Max's first booboo

We finally had a beautiful day, so we took advantage of it with two different short hikes.

First was a walk up to the castle and the area surrounding the village of Harlech. We didn't go in the castle. We had just spent a bunch of time in a castle a couple of days earlier and reviews said that while Harlech Castle is impressively set up on a hill, the views are the attraction, and the actual interior isn't worth the £8.50 ($14.50 CAD, $11 USD) entry fee despite the fact that we would have saved 50% with our English Heritage card.

If you snooze, you lose...

Yesterday was a rain day. Probably the wettest day we've had for a long time. But, we still managed to get out... with our raincoats and umbrellas! It's only water.

We drove to the town of Porthmadog and found a big Lidl where we wasted some time doing some grocery shopping. Next door there was a camping store where we had a look around as well.

Fun afternoon at Caernarfon Castle

We said goodbye to Helen and Tony just after 9:30am. They were headed back home to Somerset, England. We'll actually be stopping in there to say hi to them again in a couple of weeks time.

We headed about a half an hour south, across the bridge over the Menai Strait and past the town of Caernarfon to a waterfront spot overlooking the strait. As we passed the town of Caernarfon, we saw a huge castle!

Exploring the island of Anglesey

The area where we're staying is called Anglesey Island. And yes, it is actually an island even though it's not separated from the main part of Wales by very much. 

With a mixed bag of weather in the forecast, we set off exploring the island in Helen and Tony's car. 

Sometimes going into a church is like going into a museum!

With a morning weather forecast that didn't include rain, we set off to do some exploring. First stop was the pretty tourist town of Beaumaris, and Beaumaris Castle. From there, it was on to the impressive Menai Suspension Bridge.

Thinking about a new camera

Our Nikon P900 is about five years old now, and it's been through a lot. It's actually starting to physically fall apart. Nothing that stops me from using it, but it's getting close to time to start thinking about a replacement.

We're visiting with Ruth's cousin Helen and her husband Tony right now. Tony just bought a new camera, and so I was checking it out. It's a Sony RX10 which is quite a bit more money than our current camera.

Are we in the UK illegally?

We ended up having a busy day. First, we went and explored the town of Holyhead. For such a small place, it has a big, busy port.

Oh, I forgot to tell you about our passports. Immigration between these countries is very odd.

Welcome to Wales!

Wales is not a new country for us. Back in 2012 we did a three week house sit near Hereford, England and we did several day trips into Wales. But this time, we'll get to spend a little more time exploring!

So, yesterday we took the Stena Line ferry "Adventurer" from Dublin to Holyhead, Wales.

Last day in Ireland

What a great trip this has been. We've been in Ireland since May 8, so just over two months. 

We've pretty much circled the entire island, been to an Irish wedding, climbed Ireland's highest mountain, and learned a lot about the history of culture and conflict here. And I enjoyed a few pints of Guinness!

We don't quite feel like we're ready to leave though.

Are you Kevin and Ruth?

Rainy day yesterday, but we made our way a few miles further back towards the Republic of Ireland border. We ended up parked in the fishing town of Kilkeel.

We feel bad that we haven't been able to properly explore Northern Ireland. I mean, it's really not that big of an area, but we ran out of time!

We don't think we've ever seen something quite like that.

Our time in Ireland is almost up! What a great two months it's been. When the weather is good, Ireland is a motorhoming and hiking paradise. I guess that's why we've enjoyed it so much.

But, we've simply run out of time! We didn't see nearly as much of the northern part as we wanted to. And, the weather has changed dramatically compared to the fantastic six weeks we had from the time we arrived. 

Nice walk around the lake, and getting caught up with our friend Cathy

Once again, we were up early and we drove right away to make it through the big city of Belfast before traffic picked up. We parked up at the town of Royal Hillsborough at Hillsborough Lake parking. 

Good thing we got there early because it didn't take long for the early morning dog walkers and joggers to arrive. 

Good news, and bad news

First order of business was to get my eye fixed! I had an appointment for 9:20am in central Belfast. We had parked in an industrial area near the docks. Not very scenic, that's for sure, but it was free, and only a 3 km (1.8 mile) walk into the center of the city.

Arrived a few minutes early, and they took me right on time.

Gorgeous coastal hike at Giant's Causeway

You may have missed yesterday's post because we were late posting it. You can read it here...

https://www.travelwithkevinandruth.com/2023/07/welcome-to-northern-ireland-country.html

And why were we late posting it? Because we wanted to get out to do a long hike and the weather in the morning looked much better than the weather in the afternoon!

Welcome to Northern Ireland, country number 60 for us!

First thing, let's clarify the country count. Yes, we do count Northern Ireland as a separate country even though it is part of the UK. Some people do, some people don't. For our purposes, if we are going to count England, Scotland, and Wales as individual countries, then we have to count Northern Ireland as well.

Besides which, Northern Ireland has its own currency. Yes, it's the pound sterling, but it is different banknotes compared to the English pound. And it's issued by Ulster Bank in Northern Ireland. It is also not legal tender in the rest of UK... however it is legal currency and easily exchanged at any English bank!