Ireland, here we come. First stop, Fishguard, Wales.

We were out of bed early this morning, 4.30 am, to be precise.   The idea was that we would drive the northern part of the M25 before it got too busy.   The other option was to leave at 9 am, after peak hour, but there was no knowing what holdups there might be, due to an incident earlier in the morning.

Our intentions were to be on the A2 by 5.30 am but as all good intentions go, it was more like 6 am.  Now, people who have had no experience of the M25 will wonder what the fuss is about, but believe me, half an hour can make all the difference to the volume of traffic.   

In the UK people have lengthy discussions about motorways, and roads, and the best possible route to get from point A to point B.   A fascinating topic of conversation.  A national pastime, one might say.

But back to our trip.  We had the usual discussion about the jockey wheel, and then discovered that the new bulb Walter put in the back left hand light, did not work.  So no light or brake light on that side.  There was nothing we could do but drive away, and keep our fingers crossed there would be no problems.  

As expected there was traffic congestion between the M1 and M40 turnoffs, so it took us two hours to drive to the M4 rather than one hour.  But after that all went well.   It tooks us nine hours to get here, with two lengthy stops.  Not too bad, really.

At first the weather was cloudy but warm, then as we drove into Wales the temperature dropped four degrees, from 21 to 17, and the fog closed in around us. Typical we thought, we were in Wales.

As we approached Fishguard, the fog lifted and we were bathed in glorious sunshine.  And what a difference it made, to the beautiful countryside around us.

We stopped at the start of the lane that led to the campsite and rang the office, as per instructions.  The reason being, the camp staff need to ensure there were no vehicles coming towards us.  

   

The lane was a one way road with a couple of passing bays.  We did not want to test our reversing skills on this track.  Not after the fiasco in Norway last year.  I would also like to add that the greenery on the sides of the road, or I should say track, hid the usual drywall fence.   The stones and rocks in these fences are absolutely lethal to vehicles should one drive too close to them.

Walter reversed the caravan onto the site, and did a pretty good job too.

The views are amazing.   Looking towards the northern coastline of Wales.

The view towards the south west.   And tomorrow afternoon we will cross this sea, in a ferry, to Rosslare, Ireland.

We feel as if we are going on a big adventure, to an island that we have never visited, we are ashamed to admit.  An island shrouded in mystery, and clouds, mist and rain too, no doubt.

We know a large number of people who left Ireland to find work elsewhere.   We also know a large number of people who have parents, grandparents or great grandparents who left Ireland because of economic hardships or because of continuing conflicts.  My grandmother being one of these people.  Ireland has or had a special place in their hearts.

So we are going to find out what Ireland is all about, or at least the bottom third of it. We only have three weeks.

But first we must fix the light on the back of the caravan.