Journey home - Thursday 28 May

Strangford Lough

Joni and Robin got up and made the tea and Nick made breakfast of sausage, egg, and potato bread. We lounged around watching the golf and the tennis and insulted Joni for cleaning up. Robin counted 12 bottles for the recycling... Nick and Sylvia decided to explore the lane and drove down to the end which took them to the edge of the Lough and Castle Ward (Nicholas, the son of the owner, was said to be definitely insane...). We had lunch of ready meals from Asda and packed up and left for Dublin, stopping for a cup of tea on the way.

Castle Ward

We arrived at Budget at 5.25 and had a very smooth transfer to the airport where we had Guinness and burgers.

The flight left on time and only took 45 minutes to get to Stansted. What a great time we all had!

Golf at Royal County Down - Wednesday 27 May

Graeme McDowell

Joni cooked us bacon and egg and we headed off to Royal County Down at Newcastle for the Pro Am at the Irish Open. We got the free park and ride which left us so far to walk that we had to stop for a cup of tea on the way!

Rory McIlroy

Patrick Kielty

Pat Jennings

We saw Rory McIlroy, Ricky Fowler, Graham MacDowell, Michael-Angel Jimenez, Martin Kaymer, Paul McGinley, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Padraig Harrington et al. Among the celebs were Pat Jennings, Dennis Taylor, Ken Docherty, Shane Warne - Patrick Kielty nearly killed us with his shot! All was great but - emergency - NO GUINNESS!!! Robin bought a hat but the merchandise was generally disappointing. When the heavens opened we decided to beat a retreat, getting a cab back to the car for £3.50...

We drove to Maghera and had lunch at the Maghera Inn - friendly service and lovely food!

Sitting by the fire

We did some shopping on the way home and as the weather was bad we lit a fire and enjoyed the quiz shows and then the craic.

Belfast - Tuesday 26 May

Titanic Experience

Nick cooked another breakfast - sausage and egg this time - and then we set off to Belfast to see the Titanic Experience. It is in an iconic building and was really interesting - mixed emotions! Hearing the experiences of the survivors was especially moving.

The Crown

After that we drove into the City Centre and went into The Crown pub opposite the infamous Europa Hotel. We were told the meal would take half an hour and when that time lapsed we were given free drinks. After an hour passed they told us the meal would be free! So we left a good tip... Three of us had Irish Stew and Joni had Gammon Steak. 

We then we went to Dunluce Avenue to see Nana B's house and saw all the initials carved into the bricks by the door including JMC, SMC and Jane from the 1970's. We passed Joni's school and went back for a while.

63 Dunluce Avenue

Later we went to Paddy's Barn (recommended by Sunday's taxi driver), a pub in the village of Saul (although the SatNav nearly took us to No. 47). There was live music - an accordion player, two guitarists, two tin flutes and a couple of singers as well as a big dog and a wee dog! The atmosphere was very welcoming and we met a couple who are planning to go to St Ive's for a wedding in the summer. 

Paddy's Barn

Back home for a nightcap and off to bed!

Banbridge and around - Monday 25 May

Nick made bacon and eggs for breakfast and we set off for a day of reminiscing. The first stop was Gilford where we saw Joni's ancestral home (still standing - and so was Joni, but it was still early).

Scarva

Then off to Scarva to see Granny Quinn's grave and Joni, Sylvia and Robin leant over the wall where they used to watch the parade on 13 July. 

Next stop was the cemetery in Banbridge where we saw Nana B's, Mamma's (Auntie B) and Auntie Dorse's grave. We went up to Uncle Sammy's and Auntie Madge's grave and by complete chance Nick spotted a grave marked 'McCoy'. It was Sylvia's friend Pat - we didn't even know she was buried there.

We had lunch at the Downshire in Banbridge. Joni spent the afternoon with her friend David and the rest of us went to Sylvia's friends Anne and Alan near Katesbridge. We had a look at Sylvia and Robin's ancestral home at Burnview Terrace (still standing).

Lobster Pot, Strangford

Then off to Strangford for dinner at the Lobster Pot served by David (who asked us if we wanted a small size or a proper size glass of wine).

Journey and Daft Eddy's - Sunday 24 May

We met in Stansted and had breakfast in Wetherspoons - Joni had a fry-up and a Guinness, Robin just had a Guinness, Sylvia had a bacon bagel and Nick had a smoked salmon bagel. Then we moved on to the Champagne bar - Robin had a beer and the rest of us had Champagne. Then we walked 4 miles to the plane. We had wine, beer and coffee on the plane.

When the plane arrived at Dublin we walked another 4 miles and picked up the car - a Skoda and got on the M1 north. We were stopped by a cycle race then we went to Hilltown to the Downshire Arms which was our first experience of the Northern Ireland hospitality. Although they were doing Sunday lunch they let us just have a starter.

Mallard Cottage

We got to the cottage which was magnificent - OK from the outside but the minute you walked through the door it was great. We were amazed how big it was and how well furnished and equipped it was. We deliberated and eventually decided to get a taxi to Daft Eddy's in memory of Sylvia's friend Pat. The driver, aka Eamonn Schumacher, got us there almost before we left. We had a beautiful view over the Lough and it brought back memories of Skerryvore.

Daft Eddy's

Lewis O'Hamilton brought us home and we had a wee glass before going to bed.

Strangford Lough