic, he talked and talked for about 15 minutes 🤣 he lives in a very remote place, so he probably doesn’t get much human interaction, bless him! After he got on his way (and found another family to talk to) we turned the corner and got our first look at the bay. Wow. It was breathtakingly stunning. Perfect white sand, perfect blue water, and perfect views of Rathlin Island and the Kintyre Peninsula. I’d say this beach even rivalled some of the ones I saw in Thailand! And for the most part, we had it all to ourselves. This really is a hidden gem and one not to be missed.

Torr Head Not far down the road from Murlough Bay is another very narrow and winding road to Torr Head. This drive requires you to go incredibly slowly and keep your eyes peeled for all the possible passing points. We got to the car park and headed up the mound and towards the building on the top. This used to be a signal station for shipping passing through the North Passage. However, this is now an eerie graffiti filled ruin being battered by the wind and rain. There’s even a rusty old ladder to climb up onto the roof. The views at the top again were fantastic, and we were so lucky with the weather that we could see for miles. The road back to the main route was a bit twitchy arse as we met quite a few vehicles, but we got there after a little bit of manoeuvring and clutch burning.

Fair head The last of the super twisty drives. The car park here is privately owned (£3 all day) and the area and land is also privately owned and farmed by 12 generations of the McBride family. There are so many walks around this area, but unfortunately they were all too long for us to attempt given the time we arrived. We did however manage a little stroll to one of the viewpoints. The rugged landscape here also features in many seasons of GoT, so it is definitely one to visit if you are a fan.

Portrush We had hoped to visit Carrick-a-rede, and had obviously read the opening times wrong because it was closing when we got there… it wasn’t a massive issue because I’ve been before, Santa has been before, and nothing was getting Momma on that bridge! So instead, we popped into Portrush, as we have only driven though it but never stopped. It has much more of a ‘seaside town’ vibe about it, with its funfair and amusements. We grabbed an ice cream and had a walk along the beach, before heading back to Portstewart for fish and chips.

All of the other evenings have been cloudy and rainy, but tonight was clear with minimal cloud, and that meant we finally got a sunset! We found a great spot as recommended by our Airbnb host, and with the sound of crashing waves, we watched the sun go down on our last day in Northern Ireland.

N.I Day 3 ⛵️

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Today’s POA was to tackle some of the other half of the Coastal Causeway Route, as well as a few hidden inland gems. It has mostly consisted of waterfalls, small towns and villages, and A LOT of rain dodging – but that’s all part of the fun!

Carrickfergus As we have already done Belfast (the start of the Coastal Route), we decided to begin the day in Carrickfergus. It is County Antrim’s oldest town and one of the oldest towns in Ireland as a whole. It also has one of the best preserved castles in the country, which we decided to admire from the outside rather than go inside (because we’re tight 🤣) We personally didn’t find much going on here, so decided to have a coffee and cake (obvs) to kick-start the day. Unfortunately the heavens opened and we had to run back to the car in the torrential downpour.

Glenoe Just a short walk from the car park on a winding path through the glen, we arrived at this magnificent 30ft waterfall. All the rain we’ve been having made it more spectacular (every cloud) as you could hear it thundering away way before we got to it. And, because its not featured in the National Trust handbook, it makes it less known, so we had it to ourselves for the majority of the time we were there.

Glenarm We arrived to cars parked absolutely everywhere! We then heard lots of screaming and loud music. Turns out today is ‘Dalefest’ weekend, headlined by The Vamps and Sam Ryder. This meant we were unable to see the castle, as it’s grounds were holding the concert. The village of Glenarm is small, but has a lovely harbour, and a very enthusiastic man in the Tourist Information. Unfortunately, they had the WORST toilets ever. I used cleaner ones in SE Asia. Thank god for epic hovering skills.

Carnlough Another stop for another waterfall! Cranny Falls (best name ever) is a 1.5km walk from the car park, and again is one you can hear way before you get to it. The walk there was a bit slippery and muddy thanks to all the rainfall we’ve had, but was mostly along a well maintaind path. There is a viewing platform so you can see it safely, and all the luscious green flora framing the falls gave it a tropical feel. On the way back there was a gorgeous cat rolling around and sunning itself. A young girl came up the path to the cat, to which Momma asked her ‘is this your pussy’ 🤦🏼‍♀ Puss did belong to her, she was called Tilly and was being naughty because she wouldn’t go home for dindins. Carnlough itself is another small village with a harbour, cafés and an ice cream shop. We were going to get one, but then the heavens opened once more, meaning we wouldn’t have been able to enjoy our tasty treat.

Cushendall A small coastal town with lots of bright coloured shops, a sandy beach and a backdrop of the Glens of Antrim. It had started raining again and the wind was getting up on our arrival here, so it was unfortunately a quick jump out and look around.

Cushendun After a big but quick downpour, we were luckily able to explore Cushendun in the dry. It’s a village steeped in character and folklore. Here is where you will find Cushendun caves, another location for GoT. The caves are thought to have formed over 400 million years ago, and these incredible rock cavities in the cliffs on the coast have been naturally eroded over time by wind and water. We were lucky as we were the only people here, as research suggested that since GoT, the caves have become an incredibly popular location for tourists. There is also an Irish pub (which was full of rowdy lads lads lads) and a Costcutter (which didn’t sell any alcohol, much to Santa’s annoyance!)

Just as we got back to the car, the heavens opened again, and as the drive back to Portstewart was a little over an hour, we decided to call it a day. Unfortunately, we got stuck behind a horsebox, and then we got stuck behind an incredibly slow driver who kept slamming his breaks on for no reason.. but we eventually made it back. Top tip – listen to dramatic music (we went with a Hans Zimmer collection) on the coastal drive, it makes it much more fun! Tonight, we decided to book a highly rated Italian restaurant, and it certainly lived up to the hype. The food was absolutely delicious!

We were hoping for a sunset tonight. However, the clouds had other ideas. We still, however, managed to see some dramatic skies and the sea crashing over the rocks.

Day 10 – Reykjavik 🇮🇸

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So today was our last full day 😭 and before we headed for the capital we had a little drive around Akranes where we stayed last night. It has two lighthouses; one of the oldest concrete lighthouse in Iceland, and a newer bigger one which is open to the public. The town even has an Irish Day in July where they have a competition to see who has the reddest hair. Unfortunately both times I’ve been here, I’ve just missed out on definitely winning this prize 🤣

I’m very lucky that I’ve been to Iceland before, in fact this is now my third visit to Reykjavik! Mark is a Reykjavik virgin, so was excited to show him the best it has to offer. We started off by visiting a highly rated bakery – Brauð & Co. The cinnamon buns here are beyond incredible. Fresh, warm and delicious. The vanilla and raspberry croissant was also a taste sensation.

We also chose to toast the trip with a few beverages, and Reykjavik is full of Happy Hour’s, which is handy due to the price of alcohol (and everything else!) here. We headed to Lebowski Bar for wine, beer and cocktails, and a basket of mozzarella sticks just to keep us going. They were playing Jurassic Park on the big screen, which made us laugh as it reminded us of the farting man is Husavik.

When I came with momma back in 2014 we had the most amazing fish and chips, so after walking around we finally found the same restaurant, and again had the most amazing fish and chips.

There is so much to see and do in Reykjavik and it is a perfect base to explore Iceland if road tripping isn’t your thing. Our original plan for our last night was to stay at the Happy Campers campsite and then taxi it to the airport in the early hours, however we decided to treat ourselves and book a hotel by the airport. We have loved the campervan life, but being in a proper bed with our own shower was beyond heaven. Thank god for booking.com

The airport run this morning was relatively smooth, however I got accused of pushing in when I got into the speedy boarding queue (which I had paid for!) by an awful lady I’m going to call Karen. I even apologised that I was going in front of her, to which she replied ‘Sorry! You’re not sorry at all’. Ok Karen.. next time pay and then you can get through quicker. I very happily walked past Karen and boarded the plane before she did, in my speedy boarding queue.

Day 7 – Continuing the North 🇮🇸

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As the trip so far as been very full on with lots of walking, we decided to have a relaxing morning and do something we had seen during our YouTube research – a beer spa! The experience starts in the outdoor wooden hottubs with views over Hrísey island, the mountains and Þorvalds valley. Then the fun part – bathing in a big tub filled with beer, water, hops and yeast. You cannot drink this water, but you get your own beer tap and it’s drink as much as you can in half hour. Bet Santa is gutted he’s missed out on this 🎅🏻 After the bath it’s to the relaxation room for a further half hr where you get wrapped up in a blanket and left to chill. This is a shared room so I had to try and be quiet for 30 whole mins! As we were in a beer establishment it would be rude to not sample any, so Mark got himself a beer flight and I enjoyed a Pepsi Max as the nominated driver 🤣 his favourite was the IPA. I had a taste of the sour and it was probably one of the worst things I’ve ever had in my mouth.

After the spa we headed back towards where we stayed last night to explore the town of Akureyri, the 2nd largest city in Iceland and known as the capital of the North. Although we have eaten well this trip, we decided to treat ourselves to some lunch and stopped at a lovely cafe for eggs, bacon and avocado. As it was a Saturday, it meant the parking was free! So we used our saved small fortune to get a slice of carrot cake as well.

Akureyri is full of cafés, bars and shops, as well as street art, botanical gardens and an interesting looking church. It has its own airport and you can get to pretty much everything in the North in a day’s worth of driving. Just as we were leaving I spotted a discount 66°N shop, the brand all the locals love.. so I treated myself to the cheapest hat!

Crazy Pokemon?

As the plan is to head to the Westfjords tomorrow we decided to get as close as possible and find a campsite there. But with so much driving it was only right that we had a few stops along the way. The first one being Grafarkirkja – the oldest turf church in Iceland (much to Mark’s delight!) You can no longer get into the church due to preservation purposes, but you are able to walk around the turf ring site. You can still smell that ‘old church smell’ in the air. It looks so tiny with the towering mountains behind and there is something so charming about it that you can’t help turning round every 5 minutes on the walk back to the car for another look.

The last stop on the agenda was Hvítserkur – a 15m tall sea stack. Legend has it that it’s actually a petrified troll, turned into stone by the daylight as he tried to ruin the local church bells. Whether it’s this, or just sea erosion, it’s a fantastic place to visit, especially in the evening as you get the most beautiful light.

We finally made it to our home for the night, a lovely little campsite next to the water, equipped with 2 hottubs to sit and enjoy a beer after a long day driving.

Day 6 – The North 🇮🇸

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We woke to drizzly morning, and after the daily chores of moving cases and putting the bed back to seats, we headed to our first stop – Hverfjall. This tuff ring volcano was created about 2,500 years ago, and has an incredibly impressive crater approximately one kilometre in diameter. The walk to the top is pretty hard going due to the loose surface, but when the rain and mist cleared we were treated to views for miles. There were a few groups heading down into the crater, but as they were equipped with poles and the proper gear, we decided it wasn’t worth joining them.

A rare treat for this trip was the next stop was literally 5 minutes down the road. The Grjótagjá cave features a beautiful geothermal hot spring which cannot be used to swim in to try and protect this unique pool from damage. There are lots of stories and legends surrounding this cave, however it was ‘that scene’ with Jon Snow and Ygritte in GoT that prompted our visit. The lad chose well!

During the drive to Mývatn last night we noticed lots of steam coming from an area, so again as it was close we decided to check it out. The smell of egg in the air is overwhelming thanks to the sulphur, but if you can handle that, you’re treated to smoking fumaroles and boiling mud pots.

Our final leg today was to Húsavík, made famous by the fantastic Eurovision film Fire Saga 🤣 and definitely not because it’s the Whale capital of Iceland.. by this point we were starving, so chose to eat at JaJa Ding Dong cafe (named after one of the songs from the film) and enjoyed some pizza whilst overlooking the sea.

We hadn’t planned on going Whale Watching, but with a 98% success rate we decided to give it a go. We were given super thick all in one suits to keep warm and headed to the rib boat. We were joined by just 2 other couples, meaning it was like having our own private tour. The bloke in front was the spitting image of Richard Attenborough in Jurassic Park, who half way through the trip had the audacity to stand up out of his seat and fart really loud!! We were literally sat directly behind him.. filth! Very soon after leaving the radio went telling the captain of a sighting, and we had our first glimpse of a humpback whale, which was amazing.

We had also booked the tour that included seeing Puffins, so we headed to the island where they’ve made it their home. Just like Skomer, there were 1000s of them, and being able to see them up close swimming around and diving for fish was so cool.

As we still had loads of time left we went further out to sea to see if we could see anymore whales. We were there a while and hadn’t seen anything, but just as we were about to give up and head back, we spotted a spouting, and then came the most incredible experience of seeing 4 humpback whales. It really was the most fantastic thing. As we were heading back there was a really loud bang and the rib boat stopped, and we were all convinced we would be stranded with the whales! It turns out there was a huge log which the boat had hit, which was very likely to be from a tree.. but also could have been from what one of us had produced with our terrible diet of car snacks and pasta 🤣

The drive to our next campsite was another scenic one. The light here, especially very late evening is just magical. We arrived at the huge site and found a place to park up, however it turns out it’s a favourite with gulls, who spent the next hour shagging on and sharting down the van!

Day 4 – The East 🇮🇸

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After a very much needed sleep, we woke to glorious morning number 4, and headed to Netto to stock up on car snacks and other bits and bobs to keep us going. After shopping in Bonus and Kronan, that’s all of Iceland’s ‘discount’ supermarkets now ticked off the list, although prices are more similar to those in Waitrose. We then had the next difficult job of trying to work out how to fill the van with diesel, as the pump system over here isn’t the easiest to navigate. Even the bright yellow Happy Camper next to us couldn’t work it out! Luckily the lovely lady in the shop helped, so £120 and half a tank later we headed to our first proper stop of the day.

Campsite views

We arrived to Stokksness beach and paid the fee to drive down to the 3 parking places, the first one being a Viking film set. It was built in 2010 for a film by universal studios, however it couldn’t be made due to monetary issues, and now lies in wait for all the tourists to come and explore. Grass topped wooden buildings lie waiting with the incredible mountains as a backdrop, and over time they have been hit with the elements, giving them a more authentic look.

Further down the road and you arrive at another black sand beach, with Mount Vestrahorn standing proud. There was a lot of cloud cover today so we were unable to see its iconic peaks, but it did give it an eerie feel. The beach is also covered in little green dunes giving little bursts of colour against the jet black sand.

The rest of our time spent in the East was mostly driving, and dodging sheep who just stand in the middle of the road staring at you. Although I have to say, its clear why the wool here is so expensive! The drive is incredible and the landscape changes every minute, with waterfalls, mountains and miles of moss covered land. Its so hard as the driver to keep your eyes on the road and not the amazing scenes going past.

Road views

We did have one last stop before we reached our camp for the night and that was a small hike to the 3rd tallest waterfall in Iceland – Hengifoss. In between the basaltic layers are thin layers of red clay (thanks Google) making a really striking falls and one we had been looking forward to seeing. Again we were really lucky as there was hardly any people there so we were able to sit and enjoy our surroundings.

This evening the home for the night was in the pretty town of Seyðisfjörður, home to the church with the rainbow road. This campsite was super busy due to the ferry leaving the following morning, but we were able to squeeze the van in by the bins 🤣 and still get a great view of the town to wake up to.

Pembrokeshire day 4 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

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Today we did a coastal road trip and spent most of it fog dodging! We have been quite lucky for most of the day, but it definitely caught up with us this evening making the coastal roads a total joy to drive on.

This morning we started in Tresaith to hunt down the beach waterfall. As is tradition with this trip, we couldn’t find the car park. If anyone decides to visit here, keep an eye out for the A5 sized sign which is just past the bus stop. I promise it’s a car park and not a building site like we originally thought 🤣 head to the beach and climb over the rocks to the right and you’ll find the fabulous falls that cascade on to the beach. There’s also a burger van with a very enthusiastic chap so it’s well worth spending time here.

Our next stop was the Dinas Head coastal walk. Luckily the fog was clearing by this point so we were able to actually see some of the views! We also managed to bag another trig. It’s a fantastic 3 mile walk which I would definitely recommend. And an added bonus.. there’s a pub at the car park overlooking the beach ⛱

Next stop.. Fishguard and time to wrap up as the temperature had definitely dropped. We had a little walk around the harbour before heading to another watering hole for a delicious burger and a real ale for Santa.

Back on the road and to St David’s- the smallest city in the UK. The fog was particularly thick now, but this meant the cathedral looked a lot more dramatic. Luckily there was a group of lads lads lads making a vlog, so we had a cheeky earwig to learn all about the place. Unfortunately we got there after 5pm so santa was unable to have a mooch around the cathedral. But it was still great to see it from the outside.

The last stop was a walk around Carew Castle, which again looked very dramatic against a misty backdrop. Parking here is free! And even after opening hours you are still able to get a very good view of the ruins.

Santa’s Sesh 🎅🏻 Santa enjoyed Jemima’s Pitchfork. A 4.5% ale named after the Welsh heroine Jemima Nicholas. A man of many words.. he described it as very very good 👍 and he’s currently munching on his 4th Welsh Cake of the day 🐷