ZigZag Wanderer

Monday 15th September 2025

The expected front/storm landed at around 1am. I’d agonized somewhat as to whether I should take down the ‘sun shade’ (there’s a misnomer for you) and drop the pop top, but decided to risk it. And on waking this morning it seems I was justified. I certainly wouldn’t have risked it in one or two of the other spots we’ve parked up in!

The worst ‘damage’ I can see is that the sunshade is covered in fallen leaves. I’ll take that.

This is the first time we’ve had the opportunity to deploy the ‘shade’, so I’m pretty happy with it, overall. Mind you, I set it up with the (supplied) storm straps, pegged down with the Delta Pegs that I always use at stress points on awnings and tents, so I was fairly confident.

How anyone who camps doesn’t use Deltas is beyond me. They’re amazing things. Rock solid, unlike most other, even very expensive, aftermarket pegs. Best design ever without a shadow of a doubt.

Anyroadup; today was another one designed to force us to keep our heads down. We did take a walk, second-guessing the temporary mid-afternoon lull in the nastiness, down to the nearby Lough Corrib, which is pretty huge, but sadly not much is visible from the one and only walkable vantage point. Still, it blew away some of the cobwebs.

Tuesday 16th September 2025

Moving-on day at last. And, lo! The sun’s out and there’s no wind. Whisper it…

At least, at last(!),we were able to pack away in the dry, which is always a blessing compared with getting everything soaked (that isn’t already soaked) while trying to stuff it in the van.

It remained fair for the drive into Galway City too, so we were feeling quite optimistic, but after trawling around the various car parks only to be thwarted by ridiculously low barriers we decided that Galway City didn’t want/need/deserve our money, and headed back out. A shame, as we’ve heard good things about the place, but it just wasn’t to be.

Re-planning on the fly, as it were, we headed south again in the general direction of the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher.

Did I mention rocks before?

There’s an awful lot of rock there at Murrooghtoohy Geopark; specifically limestone. Tip! If you, like M, wish to see these rocks, get your skates on. Apparently erosion caused by rain (there’s a lot of rain…) means there’ll be none left in five to ten million years. Don’t say I didn’t warn ye!

On, then, to the Cliffs of Moher.

Here, you can pay to look at… rocks.

OK, cynicism aside, it’s a World Heritage Site (or something like that) and the cliffs are actually pretty impressive, and it’s all very well laid-out and maintained. Also, as we did, you can choose to book a visit after 4pm, which saves a fair chunk of change. What a business though. Even though it’s mid September, the place was crawling with visitors from all over the planet. Upkeep aside, it should certainly hold its own, financially.

Cliffs…

…and more cliffs

Look! Seen more rocks. Happy again.

Next step was to look for a park-up for the night, so Search for Sites was deployed, and turned up a likely looking spot in Kildysart on the north shore of the Shannon estuary. It’s classed as a ‘community aire’ and has very decent facilities (water, dumping, showers, toilets) and for a voluntary contribution of 10€ is a fair bargain.

Sadly, the weather closed in yet again, so we’ll likely be confined to quarters for the evening.

Tide’s out, but not a bad view tonight.

It’s just a short walk into the village, and with the weather supposedly taking a turn for the (much) better overnight and tomorrow, we’ll no doubt have a wander up there after breakfast.

Wednesday 17th September 2025

Up, to the unmistakable sound of the curlews, and the sight of an egret dabbing in the mud-lined fringes of the Shannon below us.

Pretty perfect, really.

OK, the weather wasn’t quite what Aunty Beeb had led us to expect; quite blowy and with the occasional hint of wet in the air, but it was still highly acceptable given some of our recent experiences.

We had intended to walk into the village this morning, but revised that plan, getting on the road and off in search of petrol and coffee – duly nailed at a very well appointed Texaco just a few miles up the road towards Shannon. Much needed in both cases.

Shannon itself passed us by with no real evidence of its existence except for a few road signs and the odd aeroplane looking for a landing strip, and we hit the non-toll bit of the M18 for Limerick.

There was an old man from Rugby

Who put to sea in a tug(by)

But was absolutely shite at short-form poetry...

The end.

That’s enough of that then.

Limerick is the first (or last, to be more accurate) point at which you can cross the River Shannon by road, and so we did,

followed very shortly by a visit to the Lidl for provisions, and the makings of a quick lunch to be eaten on the southern bank of the river at the port of Foynes.

Foynes, Co. Limerick

Driving further west along the river estuary, it quickly becomes apparent just how vast it is, and why it’s home to so many ports and power stations.

Looking West…

…and East

Again, you just can’t do nature justice with mere snaps.

We drifted on into Kerry, eventually entering the Dingle peninsula, with the first mountains we’ve seen for a few days, to our left, and the ocean to the right. We’d noted an ‘aire’ type of motorhome stopover, The Bridge Field, at Magherabeg. This one comes in at €10 per 24 hours (important, that, as many ‘proper’ campsites consider an overnight stop to be a 20 hour turnaround at best, and generally want to charge you two or three – or more – times as much for the privilege). Michael’s site is level, very well kept, has multiple hook-ups (extra fiver per 24 hours. We didn’t need it) and fresh water points, together with grey and black dumping. It also has views of the mountains on one side, and a long beach a few steps from the other side.

We loved it.

As did Lacy love our long walk on the beach, off lead, running like a nutter. She’ll sleep tonight.