Summer holiday...

It seems like pretty much everyone in our house has been sick for all of 2015 so far, but last night things started to look up, the sniffles and coughing subsided a bit and there were even a few smiles to be seen. Plus on the weather front there was definitely a glimmer of sunshine and blue skies so I couldn't help but start dreaming of holidays and camping! It's still a bit cold for any overnights in the camper just yet but it's definitely not to early to start dreaming and planning!

Here are some pictures from our summer holiday last year to get us all in the mood!

We took the campervan up the north coast, starting in portrush for the airshow. It's on every September and well worth a visit - airwavesportrush.co.uk

The views from the walk down from the campsite into town are pretty nice.

The harbour at portrush.

Saw this lovely car parked and couldn't resist taking a pic!

Some planes...

Having some refreshments!

I love the red arrows and can't wait to see them every year. They were excellent as always!

The next day after the airshow we headed towards our next campsite which was in Bushmills and stopped off to have a look round Dunluce castle on the way.

Although we were only travelling a few miles each day we always made sure to stop for tea along the way.

We also visited Ballintoy harbour which looked lovely in the sunshine. It's very popular with Game of Thrones fans as it is the setting for the Iron Islands in the show. There is a lovely cafe here too.

The camper parked up in Ballintoy.

We then took a trip over the Carrick a Rede rope bridge which is managed by the National Trust. It was much lest rickety than I remember! 

Although it was September, the weather was amazing and the sea looked positively tropical.

All cosy in the camper.

There were many spectacular views from our various tea stops.

The next camp site we stopped at was in Cushendall and the spaces were pretty much right beside the sea, which was excellent!  This is the view during the day.

And this is the amazing scene at night, the moon was very impressive indeed.

Finally we stopped in Carrickfergus, where we had a tasty picnic lunch and had a look round the famous castle.

And of course finished off with the obligatory cup of tea and a French fancy.

All in all we were only a way for a few days but we packed so much in it felt like ages! The north coast is beautiful and there really is so much to see and do although we were very lucky with the weather.

Now to start planning some trips for 2015!

First camping trip as a family...

At the start of September we planned to take a camping trip around the North Coast for a few days but we thought it might be a good idea to do a trial run first.  We decided to try one night at the campsite at Castle Ward as it isn't too far from home so at least if it was a complete disaster we could just pop home without too much bother! In the end it worked out just fine. The weather was lovely although it did get a little nippy at night so definitely need to bring a heater in the future.

All packed up and ready to go.  We did need considerably more stuff having a baby with us but it did all fit, just about!

We bought George ear defenders as the Land Rover is pretty noisy when it's driving.  He absolutely loves them and pretty much falls asleep as soon as they go on!

All parked and set up.

We went down on a Tuesday so the site was pretty empty.  Castleward is really popular and I think you have to book ages in advance to get in at the weekend.

The campsite is surrounded by forrest which will be great for exploring when George is a bit bigger although he seemed pretty taken by the light fluttering through the tree canopy as it is!

A glimpse of Strangford Lough.

A pretty foxglove - all the ones in our garden are long gone by September.

A tunnel under one of the lanes on the estate.

I have been to Castleward so many times and I don't really remember seeing this tree tunnel before, it was pretty cool.

Inside the tree tunnel.

Temple water.  There is a lovely walk all around the water.

The boats in Audley's Bay.

I thought this bit of wood looked a bit like the Lough Ness monster.

We were only there for one night but we packed a lot in, we walked into Strangford and got some ice creams on the first day then headed back for a picnic dinner.  After we packed up we headed in to the Castleward estate and had a cup of tea and a scone then a lovely long walk finished off with a nice lunch, a perfect couple of days and just what we needed to get ready for a bigger camping trip.

Galway adventures...

Last month we took a short trip to Galway.  Dee was sailing and George and I decided to tag along and see the sights.  We just went for the weekend so we packed a lot into two days.  The first day we walked into the city centre and wandered around in the sunshine which was rather nice.  However I didn't get to take as many photos as I liked as George got rather grumpy each time I wanted to stop!

The Spanish arch.  We had a look round the museum which is just round the corner from here.  It was pretty good, they had an exhibition on the cinema in Ireland and another one about Dance halls.  There is a restaurant attached to it which serves a rather nice carrot cake too.

Not all that impressed with the sights.

The boats out racing in the bay.

I was rather taken by this building, it looks a bit like a piece of Wedgewood pottery or something!

We headed out to my favourite restaurant, Trattoria, for tea.  Every time I've been in Galway I've had something to eat here and it's always delicious!

The next day we headed to Kylemore Abbey.  I think I was here once as a child but that was a long time ago, so I've always wanted to go back as a grown up!  Unfortunately the weather was a bit crap and I got soaked quite a bit but it did dry up enough to take a quick scoot round the victorian walled garden.  It's pretty formal with some rather jazzy patterns in the bedding plants!

A rather stylish glass house - they are gradually repairing and rebuilding these, I'm guessing they're probably quite expensive to rebuild.

Some serious sheds.

This is the head gardener's house.  Not too shabby!

Cold frames.

The view over the vegetable gardens.

 Gates out from the walled vegetable garden.

Pink Poppy.

Sweetpea in amongst the beetroots.

This was a whole bed of comfrey used for making comfrey tea to feed the plants.

Another view of the formal gardens.

The abbey.  You can look inside at a few of the rooms that have been refurbished as they would have been in the gardens heyday.

More rain!

All in all it was a lovely weekend and a good first trip to take with George as it involved no planes or anything, just driving in the car which mostly just sends him off to sleep!