27 March, 2023

We don’t have to check out until midday today but Lynn still insisted on getting out of bed at 7:30 am. For a change the sun is shining and it is a warm morning after an overnight minimum of -1 Deg C.

It appears that the sheep in the adjacent paddock are also happy about the change in weather. They have managed to find a hole in the fence and are enjoying mowing our lawn and walking the road outside.

Despite taking our time we are all packed up and on the road by 11:00 am so we may be too early to check in at our next destination.

We are spending a leisurely 5 days at a beautiful golf club on Lough Sheelin in County Cavan. No cooking or cleaning up this week. The drive is about 2 hours and one stop for petrol on the way.

We arrive about 1:15 pm so we walk around the hotel grounds for about half an hour and are allowed to check in early as our first-floor, lake view room is ready.

The hotel and golf club are located on the shores of Lough Sheelin and well away from the nearest town of Oldcastle which is about 11 kms north east.

First constructed in 1759 by the Maxwell family who were one of the largest landowners and political power brokers in Cavan. In fact they were one of the largest land owners in Ireland.

Crover has a fascinating history serving as a country estate to prestigious lords, barons and colonels until 1957 when Crover House opened its doors as a hotel.

This Georgian manor house purchased by the O’Reilly family in 1992 sits majestically on the private shores of Lough Sheelin, exudes elegance with breath-taking views of the historic lake and 41 acres of meticulously landscaped grounds.

The house provides an intimate and tranquil setting for spectacular weddings, romantic getaways, golfing, fishing and much more.

The hotel and club house are magnificent so as we stroll around we shoot a few photos taking advantage of the sunny weather.

After we check in and take our luggage to the room we decide to have a drink in the restaurant and book a table for tonight before driving to Oldcastle to look for a car wash. No luck at Oldcastle so we continue a further 10 kms to Virginia to find Lynn’s hairdresser for her Friday appointment. We continue driving up the main street and manage to find a car wash behind the Applegreen Service Station. They do a great job and manage to remove a few weeks of country lane mud.

Back to the hotel to unpack and dinner. After dinner Lynn decides that we need to go for another walk but the wind has now come up and it is freezing outside. According to the weather report we are in for yet another wet week. Great weather for ducks…. or even swans.

I am ready to warm up back in our warm and cosy room but Lynn wants to get a liqueur coffee and have a quiet drink in the lounge area. I may be asleep by the time she gets back to the room.

28 March, 2023

Lynn set the alarm on her old phone for 8:00 am but now that it has coverage the phone adjusted for daylight savings so the alarm goes off at an ungodly 7:00 am. It is cold and dark but by the time we realise what has happened we are showered and dressed for a 9:00 am breakfast by 7:45 am. Not Happy!

Breakfast in the hotel dinning room is wonderful even if they had to redo my poached eggs because they were too over cooked the first time. I think that I really like this hotel.

After our leisurely breakfast we are driving to Cavan which is 23 kms away to check out the area and buy some waterproofing spray for Lynn’s outdoor jacket which is starting to show signs of wear and losing its coating after a number of cleaning attempts. Once we are back in Brisbane the coat will be retired and replaced if we travel to cold and wet countries after that time.

During our stop at the sports store in Cavan Lynn also buys a new softshell jacket with fleece lining to replace her Kathmandu jacket that she bought in Brisbane 10 years ago as it is too short and didn’t cover her behind any more, not water and wind resistant and the fleece not thick enough. 40% off – a bargain!

On the way back we return via Virginia so that Lynn gets a colour allergy skin test done at the hairdresser prior to her hair appointment on Friday. From Virginia we return to the hotel via Ballyjamesduff where Lynn notices that there are a number of farmers who drove their tractors into town to go shopping.

The Insignia turns over 50,000 miles when we return from Cavan.

Since Lynn has to go back to Virginia on Friday I’m thinking that she could drive herself. As she has never driven the Insignia nor driven a manual with a six-speed gearbox we decide to circumnavigate Lough Sheelin with Lynn at the wheel.

Once Lynn works out how to find 5th and 6th gear she manages the car well with only one stall when she forgets that, unlike our Calais at home, the car is a manual and you have to engage the clutch when you come to a sudden stop. Parking may be a different issue.

I think that the biggest issue with Lynn driving the Insignia is putting the driver’s seat and mirrors back in the right place for me. I have just found the ideal settings. It all sounds a bit Sheldonesk but I have very specific settings when I drive.

After dinner the rain seems to have stopped so Lynn heads out to do the Woodland Walk along the lake shore. I have eaten way too much so I just head back to the room to rest a while.

Twilight is lasting longer and later each day. Although it doesn’t feel like it yet, summer is on its way. Can’t wait to get to Cyprus and see some sunshine again.

29 & 30 March, 2023

The rain continues on and off for the next two days. It ranges from short glimpses of sunshine to complete white outs with heavy rain and strong winds. Not the days for exploring or hiking.

Since the next week is going to be hectic we just veg out for two days and do some quarter-end financial management, some preparations for the Cyprus holiday and the 3 months of the Scandinavian trip.

Due to a couple of late issues we now have to do our washing tomorrow. That means finding a laundromat in Virginia. I will do the laundry while Lynn has a hair cut tomorrow. At least I now have a need to go with her to Virginia and something to do while I wait for her.

31 March, 2023

How unusual…. it is raining again this morning. We have a quick breakfast and head into town to check out the laundromat to make sure that it is operational. It is, so I drop Lynn off at the hairdresser and I go back to the laundromat to do a couple of loads of washing and drying.

The laundromat is an outdoor module with two washers and one dryer – i.e. it’s located in a car park at the rear of a supermarket. This seems to be the trend Ireland. You usually find them at the edge of petrol station forecourts. The machines all work fine and I can pay by debit card for each load. The total cost is a bit expensive at around Eu30 but I am all done in about an hour. The biggest issue is getting the washing from the outdoor dryer to the car without getting it all wet again. I have to sit in the back seat of the car and sort out the items before bagging them for transport.

By the time I am finished I only have to wait half an hour for Lynn to be finished. Back home after driving in the wet we unpack the laundry and Lynn gets stuck in to the ironing before we both repack ready to head back to Donaghcloney for 3 nights then on to Belfast and Cyprus.

1 April, 2023

We have a late check out and depart at about 11:00am. We are driving to Donaghcloney via Dundalk for fuel then on to Newry to pick up Lynn’s laptop that could not be repaired and collect the refund.

From the Newry Computer Centre we headed to the local Tescos for some supplies for the next three days before arriving back at Harry & Jenny’s house.

After we unpack and catch up on all the comings and goings we head out to Downshire Arms Hotel for dinner.

Harry & Jenny know a couple of the staff members so we had fantastic service and even better food.

The place is packed full for a Saturday night so it looks like things are back to normal after the Covid pandemic.

2 April, 2023

We wake up to a sunny morning this morning but don’t really get moving very fast so it is well after 11:00am before we head out for a planned walk along the tow path at Drumbeg just on the outskirts of Belfast.

Beside the River Lagan at Drumbeg there is a 19th Century canal with a tow path. The tow path has been converted to a walkway that goes as far as downtown Belfast. We won’t be going that far but the plan is to walk about 3 km each way along the path.

We started the walk at the Drumbeg Parish Church at the Drumbeg bridge.

The bridge is a narrow four arch bridge that crosses the River Lagan at Drumbeg. We crossed over the bridge and headed down stream towards Belfast.

It is cold out but we may be lucky if the rain holds off for the walk. Along the river there are a number of rapids where a canal has been built parallel. The canal has a number of locks to allow the old canal boats to travel all the way to Belfast.

We walked as far as Linen Mill Grove before heading back the same way. On our way back we came across a Heron stalking his prey. He managed to catch a small fish while we watched him.

We are due back for a late lunch of Lamb Roast but Harry suggests that we stop by at the oldest pub in Belfast for a swift half pint. As it is Sunday the little pub is heaving with the Sunday lunch crowd. We head to the public bar for a refreshing beer and Lynn has a glass of Merlot.

A swift half turned in to two and we even booked a table for tomorrow dinner for 6:30 pm.

Back at Donaghcloney Jenny has kept the roast lamb warm but it is more like dinner than lunch. The lamb is wonderful and very tender. Spring lamb at its best.

3 April, 2023

The weather is still a bit chilly this morning but at least it isn’t raining. After a late breakfast we head out to Lurgan Park for a short walk around the lake.

This afternoon we need to reorganise our suitcases in preparation for our two weeks in Cyprus and our three months in Scandinavia. We have managed to accumulate excess “stuff” over the last 6 months so any non essentials will be left in the car for our return.

By 6:00 pm we are off, back to Drumbeg and Robert Stewart’s Spirit Grocery for dinner. We managed to eat way too much and finished off a bottle of red wine.

4 April, 2023

We have a few things to sort out before we depart this afternoon for Belfast International Airport at 2:00 pm. I take the car down to the local car wash and pick up some snacks for the flight. The flight departs at 9:30 am tomorrow so we are staying at the Maldron Hotel which is right at the airport.

Jenny was planning to go with us to the airport but by the time we loaded up Jenny’s VW T-Roc it is evident that only one suitcase will fit in the boot of her SUV so our second case has to ride in a passenger seat. We say our goodbyes to Jenny and Harry drives us the half hour to the airport.

After checking in I do some catching up on the blog and we do a final sort, repack and weigh our luggage. Dinner tonight is in the hotel dinning room where we attempt to consume a three course meal.

Our accommodation tonight includes a hot breakfast but unfortunately the hotel hot breakfast doesn’t start until after 7:00 am so we will have to settle for a continental breakfast as we really need to be at the check in counter by 7:15 in the morning.

5 April, 2023

We are up very early this morning (at least for us) and have showered and had breakfast by 7:00 am. We check out and walk the 30 meters to the departures check in desk. We are all checked in and only need to do a bag drop but have to queue up for about 20 minutes. It seems that the British still haven’t worked out how to automate a bag drop system yet.

I hate low cost airlines but we had no choice for this trip as Jet2 is the only operator that goes to Paphos direct from Belfast. There is no entertainment on the five and a half hour flight and you have to purchase everything from a meal to a glass of water. It is a wonder that they don’t charge for toilet paper.

We arrived at Paphos airport at 4:30 pm local time which is 2 hours ahead of Belfast time. We hit the baggage claim and waited 45 minutes for our luggage and ours was first off our flight. These guys make Brisbane airport seem efficient. A further half hour wait for all the stragglers to get on the transfer bus but luckily the hotel is only 20 minutes from the airport. We check in just after 6pm.

We are staying at the 5 star rated (probably closer to 4.5 stars) hotel called Constantinou Bros Athena Royal Beach Hotel. Our room overlooks the sea and seems a good size with super king bed and modern bathroom. This will do nicely for the next 14 days.

After unpacking we head to the hotel restaurant for dinner. The hotel has a number of restaurants but we opt for the buffet tonight so that we can crash out early. The food is very good and reasonably priced compared to Ireland and the UK. The hotel has an option for guests to buy half and full board but we want to try out a number of the local restaurants while we are here but we may take up their offer next week depending on what we find.

We are told that the tap water is not drinkable but the hotel charges for bottled water which seems a bit rough, however the bottled water is only EU2 per litre at the restaurant and only EU0.75 in the hotel shop (EU0.5 in the local supermarkets). We are given a bottle of cheap Cyprus red wine and a fruit platter as a welcome gift from the hotel but Lynn states that she wants to go to the hotel gym every morning and stay off the booze for the duration of our stay. I wonder how long that will last. Any bets?