It’s been a while since my last post, we’ve been living off-grid for some time now – so without electric which means phone battery power is at a premium!
We’ve also been without water and the ability to dispose of grey & black waste but that’s another blog.
After spending a few weeks between Dorset and Wiltshire we finally got back in the Moho around April 10 and headed straight to Pembrokeshire to spend a few nights in a site near St David’s.
We were heading across to Ireland from Fishguard in a few days to celebrate the ‘Farm’ purchase (when it finally goes through) with Louis and Niamh but wanted a few days exploring some more of the Welsh coastline.
Unfortunately the forecast bought us some pretty extreme gales and wet weather but we still managed a few fabulous walks along the Pembrokeshire coastal path. I don’t think I’ve ever walked in such fierce wind before! Getting wet with the right gear on is fine but when you come back to a Moho – how you dry all your wet things is always a challenge.
Our site was a 10 minute walk to Whitesand beach, a great location and I noticed there were quite a few other camp sites dotted around the area so it must be a popular place in high season. I can see why – the beach was long and sandy with interesting coves and rocks to climb and lots of places to explore in the area. Even in the stormy weather there was a constant stream of vehicles in the car park coming and going.
We bumped into some old friends from when we lived in Marlborough. The Ripley’s, who are parents of children that both Joel and Rio went to school with. We knew they had a holiday home somewhere in the area as both children had been there with Becky and Tom, but it was only by good fortune that we saw them as they were gazing at the sea view from their window and gave us the opportunity to catch up over a cuppa!
On this trip we were travelling with an extra vehicle. I was driving the Mercedes Vito – Bobs work van that has served us brilliantly over the last 8-10 years. We’ve all over Spain and France in it and never had a problem. I’m very comfortable driving it so Bob followed in the motorhome.
Having an extra vehicle is a real bonus as you can then get to the shops in bad weather and you are not relying on being totally motorhome bound. It’s been very useful over the last few weeks whilst off grid but that’s in my next blog.
It was useful whilst in St David’s as we had to visit a vet in Fishguard to get George wormed 24 before sailing. The vet was required to stamp his EU Irish passport with date, time and practice stamp and although I’d checked for signature at the time it wasn’t until the next morning that I realised they’d not stamped it too which meant the port authority might not accept it.
I wasn’t prepared to risk it so I hastily rang the vets and managed to pop in on our way to the port to get the required stamp. Phew!
After a busy and slightly delayed crossing due to the recent weather our first stop was to be Kinsale one of the most popular and most expensive area to live in Ireland, it’s very popular with tourists but also the Irish themselves and property is at a premium here.
Louis & Niamh were renting temporarily in Kinsale whilst they wait for the farm purchase to go through. We parked the Moho in the town at a car park near to the harbour.
We initially felt a bit exposed there as we took up 4 parking spaces but were told no one cared here and there were other caravans that had been there for ever!
We were off grid (no power, water or waste disposal) but only expecting to be there a couple nights …..7 nights later we are still there!
We were starting to get an idea of how things work the Irish way…. now I’m not criticising the Irish as I love their country and people very much but the ‘yes of course but I won’t tell you exactly when but eventually’ way of getting things done takes some o getting used to. And if you know Bob who works at 100 miles an hour and wants it all to happen yesterday then you will see where the problem is!
After many phone calls, sweet talking and promised bottles of gin the Farm purchase eventually went through. We had spent a lovely week exploring Kinsale, the colourful painted shops and houses, the numerous cafes, bars and restaurants with ‘real’ Irish music, shops selling the Irish made crafts and clothing. The local beach that is packed at weekends with cold water swimmers, the ‘Scilly Isle’ walk along the river, Charles Fort ruins and reading the info boards on the history of Battle of Kinsale which was the culmination of the Nine Years War between Ireland and Tudor England.
Still parked at the harbour we were thinking that perhaps we’d out stayed our welcome and were becoming more like ‘Travellers’.
It was a real turning point in living in the van, I can’t believe now how well we manage without the basics. You really take for granted running water, water to wash-up with, to drink and hot water to shower, where your waste water goes, what you do with your rubbish, washing your clothes, space and facilities for cooking and keeping stuff clean.
Thankfully that week we had Louis’ flat for cooking, the odd shower but after the farm sale was complete that was all about to change.
One Response
Great to hear about your adventures in Ireland. I had realised you were living in a carpark for a week. Great 👍 xperiences😝