Tom: We eventually left Nottingham around 17:00 having been to Halfords to purchase some engine coolant as it was due a bit of a top up after the many hills we had ploughed up in second gear at best. We also filled up the Diesel as for some reason it is remarkably cheep in Nottingham. It goes without saying we were now driving straight into the Nottingham/ Sheffield and M1 rush hour traffic!
We ploughed up the road trying to fine plan the evening ahead as we knew we had to be in Sheffield at 20:00 as we had booked tickets to see Tide Lines (for those of you who haven’t heard of them – the best new band out there!) at the Greystones.
We arrived at our usual, Hardhurst farm around 18:20 having just missed the 18:17 bus into Sheffield. We had two choices: either to wait for the next hourly bus or to rush to get the train and get a bus from the middle of Sheffield to the venue. We opted for the former and set about setting up the van and making a quick something to eat. I never thought I would say this but: thank goodness for the emergency super noodles.
We jumped on the bust having been waiting for about fifteen minutes. It was an absolutely foul night and the upper deck was completely steamed up from the heat of all the passengers heading into Sheffield for a night out. I am absolutely certain nobody looking in from outside would have been aware of the games of charades going on!
We eventually got off the bus having five minutes to get the half a mile or so up the steep hill to the Greystones. We arrived somewhat out of breath to find out that they were actually starting at half past. What a waste of effort! We queued for the bar and made sure to get a couple of bags of crisps to hold off the hunger pains which were inevitably coming at some point. The beer was so good I even made sure to get another pint in before Tide Lines got playing to make the best of not having to drive for the rest of the day.
One word: Brilliant! I can honestly say it was one of the very best gigs I have ever been to. It was a super small venue and the sound of the band fantastic. We spoke to them briefly afterwards whilst purchasing they most recent EP and a car bumper sticker as we can honestly say we have been to ‘feel the breeze of the Hebrides’ in every which way possible. The night ended with a takeaway and an Uber back to the campsite as we had got caught up and missed the last train and bus. A top night out!
The next day we woke up to even more rain which seemed to be a key theme to the entire trip. We emptied the “Thetford cassette” (toilet tank) and filled up the van with water and headed the usual way. To Outside in Hathersage! As ever we enjoyed a good brunch and decided to check out some of the potentially free places to say in the Northern Peaks. Both Stanage and Burbage are no go’s however the Fox House are happy providing you eat, drink or both with them. With this now in mind we headed along to Castleton and had a look around the shops as well as enjoying the first mulled wine of the year. We headed back to the Fox House to cook and enjoy a drink in front of the log fire whilst booking our ferry tickets for the next part of our adventure before retiring to the van for sleepsies.
The following day we drove into Sheffield to spend the day looking around. It was still pouring with rain. We found a good car park in the centre of town that allowed us to fit the van in with no issues at all. We wandered into town starving hungry and made for the first place we came to. Luckily it was a Wetherspoons so we knew exactly what we were expecting. At this point I will mention that come the end of this trip, Rachael and I will be posting awards given to various things, the best Wetherspoons will be in this!
We wondered around until tiredness got the better of us and headed back to the van. Before heading back to the Fox House we found a huge Tesco mentioned by the barman in the Fox House to replenish our food supplies in the van. Thank you also goes to Google for taking us what seemed the most roundabout way possible!
With the date on the ferry tickets getting ever closer we headed to Liverpool to enjoy the city in which we had met as well as catch the ferry from Birkenhead to Belfast. We found a very convenient stopping place at the yacht club located in the docks very close to the Echo arena. We wandered along the Mersey into town and got a complete soaking as the rain was still following us. Since we were last in Liverpool over five years ago it has changed a considerable amount. We enjoyed a pint on Mathew Street in a new live music bar called Sergeant Peppers before heading to somewhere that hasn’t changed at all – thank goodness! When we were living in Liverpool and suffering as a result of the huge stresses caused through the PGCE course, we would save our pennies and visit Zorba’s every now and then. Outside of Greece this is the best Greek food I have ever had and this time was no exception. We returned to the van to have a shower before falling asleep.
The following day we moved the van out to St Michael’s, a suburb out towards Aigburth where we lived when last in Liverpool. I popped in to ask at the halls whether parking was still free only to bump into the same man who was working there six years ago. We left the van and caught the Mersey Rail into central Liverpool.
Liverpool’s development continued to surprise all day. I am now aware that the halls of residence I had once lived in next to Lime Street Station in the first year of my undergraduate degree were being strongly proposed to turn back into a hotel, something the building hadn’t been used for since 1930. If they need any votes for this I will certainly offer mine as the building certainly needed a refurbishment when I lived there ten years ago!
We visited the Walker art gallery before heading back to Liverpool One to see Fantastic Beasts: the Crimes of Grindelwald. By the time the film finished the final boat to Belfast had left the ferry terminal at Birkenhead which was our cue to head over to park up for the night. I have driven through the Mersey tunnels on numerous occasions without any issues however, tonight wasn’t to be one of those journeys. Finding the right barrier to drive through proved impossible, having to reverse of two separate occasions to drive into what we hoped was the correct barrier entrance. We eventually got through!
Rachael: Feeling about ten years older after the barrier ordeal we eventually made it to the Birkenhead ferry terminal at about twenty past midnight to await our sailing the following morning. This meant that Tom genuinely had aged a year as it was now his birthday! We cooked up a slightly dismal late-night dinner, watched an episode of Rebus on DVD and finally went to sleep at about 2am. The alarm went off at half past seven, so Tom awoke on his birthday morning in a van at a rainy ferry terminal in Birkenhead after four and a half hours’ sleep. It wasn’t ideal, but could have been worse – say, for example, if I’d punched him in the face or emptied the Thetford cassette into his shoes. I handed Tom his birthday present, a box set of Heartbeat Series 1-7, The Rowan Years, which I hope he was suitable pleased with, and a few birthday cards from family members we’ve been keeping smuggled about the van in anticipation of the big day.
We boarded the ferry no bother, and quickly set up camp on a banquette in the canteen where we remained for the next eight hours. Luckily I had the foresight to bring my trusty bright green fluffy blanket and I wasn’t the only one. In fact the entire perimeter of the canteen looked like it was edged with multicoloured giant slugs. We had some Swedish meatballs, a bag of wine gums, and a nap each, and I made good progress on another book stolen from my brother – High Fidelity by Nick Hornby. By the time we got to Belfast it was pitch black and raining.
We had a quick drive up the coast to Carrickfergus, partly to get our bearings and settle in, and partly to charge the leisure battery as the solar panel had been sitting in the dark all day. Then we pitched up at the car park of a coastal park, in which there was already one motorhome. I made Tom the best birthday dinner I could manage under the circumstances, which was tinned chilli con carne on chips with homemade guacamole. And I even did the washing up! Finally, we cracked open the Heartbeat DVDs and got stuck in.
Tom: Thank you to everybody for their birthday cards, messages and presents. I did have a super day and Rachael, the Heartbeat dvd’s were the best idea ever – thank you.
On Sunday we got up pretty late and parked at the park & ride to visit Belfast city centre. After we’d parked up we discovered that the park & ride buses don’t run on Sundays, but fortunately it was only a 15 minute walk into the centre, so we donned our coats and set off to explore.
By the time we’d got there and had a quick look around we were both starving and were forced once again to retreat into a Wetherspoons for lunch. Once we were sufficiently stuffed with beef and potatoes in various forms we had another look around the centre, popped into a few shops which were now starting to close, had a coffee and decided that we’d be able to do some proper things on our way back through for the return ferry.
Back in the van we headed for a camping spot that was very highly recommended on my app at Bentra Golf Course. There were already two other motorhomes there, and we could see why. There was a special coin-operated terminal for motorhomes which provides water, electricity, and toilet disposal, and the golf course allow you to use their showers and toilets for free during opening hours. What an absolutely brilliant place. That’s the good thing about living in a van I suppose, it makes you really appreciate the rare times when you’re clean and have plenty of water and don’t have to cart a tank of raw sewerage around with you.
Again, we woke up very late and the daylight was ticking away for us to get up to the Giant’s Causeway. After a very welcome shower and a quick cup of tea we packed up and headed up north. The causeway itself is free to access, and between March and November you can park down in Bushmills (of Bushmills whisky fame) and get a free shuttle bus up to the causeway, but at this time of year you either have to walk the two miles or park up the National Trust visitor centre, which costs twelve grand and your firstborn child. Unless, that is, you’re National Trust members like we are. Muahahaha. We legged it out of the van, picked up our audio guides and got a little bus down the hill to the stones.
The Giant’s Causeway is an amazing volcanic rock formation that stretches from Northern Ireland to the Hebridean island of Staffa. Had we gone to the Outer Hebrides at another time of year, we could have got a boat out to Staffa and seen the other end of the causeway which would have been nice, but sadly we don’t live in a novel. Anyway, the Giant’s Causeway was impressive enough on this end. Once again the heavens opened, but we made it back to the bus before we had a repeat of the Great Liverpool Drenching of 2018. We bought the obligatory fridge magnet and departed as it got dark.
My app couldn’t come up with anywhere good to stay tonight, so we took our chances at the Smuggler’s Inn just on the corner of the road up to the causeway. After promising that we’d come in for a meal they kindly agreed to let us park up in the car park. In fact we had rather more than a meal. So far we’ve had two courses each, several pints, lattes, and a Bushmills whisky (well, it’d be rude not to…). Tomorrow’s burning agenda? Laundry…
Troughton out.
Troughton & Hawes in the Great Outdoors 
I see you have invented a new euphemism- “I’m just off for a Thetford..” And possibly the most random meal I have ever heard
Waiter:”yes sir?”
“I’m going to plump for the the Swordfish Meatballs with Wine Gums”
Brilliant. X
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