And its time for another adventure….
And….we’re off and away…! A few days ago I left Scotland, catching the ferry from Cairnryan to Belfast – £55 for me and the bike – and as I was preparing to leave the ferry I met one of my YouTube subscibers. You know, it’s almost become like a secret society as when I get spotted, someone will sidle up to me and whisper “I’m your subscriber”…. I really must work out a secret handshake…!
Nice to shake hands Trevor, and thanks for the good wishes and safe riding… and what a lovely Yamaha, by the way. I was quite envious or that lovely beast…
Cairnryan to Belfast only takes two hours and the crossing was calm and quick. Arriving at Belfast I turned right at the ferry terminal and headed for Carrickfergus, as just ten minutes form the ferry-port is the Jordanstown Loughshore Park where there is a campsite overlookiong the sea. You have to book ahead as its a small campsite, mostly for camper vans, but there are four pitches for tents. Its immaculate, with great showers and even a laundrette and a cafe outside, and the cost was £14 per night.
I was visiting Belfast to see family and it was great to catch up for a few days as its been long overdue. Yesterday I headed south, heading down the coast road to Newcastle’s and then to Kilkeel, where I caught the Carlingford Ferry across to Greenore – and the Republic of Ireland. I rode mainly along the coast to avoid the toll-road near Dublin and then south of Dublin rejoined the motorway and headed south. The weather was mostly sunny but as I approached Dublin the heavens opened and by the time I stopped to get my waterproofs on – I was already soaked.
I was going to spend a few days in the middle of Ireland at Athalone but as the weather has taken a turn for the worse I decided to head for France – and some sunshine. There is a paid campsite near Rosslare but I decided to check out a beach at Cullenstown, which is about half-way between Rosslare and Waterford. It was a great place to wild-camp so I spent the night near the sea, with the sound of the surf driving onto the beach giving a good night’s sleep.
I packed up the bike late morning and headed into Waterford, which was established by the vikings and was the first town in Ireland. I wanted to visit the museum there but the parking was too far away from the museum and as the bike was fully loaded I decided to head back to Rosslare. The ferry was due to leave at 8pm but because there is a big storm brewing we are now leaving two hours earlier than planned. Its a good job I was early.
I booked my crossing yesterday and it cost £103 for the crossing, and instead of using the pullman seats, I decided to book a cabin, which cost £125. Strangely enough, the cabins WITH a window were cheaper than the inside cabins. Usually its the other way around.
So, what is the plan…? Originally I was planning to ride all the way to Saudi Arabia for the winter, heading for Turkey and then crossing the border and riding through Iraq. Why Saudi Arabia…? Well, it’s a country I’ve always wanted to visit since I discovered that there is around 1500kms of mountains and greenery on the west coast of Saudi Arabia, all the way down to Jeddah – which is what I wanted to see. After Saudi I was also planning to visit Jordan, which is another country I’ve always wanted to visit. I was planning to head back to the UK sometime early next year.
Unfortunately, about ten days ago the border between Turkey and Iraq was closed to all foreigners because of all the trouble with Isreal. It’s just not safe to make the crossing at the moment, so that effectively scuppered my plans for the winter. I was still determined to get away so last week I serviced the bike, started rounding up my gear and within a few days decided to venture into Europe. And why not….
I’m planning to go to France, Germany and then Switzerland – and after that….? I haven’t thought that far yet. This time there will be no plans. No definite route. No destination. I’m just going to ride into Europe for six to eight weeks, make it up as I go along and see where I end up.
What could possibly go wrong…
