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Road Trip 24 | Wexford , Waterford and then the Causeway Coast

AscotGreyCali

AscotGreyCali

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Location
Aberdeenshire
Vehicle
T6.1 Ocean 204
Part 1 - Arrival and First Few Days

One of the key reasons for us buying a Campervan was to visit parts of Europe and the U.K. that we haven’t visited yet.

For Spring 2024 we decided on South East Ireland with a few days on the Causeway Coast on the way home.

Over the winter, we did a lot of research and started to look for a base near Wexford for several nights. It didn’t take us to long to decide on Kilmore Quay for a base as we visited Wexford and Waterford.

Although we have lived in Aberdeenshire on and off since the late 90s, my family are from Cheshire so I chose the Holyhead to Dublin route so we could catch up with family on the way.

On the way from Cheshire to Holyhead a wave of nostalgia for a village where I’d learnt to plane a windsurf board whilst awaiting my A-level results meant I stopped in Rhosneigr. Which has changed considerably unsurprisingly in those 30 years the old hotel having been replaced by the glass and wood oyster catcher and the village with much smarter eateries. It did seem to have lost some of its coolness of those windsurfing years.


A really smooth sailing with Stena Lines and we stayed at Lynders Holiday Park just outside Portrane. It was night where Northern lights were visible across a lot of Europe so we were able to watch them across Dublin Bay.

The following day we headed from Portrane via the coastal towns south of Dublin heading for Arklow but before we got there my wife spotted a sign to the village of Avoca and wanted to visit the mill. On arriving the village seemed familiar and a sign on the local bar confirmed that it had been the location for Ballykissangel which explained the coach tour bus in the middle of the village.


After a fascinating tour of the mill we took fastest route to Kilmore Quay arrived at the excellent Kilmore Quay Holiday park , which is about 400 yards from the beach. Alice who runs the site works very hard to ensure everyone has a really good stay.

We used Kilmore Quay as a base for the next few days as we visited the following

The Hook lighthouse which has been serving seafarers for 800 years. The area around the lighthouse was very scenic and we chilled out here for a good deal of a day.

Waterford Crystal Factory- Parking could be found locally to the factory in Waterford Centre.

Irish National Heritage Park in Wexford. In existence since 1987 and for us a clever project set up as Wexford didn’t have a museum so the city decided to use some land to set up an open air park with reconstructions of buildings from Norman, Pre-Christianity and Bronze Age.

By the time it came to leave Kilmore Quay we felt we could have spent more time in Wexford . A visit to the Saltee Islands is on the list for next time.

Next Stop Dungarvan via the copper coast

Useful resources | for planning this trip we found the Slow Road Ireland Guide and the Charlie & Me YouTube Vlogs really useful.

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Part 2 | The Copper Coast and The Getaway

We left Kilmore Quay and headed along the coast towards Dungarvan via the UNESCO Copper Coast Geopark . I think this route could be exceptional in brilliant weather and it still had real highlights under the somber skies we drove it under.

We stopped every couple of miles at the view points of the cliffs, mine workings and beaches that the road sometimes runs beside.

Arriving in Dungarvan late afternoon we decided to head for our site for the next 2 nights at The Getaway which was about 4 miles out of town in the surrounding hills. It’s a small site of about a dozen pitches and camping pods but is very smartly appointed . You could easily stay here for a few days enjoying the local walks and rural surroundings.

The following day after a quiet morning at the Getaway we headed to Helvick at the west side of Dungarvan harbour as we had booked Seaweed Baths here in the afternoon. Helvick has a remarkable view across Dungarvan harbour and good parking in the harbour area.

Sólás Na Mara was a really good recommendation for a relaxing seaweed bath in a beautiful location.

So the big decision for the following day was which way North do we retrace our steps or loop west up to Bushmills

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Part 3 Stop in Strandhill and the Causeway Coast

Some commitments meant we could only getaway for 10 days, so had to begin heading home on the Friday.

We decided to head back via Limerick and Sligo and on to Bushmills.

A long day in the California as we headed North, but with a memorable lunchtime stop at Strandhill before a long Friday afternoon drive to Bushmills. We eat at Shells close by the beach and spotted our first Wild Atlantic Way sign post of the trip.


Fog had rolled in from the sea and was still set in by the morning in Bushmills. Whilst we waited to see if it would clear for a visit to the Giant’s Causeway we took a walk along Whiterocks Beach below the Royal Portrush golf course.

We then drove to the Causeway and was able to park at the visitors centre and joined one of the guided tours of the Causeway and coast, an excellent way of learning more about the geology, mythology and social history of the causeway.

The afternoon was going quick do we set off to drive the Causeway coastal path, often the last part of a long road-trip can be melancholy as the exciting miles are done and the great views are long gone.

Not on this trip those last miles were some of the highlights of the trip as the Fog cleared and we drove next to blue seas

We stayed at Curran Caravan Park in Larne which was well run and convenient for the following mornings Ferry.

What a memorable roadtrip these 10 days proved to be.

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So what did we Learn from our first roadtrip of more than 5 nights.

- We have swapped from an outdoor revolution mattress that we bought when we were hiring vans to a duvalay mattress topper, this has been a great investment.

- Pucer Screens wrap has proved to be a great piece of kit.


- We used levelling blocks on almost every site we stayed.

- A van style window insert made opening the door so much easier than rolling up the California door blind at night.

- Martin Doveys Slow Road book was an excellent resource that we used before the trip and during as we decided what to do each day.

- We need to research a better front window wrap- perhaps project camper interior blinds.

- Campervantimes YouTube cupboard packing guide has improved invaluable.

- We ended up buying a light weight caravan step during our travels.

- The Trangia Tundra pan set we bought worked well for our needs throughout the trip.

- Wexford Strawberries were fabulous

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