Scotland...UK...

 

Ok, now we are having a real hard time deciding which place we like better Ireland or Scotland. Both have good food and drink, the people are both super friendly and the scenery in both is absolutely smashing! We definitely had better weather in Scotland, if that can account for anything but in both we could have spent more time.

We took the ferry from Larne, Ireland to near Stranraer in Scotland a smooth and brilliantly sunny day...of course just when we are leaving. We headed north towards Glasgow (but just skirting it) on our way to John O' Groats, the very northernly tip if the UK. Here I must explain that Scotland is technically part of the UK but if you talk to the people there they will be sure to set you straight...Scotland is Scotland! On the way to the tip we got hold up in a campground in Fort Augustus on Lake Ness due to very foul weather. Once the weather cleared we continued on to John O'Groats and by the time we got there it was clear and warm even though still a little windy. Once again we were pushed on by our time restrains thanks to Ken's passport expiring. The Isle of Skye was a must on our list and if there is one place I wish I could have spent more time to sit and enjoy the scenery and do some hiking it was there! It was magnificent and full of history. Ken pushed me on! The tires on the bike were looking as though they would not make it to Iceland because we had put on almost twice the miles on this trip as we thought we would due to the fact that there is not one straight road in these counties. He thought we would do 6000 km on the whole trip but by that time we were already at 5000 km and had a long way to go. Ken wanted to replace the Michelin Anakee 2 but found out they were discontinued and were being replaced by the Anakee 3. Ken did a quick check on the net and found good reviews on the handling of the "3" but when he tried to mount them he found the rear tire went on just fine but the front 21 inch tire would not bead (pop out on the rim) properly. After 6 hours of frustration we returned to Inverness where he had bought the tires and they insisted they could mount them. After all was said and done, including inflating the tire to 115 psi for a short time, they finally got one side of the tire on but not the other. By that time we had no choice but to leave and we were off with a bit of a shaky tire (which they thought might pop on after riding for a while) but so far has not. Edinburgh was next on our agenda and the only big city on our tour. We spent the afternoon wandering the castle and the city streets, taking in the sights but before nightfall we were off. The next day we rode south through the 'Lakes District' and on through the 'Dales' both had great riding and beautiful scenery.  This was the area where all the scotch whiskey is made...'the whiskey trail' as it was called and Glenlivet to be exact.  We rode through the area but by the time we decided to take a tour we had passed through.  Next time!  I did find out that I like Scotch though, with a splash.

The clock kept ticking and Harwich was awaiting us with a ferry ready to whisk us off to Esjberg, Denmark where we would head north to Hirtshals, at the very tip of Denmark, to catch the boat to Iceland. 

Ken waits for an order of fish and chips, you have to have them at least once while you are there...we never did get around to trying the deep fried mars bars!

This bridge is rea-ea-lly old, but the picture was the best this day.

There is always one in every family...a white sheep!

Stones stand in the fields for thousands of years,  (which must really piss-off the farmer who has to mow around them-not really, the sheep take care of keeping the grass down).  These are of the same date as Stonehenge and they are believed to have something to do with the rotation of the moon rising on its 18.6 year rotation.  Do they really know???

We looked for Nessie but she must have been out of town...maybe on vacation in Canada visiting the Ogopogo.

We made it to the northern most town in mainland Scotland, the Long Way Down boys have nothing on us.

The Cask Inn was a highlight night for us.  The only place around so we stopped in to ask if we could camp on their lawn.  Not only could we camp for free out back but they made up a brilliant dinner.  Ken had freshly caught trout and I had steak and kidney pie, with homemade apple pudding for dessert (oh I can't forget the baked avocado with blue cheese) and all for a very reasonable price.

On Isle of Skye the coastline was breathtakingly beautiful.

More Isle of Skye!

We did a three hour hike but I could have kept going...and going!

Punker Cow?  Bad hair day? or love me just the way I am!

What the ???  Who are they calling old?

Ken isn't happy, he is battling with his new Anakee 3 front tire.

Edinburgh Castle, one of the many along the way but very impressive and maybe the biggest. 

Just call me curly.

A nice and quiet, and secluded camp spot in the back 40.

500 types of malt whiskeys...some good, some better.

It's for you!

In the last hours of our stay in the UK we finally had bangers and mash, served in a HUGE Yorkshire pudding!

How to pour a Guinness.

Drinking a Guinness is the reward for those who wait.  It takes a good (and long) four or five minutes to pour this beer just right.  Pour the Guinness from the tap to fill the glass then wait for 3 1/2 to four minutes for the air to come to the top and the beer to clear.  Pour to fill the glass, wait at least 1/2 minute then again, one more time, top the glass off with the last shot and lick your lips as the foam tips over the rim.  Take a  big swig of beer (not foam as it tends to be bitter) and enjoy it from ear to ear!  Don't forget to check for the 4 leaf clover on the top...Aye, you're the lucky one!

Leaving England to set sail for the island (as they call it)...Ireland.

We loved Ireland as soon as we set foot on the Island and we knew that the week we had allotted    ourselves to visit was not going to be enough!  As Jethro (a new Irish friend) put it "it's almost an insult to the country" and in this case I have to agree but we have to take what we can get sometime.  Maybe we will have to come back.

The first thing we noticed about Ireland was that the towns were a lot newer, new subdivisions and commercial  property in most villages but also many were for sale.  They also have very old structures as well, it seemed to us there were more castles and estates, both private and open to the public.    We were very happy to notice that the campsites in Ireland had a few more amenities than those in the UK.  It makes a big difference to us motorbike campers when we have a campers kitchen and maybe a place to sit out of the rain (because you know there will be rain!), and maybe even internet! 

Ireland found us trying out a few different accommodations.  We couchsurfed for the first time..twice actually and they were great experiences.  We were able to find out a little bit more about what makes the Irish tick (other than their great beer and whiskey, both of which we had to try-Ken the Guinness and I, an Irish coffee) and I also think we made a few good friends as well.  We also tried out a couple of hostels, The Monastery in Letterfrack (thanks for the suggestion Jethro) and a World Youth Hostel in Bushmill.  We were pleased to find that the hostels offered private double rooms (for us married types) as well as dorm rooms, both for a bit more reasonable price than a B&B and both were complete with a kitchen at our disposal.  We nearly had to opt for a dorm room in Bushmill as the Great Northern 200 motorbike street race was on at the same time as our stay.  It is the biggest motorcycle event in all of the UK, we couldn't figure out why we were seeing so many bikes on the road as we approached the event.  Once again, was our lack of doing homework a good or bad thing?  

The rugged coastline has to be one of the major sights in Ireland, unlike the white cliffs in England, Irelands banks are mainly black, rugged and made of a granite.   We did two tours in the south, The Ring of Kerry and the Dingle Peninsula loop.  Both tours had brilliant coastlines surrounding mountains dotted with farms and dissected by little roads.  Rain again was predominant but amazingly the sun happened to shine through often enough for us to enjoy a view or two.  The Cliffs of Moher, on the west coast and The Giants Causeway, in the north were also amazing examples of mother natures talents.   All of this we managed to fit into our whirlwind trip...next time I'ld like to stay longer.

Saundersfoot, the last stop before catching the ferry.  A "little" rainy but we still made a walk in it. 

The last set of cliffs we stopped to admire on the way to the ferry in Fishguard.

Ken loves the riding on the small country roads.  I love the views and the photo opts.  We have never seen so many different shades of green.

The rugged coast of Ireland, this will not be the last you of it!

Blarney Castle, it is said that anyone who kisses the Blarney Stone in the castle will be blessed with the gift of gab.  This was as close as we got to the gates, we thought we were blessed enough!

 

The typical little town along the south coast of Ireland.  Murphy's draught...if I had to drink a beer this would be the one!  Ken caught up with a few Guinness.

Many, many rocks make up the homes, animal shelters, fences, roads...you name it!  Here we are looking down the road on the Dingle Peninsula.

 

Sheep, sheep and more sheep!  They are always head down eating...or are they looking for a four leaf clover?

As promised, another stunning coastal view.  This time up the west coast of the Dingle Peninsula.

 

The roads are narrow, very narrow, and more times than not deemed only for one way traffic.  These roads are made for motorcycles.

The Cliffs of Moher, the sight of the cliffs from the edge looking over the top is not for the faint of heart.

Nice and cosy in "The Monastery Hostel" in Letterfrack.  Some very nasty things happened here at this monastery, which was a home for orphan children, up until the early 1960's. 

 

A sunset hike in Connemara National Park.

Basalt columns at "The Giants Causeway" near Bushmills on the northern banks...

Ken uses them as stepping stones.

Loaded and ready to go, off the island and across to Scotland.

Jolly ol' England here we come!

We once again left Heinz and Martina's on the 2nd to go visit friends we met in Macedonia last summer (remember the friends of our friends Neil and Jill in Peachland?).  Denis and Jasmyn opened their home to us and we enjoyed a campfire Holland style and a great meal.  We wished we had more time to visit them and other friends in the area but we are on a rather tight schedule this trip.  A quick ride the next morning to Calais in France where we caught a ferry to Dover in England, a very smooth sailing and off we went.

The 'Cliffs of Dover' were magnificent in the afternoon sun and we continued on down the coast to 'Beachy Head' and on to a campsite on the other side of Eastbourne.  So far so good for the weather, lots of sunshine even though a little cooler and breezier.  Spring here is beautiful lots of flowers and everythng is GREEN!

The next day it was off the Swanage to visit Andy and Simone whom we met in Ho Chi Minh city in January.  We turn down an invite don't you know!  Andy was a host with the most (Simone was away for the weekend) showing us around the area to some of the top places to see in the area.  Andy was a great guide and a colourful character, he owns the local pitch 'n put and dabbles in acting and politics.  We visited Swire Head, Harry's Rocks, Curfe Castle and a few locals pubs for a pint or two.

From Swanage it was off to Stone Henge, something everyone has to do when in England, then on to the nearby village of Devizes.  Ken's grandfather immigrated from this village in 1911 when, as we found out by talking to a elderly couple, local factories were closing down.

The area was beautiful but we got word that the weather was about to change on us (and not for the good) so we decided to head for the hills of Brecon Beacon National Park.  We stayed in an old farm campground for two nights and did a day hike to the top of Sugarloaf Mountian, where we had beautiful views of the farms and hills around.  After the second night we awoke to rain, packed up and headed to Saundersfoot and treated ourselves to a cosy B&B, Jubilee Guest House, close to the sea.  What a treat!

In the evening we sat around a fire-pit and enjoyed a little travel talk with Denis and Jasmyn, near Heerland.

On the ferry from Calais, France to Dover, England we were given priority and were able to board first, before the other vehicles. We couldn't believe our luck purchasing our e-boat tickets for 11 Euros, if we would have waited and bought them at the port it would have been 66 Euros!

The Cliffs of Dover from the boat as we prepared to dock at 3:30 pm, the sun was perfect.

Thanks to the Deiterings we made a stop off at Beachy Head for another spectacular view of the white cliffs.

Sheep, sheep and more sheep!

The view from the top of Swire Head as we hiked along the ridge at sunset.

Andy enjoys a glass of the local beer and the Square and Compass pub (one of his favourites).  The gent in the back has dressed for the night out.

Small beach cabins line the beach at Swanage, a summer tourist village.

Harry's Rocks on the coastal trail just out of Swanage.

Andy and I looking over Corfe Castle, a little BBQ, wine and a beautiful sunset.

We were lucky to arrive at The Greyhound Pub just in time to see the fireworks at a medieval folkfest on a long bank holiday weekend.

Stone Henge..need I say more?

We visited the small village of Devizes where Ken's grandfather immigrated from in 1911.

The top of Sugarloaf Mountain in Brecon Beacon National Park in Wales.

Welsh is a very difficult language...you judge for yourself, can you pronounce this sign printed in the Welsh language?