We’re Off to Ireland in Our Motorhome
Life’s conspired to keep us out of our motorhome for the past seven months after our tour of Brittany, but we’re approaching re-launch point and are aiming to head over to the Republic of Ireland this weekend. At least that’s the plan – things remain fluid around here as usual!
The Path is Cleared
Ju’s mum has now settled into her care home with her dad visiting often, a months-long process with a huge amount of stress and worry involved, but the outcome seems to be the best it can be. My dad moved back into his bungalow yesterday after the flood just before Xmas, again a ton of stress and hassle, but Ju’s done a storming job of project-managing it back together. I ran the London marathon last weekend (a relatively easy thing after everything Ju’s been dealing with), so the big training runs are over for now. Nothing’s holding us back from a few weeks away, so we’re off!
Un-Mothballing the Van After Winter
We’re fairly confident the van will be OK. We’ve nipped up over the winter checking for mice and damp and reading the battery voltage levels. The solar panel did a good job of keeping ’em topped up. The only problem we knew of was the fridge being very iffy on gas (for years!), being very hard to get lit and reducing our confidence for staying off-hook-up.
I’d tried various things to sort it (replaced the burner, jet and spark electrode) which sort-of-worked. I’d read up that the next thing to try was the energy selector switch (the one which lets you choose gas, mains or 12V when driving). I made a half-hearted attempt to replace it, but it meant taking the fridge out, which meant breaking a gas connection at the back. I wasn’t confident that would sort it anyway, so we called in the professionals.
Only the professionals were all booked-up for weeks. At least the mobile guys were, so we took it to a company called Hab Check in Mansfield (habcheck.co.uk), which also enabled us to check the van actually drove OK too. They sorted it, pointing out someone had installed the wrong jet (the small metal disk with a tiny hole in it for the gas, I fessed up that would have been me). They also replaced the energy selector switch, and we’ve now the sweet, sweet feeling of the thing just lighting and staying lit, first time, every time, oh yes! It wasn’t cheap (don’t ask), but it was cheaper than me taking a hammer to the fridge in frustration.
Ju’s also just about to tackle the cab bed curtains. They’ve developed holes over the years from where they’ve caught in the drop-down mechanism. They ideally need replacing but they’re so complicated, they’re being patched up instead. We’re replacing the wing mirrors too, as I managed to smash one into a tree hidden in a hedge on a narrow road in Derbyshire some years back. We patched it up, but it’s cracked in a couple of places and the mirror’s held in with tape. Not ideal, so we got some after-market mirrors from eBay and will see if they fit this afternoon.
Other than that it’s the usual job of refilling the water system (we don’t bother disinfecting it, we drink from water bottles we carry separately), bleeding the air from the taps, restocking everything, checking fluid levels and tyre pressures and sorting any niggles which arise when we’re on the road. We’ve coughed up for RAC breakdown cover just in case anything major crops up.
Why Ireland?
Because we’ve never been. At least not in the motorhome. We’ve heard great things about the country, the hospitality of the Irish, the option to free camp in many places and the rugged, remote Atlantic coast (we’ll rely on park4night.com as usual). Also, although the Republic of Ireland is in the EU, it’s not in the Schengen Area, which means we won’t use any of our 90 day allowance. In turn this means we can potentially spend a stretch or two on the continent in the summer and autumn, depending on how things pan out.
We’ve got an up-to-date copy of Lonely Planet Ireland and had a half-hearted rummage through it, but haven’t planned anything. We’ll get one of the ferries from Wales (Holyhead up north or Fishguard down south), not sure which yet, and will book through the Camping and Caravanning Club for their discount.
The other thing we needed is an internet SIM card for our MiFi (this is our motorhome internet system), but I managed to forget to get one and we’re a bit late now. I’d have got a PopIt Mobile 100GB one (www.popitmobile.co.uk), as all of the data can be used in the EU for trips up to 6 months long. Instead we’ll look at getting an unlimited PAYG Three SIM while we’re in Ireland.
Next Stop Ireland
Right, I’m off, hopefully the next time we put finger-to-keyboard we’ll be on the road. Cheers, happy travels guys, Jay
Congratulations on your London Marathon result, it was a great day albeit a little damp.
I am looking forward to reading about your experiences in Ireland, especially as we are thinking of heading over in June. Perfect timing from my point of view!
Make sure you head to Connemara, Roundstone, O’Dowds is a firm fave. Gurteen beach, Clifden. Can’t wait to take our van over next year!
Thanks for the tips Kathy, Jay 👍
Hopefully you make it over to see us in Ireland, keep in mind that this is the may bank weekend it will be busy, but you should get in some where ok , hopefully we will see you on your travels it would be nice to have a chat after following your adventures over the years .
Good point Martin – we may push the ferry a day or two to miss any rush – cheers, Jay 👌
Hi Jason & Julie. We read your blogs from the start before we even bought a motorhome. We are now in Ireland, started at Rosslare and doing the waw, by Tralee at the moment heading north. We are using an RWG global data sim which is great £28 for 200gb/monthly, make sure you get a global sim if it’s data. Cheers
Thanks for the tip guys, have a great trip – we’re not sure where we’re going as usual but will definitely do some of the Atlantic coast 👍 Cheers, Jay
Enjoy your trip. Even though we can see Ireland from here we still haven’t been. It’s on our list.
I hope you’ve a great time here! I recommend a visit to Waterford but I’m biased as I live nearby. There’s loads to do.
Check out https://charlieandme.ie/ , there is s map of all the campsites that Aaron has reviewed on it
Thanks Ronan 👍
Hi both, a great choice. We did the Wild Atlantic Way anti-clockwise last year and had a great time. Spectacular scenery, easy driving (apart from the Ring of Kerry which can get very busy) and a great Craic! Only downside was a break-in whilst parked at Glendalough; we were trying to be cheapskates and used the ‘free’ hotel carpark rather than the official carpark. A lesson well learned!! Apparently according to the excellent Garda who attended, MHs and hire cars are targeted by Dublin crims who know they’ll find something of value in either and leave locals cars alone. So if near(ish) to Dublin we suggest you stick to designated official carparks with attendants around to be on the safe side. Don’t let this experience put you off!!
Good advice, thanks guys 🙏👌 Cheers, Jay
Really pleased that you are able to get away again in Zagan after the horrible start to your year.
Have a great adventure.