Christmas tour 2010-20121 - Through the valleys and into Ireland

We said our fare wells to Carol and Bill on the evening, with a big thank you for your kind hospitality, it will be returned when you get across to Germany.

We set off on a very clear morning, headed to the M6 in a Northerly direction. The fields where clothed in a deep white blanket of snow but the gritting lorries had been out and the main roads and motorways clear with no hold ups. We where booked on the 13:00 ferry from Holyhead to Dublin, I had left plenty of time as we didn't know how the weather would be further North when we got near to Manchester and the M56 to take us across the top of Wales. NOW I had reckoned with out my Navigator she decided that the best rout was cutting straight through the centre of Wales and Snowdonia (My Navigator is female and electronic). I since realised it was in all probability my own fault, as I had put in optimal route instead of the fastest. Never the less by the time I realised this, it was too late and I was on the M54 heading for Shrewsbury and before you knew it had crossed into Cymru and the land of the Celts.

It was a smashing journey along the A5, the sun was shining and the roads clear, not a lot of traffic about. We passed by many areas that I had been to in my youth, did quite a bit of rock climbing and mountaineering in North Wales.

Passing the frozen Llyn Ogwen

The only bit of a hold up on the trip through Wales was at Bethesda and even then it wasn't too bad. But don't walk too near to the houses.













We reached Holyhead, the ferry that had a delay due to having to wait for the train from London, an unevetful crossing, got into the River Liffey and Dublin, snow was falling (a most unusual occassion in Dublin) and the traffic had come to a stand still took us 4 hours to travel the 1 Km to the tunnel that was supposed to relieve the  traffic conjestion in Dublin, well not this day it didn't. We done a quick visit to friends that live in Malahide (we where going to stay the night but due to Linda's dad taking ill after a holiday in lanzerote) and then up North to Kilkeel getting there at 01:30 and hit the feathers straight away.

So tomorrow was a trip into Newry and visit to Bob in hospital.