Author name: Allan & Fanfan

There would be 3 big seaside destinations in Northern Ireland. Bangor with its proximity to Belfast, Newcastle at the foot of the Mourne Mountains, and Portrush, the gateway to the Causeway Coast. We live in Bangor, have been to Newcastle countless times, but have no recollection of ever being to Portrush. So we made it […]

I’ve probably covered all the waymarked routes in Tollymore Forest Park in one way or another. I’ve also on occasions been completely lost off the beaten path relying on the sound of faraway traffic to lead us back to the main road. This is because my aunt and uncle owned a holiday home of sorts

The ferry ports in both Belfast and Liverpool are much quicker/easier to reach than the international airports of both cities. Prices are also cheaper by ferry and you can travel with whatever you want. Cars, bikes, cats, dogs, and there’s no restriction on baggage. The ferry crossings are 8-hours but instead of enduring flights (flights

We had planned on visiting every National Trust property in Northern Ireland through the space of a year, but with our stints in Asia, and the arrival of Coronavirus 6-months in, we didn’t quite make the full list. But we did cover the main sites of the National Trust, and covered many of them two

What always put me off with camping in Northern Ireland is reading the reviews beforehand as there always seems to be problems (at some point) with Irish travellers, joyriders, rowdiness and a lack of security and police presence. But even the slightest mention of parties, music, youths, noise, it just puts me right off. And

Fanfan is kind of obsessed when it comes to flowers here in Northern Ireland, to the point when she would try to have me take photos of them for her when she’s not here. Which I don’t. But when she is here, in Spring and Summer, it’s all about visits to Bangor’s parks and the

We have been recently looking for newer pastures to explore in Northern Ireland on our National Trust Pass, as we aim to tick off some of the less obvious properties on the list, and ultimately get our money’s worth or the year. And this brought us out to Rowallane Gardens (a name I continue to

Until recently Greyabbey was little more than a road sign along the coast of Strangford Lough and the Ards Peninsula to me. As I really had no reason for visiting until a chance encounter when arriving at nearby Mount Stewart with no cash and they don’t accept cards for the entrance fee. And so this

We’re really not great when it comes to hiking, in fact we’re more the opposite, and when planning this outing we were looking for the easiest way possible to walk from Silent Valley to Ben Crom Reservoir. And hoped to just use the shuttle bus that supposedly travels between the two, only it never came.