Having enjoyed the A2 route around the coast on the way to Bushmills, we decided to continue along the same route taking the coast as far as Londonderry, and in fact most of the route was signposted as the Causeway Coastal Route.

We needed supplies so braved the roadworks in the centre of Londonderry to head to the supermarket and whilst we were there we enjoyed a belly full of KFC before crossing the border into the republic.

I’d pre-booked online at Mulroy Drive Camping, near Devlinmore in northwest Donegal. It was a bit of a shock after the reasonably-priced Craig House, and 2 nights came in at 90 euro.

The owner showed us around and gave us a choice of pitches, all with water and EHU and on hard standing.  The site was a terraced hillside, lovely and flat and views out to the sea on both sides of the hill.

When you go up and over the top of the hill the path leads down to the private access to the water, which was shingly and very quiet, the kids loved it, especially H who bettered his stone skimming record.

The weather was really hot and sunny,  and we had no other plans than  to spend 2 quiet days relaxing, eating and drinking and enjoying the beautiful views.  We had also planned to do some laundry, but having crossed over the border without picking up any euros which were needed for the machine we had to give it a miss.

I think Mother will be dying to know what was the state of the conveniences in a place that cost 45 euro a night – so have a butcher at these…

We had a few neighbours who came and went but we had so much space and peace, a really enjoyable couple of days to break up the trip.

The next destination was Achill Island, 300kms southwest, which was going to take us most of the day on the road.  We stopped off in Letterkenny for fuel and groceries, and we bought ice and coffee which we enjoyed in the car park on a day which was even hotter than the last.

Very pleasing that we enjoyed a section of the N17, so played some Saw Doctors along the way…

The most frustrating thing about the drive was that pretty much all the roads were single carriageways and once you got stuck behind something there were very few opportunities to get around them.

Once we got as far as Mulranny, the last town before the causeway across to Achill, the scenery changed dramatically, reminding me of the Scottish highlands, and there was very much a holiday vibe in the air. Little pubs and cafes with seating outside, views across the estuary, all very pretty.

When we crossed the bridge at Achill Sound and headed across the island (87% peat bog, fact fiends) it was like crossing Glencoe, with only sheep and sunshine for company, the road thinned out to a single track and we headed up to the top of the island to Dugoort and our campsite Achill Seal Caves, bang opposite the beautiful Dugoort beach. I had booked online for 3 nights which cost 126 euro (42 a neet!)

We were given a (very small) gravel pitch up on level 7, with a stunning view over the bay, but not much room beyond a small square of grass just big enough to put out the table and chairs.

As the numbering system suggests, the campsite is on a ruddy big hill, and walking from the reception at sea level up to our pitch was a slog.  The Johns were quite near the bottom of the hill too, and there weren’t very many to go at.  To add insult to injury you had to pay for the showers, you put your euro in and the clock starts to count down, but the shower is a push button, so you don’t even get your moneysworth.

We did get chance to do the laundry – 6 euro to wash, and eventually 6 euro to dry, as the weather cooled down so no hanging out the clothes! The site had a shop with an ice cream counter, which the kids enjoyed, but the best thing was literally crossing the road and seeing this…

We crossed to the south of the island to the main village/town of Keel, which was very seasidey and holidaymakerish.  There was plenty of open land along the immense beach where loads of people had parked cars and vans, some looked like they were camping out there.  There was a campsite opposite there, but it didn’t really look like it was up to much. We took a wander around the village, bought some toot and had a very nice lunch at the Beehive (not that one)

We spotted crazy golf, so had a bash.  I dealt with the score card, after the Dutch debacle, and very much enjoyed a pair of holes in one during the round. We had a bunch of ice creams whilst wandering on the sand (10 euro from the Gala minimarket, bargainous) and headed back to camp.

On the way back in we spotted another red Wildax Solaris, and by the time we had refilled our water and got parked up our Wildax twins wandered up to meet us and to compare van notes and travel tips.  The next leg of our trip was to be Galway, but we had no bookings lined up, much to my dismay.  Mrs Wildax reassured me, as they had just come from the camp, which was top of my list, and my reserves had also been her back ups, which was nice.

So after 3 days on Achill, we packed up early to get to Galway in good time to queue up for a spot at the next camp.