Campervan Therapy

Wexford Wildfowl Reserve We follow the signs to Wexford Wildfowl Reserve down and round a twisting, turning road for an elastic ‘2 kilometres’.  The van squeezes under the arched arms of oak, hawthorn and beech.  At the North Slob’s harbour, Wexford town stand across the water, a heron flaps by, an egret’s wings are snow…

Tagoat – IOAC Camping This is the kind of corporate campsite we’re not too fond of, by the N25 to Rosslare Port, but it’s a gift for families, with high-wires, archery, and kayaking. I decide not to partake of the axe-throwing. Seán glues himself to MAPS.ME, essential for walking when there’s no footpath signs. We…

West along the M4, first the clouds roll in, then they blanket the sky. By the time we reach the Pembrokeshire National Park, the rain is horizontal, the wind howls. But the hedgerows blaze with hydrangeas, fuchsias, montbretia, ox-eye daisies, purple loosestrife  – a far cry from our Sussex garden’s sun-bleached plants. We cross an…

Essentials: Our bikes are on the back. The Michelin 1:250,000 scale book maps of France and Italy, and AA Ireland are on board, to prevent the dulcet tones of the lady-in-the-SatNav sending us down goat tracks, which has occurred much too often on our tours. One final essential: much to Seán’s despair, a department store’s…

Only 4 days to go until we hit the road. I’m immersed in past photographs, trying to decide on the point of entry into Italy. 2. Route into Italy Number 2 – Through Switzerland to Lake Orta This route takes you over the Simplon Pass from Switzerland to Italy’s S33 and on to Lake Orta…