Baltimore...

It’s been a busy couple of days. I drove from the Gower to Pembroke Dock; thankfully, the postcode supplied took me straight there, to join a queue of cars, vans, lorries and motorhomes waiting for the 2.45am ferry sailing. I met a guy who’d been there for twelve hours, having missed the afternoon sailing “by two minutes”, as he said. He and his son were in good spirits, considering, and were looking forward to meeting up with family in Cork. I had a snooze, correctly assuming that someone would be round to bang on the side of the van when I needed to be on the move. In fact it was the car doors slamming which alerted me to the arrival of the ferry, gliding through the darkness to the pierhead.

I drove to the vehicle check-in. Even before I could say anything, a guy said “Mr Morrison?” When I nodded, he handed me the tickets, and I went to join the rows of cars ready for boarding. By 2.30am we were all on the ferry; from the inside it looked like a floating casino, but my only need was to get some sleep. I folded up my fleece for a pillow (making a mental note to use a proper pillow for the return trip), and woke about 7am as we were docking in Rosslare.

I decided to begin my trip at the south-west tip of Ireland, so drove, via Waterford and Cork, to Skibbereen. I had a few hours wandering round the town, trying to get my bearings. When I returned to the van for an early evening nap, I managed to sleep right though to 7am this morning! I headed for the harbour at the little town of Baltimore, to find an animated scene, with people waiting to go out on boats for either a day’s whale-watching or sea-fishing. The guy ushering people onto his whale-watching boat gave everyone such a warm welcome that I’m certain the day would be memorable, even if they didn’t see too many whales. They looked like they’d get their money’s-worth. I took plenty of pix, before heading off to explore the Mizen peninsular.

Whale watchers at Baltimore…

Hillend, on the Gower, and its campsite. “We have a shop, a café and toilets”, the owner said, with proprietorial pride, as he waved an outstretched arm in a broad arc across a once unspoiled landscape, now filled with cars…