# Considered Ireland .....



## badger

I remarked to SWTSB (she who thinks she's boss) last week on seeing a TV program with some views of Ireland (Northern I think) that it looked a lovely place to visit and maybe we should give it a try. After recent events shown all over the news, the answer is " if you thing we're going there, think again"

I'm sure that someone on here will reassure her and sugest some nice places to visit (we don't wildcamp)

Thanks


----------



## Glandwr

Like saying the Brixton riots in the 80's would stop the Scots and Welsh venturing into England. Very limited area affected and virtually all urban. Will all be over before the month.

Dick


----------



## midlifecrisismil

Hi

Ireland is a lovely place. 

We went to Belfast shortly after two soldiers had been shot around March time 2009 and had no trouble.

But if I was going to Ireland I think:

1. I would avoid Derry (or Londonderry) as we English call it.

2. Tour the north of the north if you understand what I mean. Around Giants Causeway and that area which is beautiful.

3. Go to the South West in Southern Ireland around Killarney. Go around the Ring of Kerry which is very beautiful but make sure you go the right way (anti clockwise I think). Near Dingle there is certainly a motorhome site very close to the shore.

Please note - we have not been in a MH round Ireland so have no experience of that but we certainly intend to at some time and any "troubles" will not put us of.

At the minute I think that the troubles in Belfast are confined to a very small area and are caused because of the marching season - dont let that put you off (Although SHWBO may have something to say about it)


----------



## erneboy

I am Irish, Ireland is home although these days I rarely go home. It is a very beautiful country with many lovely places to see. Ireland is as safe as any other part of the UK, the run down bits of inner cities are best avoided, just as they are anywhere in the world. Dick is correct, the current rioting is what is known as recreational rioting and will die down quickly when the "Marching Season" passes. It is mainly out of control children doing this because their parents don't give a hoot about where they are or what they are doing. This is restricted to very few, very run down inner city areas. Lets hope the Police can identify these children and call the parents to account.

The Derry/Londonderry thing is easily explained. The ancient name of the city was Derry, renamed Londonderry by the British. The City is still called Londonderry but the council was renamed Derry City Council some years when the Nationalists first had a majority on the City Council. Those of us who are moderate in our politics call it "Stroke City" as in Derry/Londonderry.

You are guaranteed a warm welcome in Ireland. You would not go into the areas where trouble happens, you would have no reason to be there and anyway one look would tell you that this is not a good place. I have experienced that when taking a wrong turn in English Cities, Spanish Cities, French Cities etc. another turn soon gets you out again.

I hope this reassures and explains a little, Alan.


----------



## chasper

We shall be going i August for three weeks both north and south. Looking forward to it.


----------



## Zozzer

I love Ireland, I first went the on a weeks Holiday Co Cork with the school and it is beautiful. I've been to Dublin on day trips from Holyhead with Stenna.

I would love to return one day, but sadly, the price of the ferry is too expensive.

For the price of a Stena or Irish Ferries crossing (Holyhead to Dun Laghoire ), I can travel down to Dover from the northwest of England hop on a ferrry and travel as far as Wiesbaden in Germany.

Sorry Ireland you've priced yourself out of the holiday market.


----------



## jncrowe

i absolutely agree zozzer we used to go over to southern ireland all the time ~5 or 6 times a year plus
not that long ago you could get a ferry from wales for 39 quid in a wednesday night 59 quid other nights and 99 quid at weekends and that was return ticket with a car full of passengers and a caravan the ferries were always packed with hardly enough seats to sit on !
then the prices went absolutely sky high last time we went it cost over 300 quid and the ferry was about 1/4 full 
there do seem to have been some reasonable offers on recently but the small print usually includes things like booking 21 days in advance etc 
also the euro has made living costs prohibitively expensive 
sadly i don't know when we will be able to afford to go again 
as i said we used to go to ireland a lot we generally visited the waterford / cork area and have never had any problems or hostilities towards us 
irish people are lovely and welcoming the lifestyle is kinder and slower there is no such thing as popping to the shops everyone wants to know how you are ~how long you are staying etc etc 
the roads used to be very variable but are much better than in the late 80s when one minute you are on a N road similar to a motorway and the next you are on a " track " 
and the had a very civilised way of travelling you may imagine
a dual carriageway where you drive on the right hand lane 
of the left carriage way
and if someone comes up behind you ~ you pull over into the left hand lane to let them pass 
a bit like us pulling on to the hard shoulder its very effective and crashes appear to be a rarity and tend to hit the newspapers !!
Yes i would strongly reccomend going to southern ireland 
we tended to avoid the big towns and very much enjoyed the villages and the fishing
all the best 
cath


----------



## dannimac

Hi Badger

I wonder if it was Countryfile and the views of Fermanagh that you were watching on the telly? It was on a couple of weeks ago. I've no experience of motorhoming in Ireland (yet) but up until 2 years ago when Mum took ill, I went to Fermanagh every year of my life. Beautiful and very peaceful part of the country. I never once saw any trouble of 'The Troubles' kind and even after Enniskillen was visited directly by the Troubles, the town was as beautiful and welcoming to us as ever. We've also toured quite a lot and never seen anything untowards.

I'm imagining if you were being a tourist that you wouldn't go to the kind of areas where there are currently issues ie the inner city areas. 

Plus there's more to Ireland than the tiny trouble spot that is on the news at the moment.

It's a beautiful country and you'll never sit down in a pub or a tearoom without someone chatting you.

Like I said, can't comment on the motorhoming experience but I'd say the country would be worth a visit at least once in your life.

D


----------



## Brock

I don't expect to go motorhoming in Ireland. 

The past troubles aside, I spent a week in Belfast recently which I felt had very aggressive overtones. Driving was taxing to say the least with no courtesy whatsoever (we had local number plates on our vehicle so perhaps we were expected to drive aggressively). I found similar aggressive behaviour on the pavements. In the bars I felt I was being watched all the time. 

The little scenery I saw was good but no better than other parts of the UK. I didn't feel unsafe so I didn't think I was going to be bombed or gunned down in the street or anything like that. It just felt as if everyone was angry about every thing, not just the past troubles. I can't remember ever feeling so ill at ease anywhere without being able to put my finger on exactly why.

I didn't like Dublin either. The place was quiet, the people friendly. But unless you like Guinness, the famed bars were nothing special. All the ones I went to seemed to be just the same as the Irish theme pubs we used to get in England. The Dublin diet seemed to consist of meat and potatoes. The 4* hotel seemed amused when we asked for other non-root vegetables and almost fell about laughing when we asked about fruit. I found Dublin really boring. Perhaps it plays up to the stereotypical images of the Irish too much.

Compared to Cardiff, Glasgow and Edinburgh, and most English cities, Belfast and Dublin have nothing to offer me.

Personally, I think your 'boss' is right although it's also very clear from the other posts that there are some smashing places to visit if you can afford it.


----------



## CaGreg

Hi Badger,

There are lots of conflicting and confusing opinions there. Northern Ireland has some fantastic scenery and I would recommend the drive from Larne, northwards on the Antrim coast. I have been all over Ireland and this drive is gorgeous, has been compared to the Amalfi coast in Italy. 
One poster suggested staying out of Derry, but I would say don't miss it. We went in the van a couple of years ago, right into the city and parked near the tourist office. Derry is more like a town than a city and the walls are well worth walking. We found people there to be friendly and welcoming and it is now my favourite city in Ireland, followed by Kilkenny, Cork, Galway!

The northern coast all the way over to Donegal is beautiful with plenty of campsites.
http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/camping/

Here is a link to get you started. Email them and ask them to send you a copy of the camping book.

Do let me know if you are going to come and PM if you want any other information, if I can help I will.
Ca


----------



## rugbyken

although a commited francophile have just had possibly the best m/home holiday ever in the south of ireland , in previous years we have been put of by the price of the ferries but this year with a surfeit of tesco vouchers got over to ireland for £70 ,
we travelled pembroke to rosslare and returned dublin to holyhead we had copied and patched a list of wildcamping spots of the review page onto a map and fully expected to do as we normally do in france couple of days wildcamping then one on site and we had also downloaded some sites off the review pages, we only used 3 sites in total one because it was such a lovely spot we settled for only 15 miles that day, one in dublin , and one near bunratty castle/folk park , none of them did we need electric the LED lights have certainly cured that ,
our trip was all along the south coast and up the west with a diversion to blarney castle of course, the ring of kerry was exactly as it says on the tin but we found the ring of beara much more to our liking also the dingle but that may have more to do with being adopted by some munster rugby m/homers from limerick and introduced to pocheen for a weekend.
we also found a superb wild camp spot at portnuma with toilets and hot shower's its at the marina and meant for the boats but there seemed no problems when we were there , 
i would like to have put my favorite place down but couldn't, even a list of not to be missed would list almost every place we visited the wifes favorite was the fact that everyone waved just as though we were all in motorhomes acknowledging people sharing our pleasures


----------



## Rapide561

*Ireland*

I agree with the comment re "priced out of the market" - I am looking at approx £375 return on the ferries, pretty much on any route. That is too much and so I won't bother.

Russell


----------



## IrishHomer

Brock said:


> ...In the bars I felt I was being watched all the time. *I suspect you were correct*!
> 
> All the ones I went to seemed to be just the same as the Irish theme pubs we used to get in England. *That's because the themed pubs are based on the real ones...in Dublin!*


"The Dublin diet seemed to consist of meat and potatoes. The 4* hotel seemed amused when we asked for other non-root vegetables and almost fell about laughing when we asked about fruit." *Hilarious, absolutely classic...I had to put the pig out of the kitchen I was laughing that hard. I bet Gordon Ramsey and Marco Pierre White have found Dublin a real easy market 'cos the Dubs have never seen fancy food before*!!!   ...and from a Scouser too!


----------



## 1302

Forget anything people tell you about 'the troubles' This is 2010 for heavens sake and despite a few with a political view they are not interested in a Brit in a Motorhome.

Belfast = lovely city and way above Dublin for me personally - we loved a couple of days there - we even saw political grafitti - we didnt die 

Dublins OK - too touristy for me but Guiness trip is great and we did afew pubs whilst there 

Derry is a great placed too - we found a fiddly diddly pub after a night at the concert in the Millenium Hall and were made very welcome despite our accents. we didnt die 

We have had six visits to Ireland - North/South/Kerry/Northeast/Donegal/northwest

All great and all subjected to that often quoted Irish friendlyness/generousity/charm

Skip the politics - we even wild camped in the touchy borders of NI - we didnt die


----------



## jonegood

We would love to see more of Ireland but its the Ferries.
I ve looked many times when I get offer emails but it allways comes down to;

Dover to Calais £50-£100

Wales to Ireland £400.

And in France, Germany etc I get better weather, cheaper fuel, Aires and more choice of activities.


Sorry Ireland your ferries are ridiculously expensive
I only leave 100 miles from holyhead


----------



## ICDSUN

Brock said:


> the famed bars were nothing special. All the ones I went to seemed to be just the same as the Irish theme pubs we used to get in England.


Brock

The phenomena that is "The Irish Pub" is really a cunning plot to confuse visitors, they exist so the locals can drink in peace, now if you had visited "The Bar" then you would have enjoyed a far better time.

The aggressive driving you witnessed in Belfast and Dublin is part of a dual government initiative on non aggressive driving to make visitors to Ireland feel safer, but due to cutbacks someone forgot the "non" on the leaflets, it might need a little thought for the next initiative and maybe proff reading.

The food is generally simple meat and veg as you found, they don't grow too many non root vegetables as an alternative

Sorry to hear you won't be visiting again, but any city you visit anywhere in the world can feel aggressive

Chris


----------



## ruffingitsmoothly

As both my parents were Irish I have been going to Ireland for over 50 years but until about 15 years ago I had only really seen Mayo, actually Swinford my parents home town and the roads to/from either Dublin/Rosslare to there.

I then decided that I would explore more of Ireland and for several years our family trips would include a tour around Ireland stopping at B&B's as well as visiting relatives.

Then about 5 years ago we started taking the RV I found Irish Ferries gave the best deal for my 34' vehicle as they operate a simple under or over 8 metre rate for motorhomes/campers.

We have found some very nice campsites and made good friends, but as other posters have already said everything is now so expensive, perhaps at present with the Euro slightly down in value against the Pound things may be a little better.

Unfortunately we will not be going to Ireland this year in the RV as we had to fly over for a funeral around Easter time (We couldn't really drive as the Irish waste no time at all in burying people) but hopefully we will next year.

This did make me laugh though when we first decided to take the RV I emailed quite a few campsites to enquire if they could take that size vehicle and did I need to book and pay a deposit, everyone emailed me back and said virtually the same thing "no bother just turn up and we'll fit you in" what a nice laid back attitude.

Here are a couple of sites we have stayed at

The Trading Post just north of Wexford










Treegrove about a mile walk from Kilkenny










Camac Valley on th Naas Road outside Dublin has a bustop outside the gate withregular services to the city










Regards Pat


----------



## dodger148

Will agree with previous postings, drive North from Larne hugging the coast driving round the West coast of Ireland down to the South West and then following the coast back up to either Dublin or Belfast/Larne.

We did this trip around 1967, we honeymooned in the SWest.
I then had a spell working in Ireland in the 70's mainlly in the South, 

A couple of years ago we went to the SWest for a few weeks and the
country is still as nice, although I did manage to duff up a front shock absorber.

We intend to do this run again next year, but do remember whilst Ireland is a lovely country and its people great they suffer similar weather conditions to us. If you bear that in mind you should have a great holiday


----------

