Our last port of call in Norn Iron this trip. The flowers - crocus? - are from the beautiful gardens at Mount Stewart (which also has some glorious mature gum trees), the onetime Northern Irish residence of the Marquesses of Londonderry. One of them was the Aide de camp to Wellington at Waterloo. The wife of another, Edith, was the brains behind mobilising women into support roles in WWI, as well as being involved in the suffragist (not suffragette, they Were qui...

We have had some very full days, enjoying reunions with family and exploring previously unseen corners of the island. We survived the storm that besieged us in Sligo, unsurprisingly, and continued on to Parke’s Castle and a Coal mine both of which we were very well lead through. We arrived in Killylea on the 21st and were immediately warmly wrapped into local life, and with outings everyday since with a moving cast we’ve been thoroughly entertained. We’ve ...

If you couldn’t guess from the beautiful green landscape and the blue, craggy sea, we are in Ireland. Spent our first few days in Abbeleix, which is pronounced Abbeyleeks, as I belatedly discovered. Using it as a quiet base, Ross did some riding, and together we explored Kilkenny castle and its Medieval mile, as well as the Rock of Cashel. We moved to our current digs at Lissigivenny, near Killarney, after driving through the Valley of Aherlowe, all very pictur...

So ...... we have been spending quality time with family - Bristol, Cardiff, Lampeter and tomorrow we will venture to Carmarthen for our final Welsh link. We are staying in ‘Garden Cottage’ which is on an estate which boasts Britain’s most impressive ruin. It is pretty special, but you’ll have to put yourself through the tedium of all our photos to find out what it looks like..... Ross has managed to ride on 3 of the last 4 mornings, and today I met him a...

So we’ve made it to Porlock, after a few busy days of travelling. We left Norway via Beautiful Larvik on the ferry to Hirtshals in Denmark. It arrived at about noon, and we headed off to Germany through rain and dark clouds, and stayed the night at an innocuous place called Bad Bramstedt, before heading across to Antwerp the next day, with its diamond quarter and old town, marble railway station, waffles, bikes and a flourishing Hasidic Jewish community. Not to...