Carlingford, the Boyne and Newgrange to Bangor

After Dublin we made our way to yet another funky marina in Carlingford Lough. Carlingford is just on the border of North and the Republic of Ireland and largely a medieval village. It has been recently named one of the top 5 places in Ireland to live. It also has a nationally acclaimed butcher who purveys local beef and lamb. We arrived after a long day of sailing that started out motoring out of Dublin. It was about a 60 mile trip and per usual we arrived at the marina just as a blow and rain was about to hit. It seems that most mornings start out clear and calm but we have finished almost all of our sails wondering if we are going to get into a port and settled before the rain comes. That day we made it.

The next day we were went with an interpreter from the Boyne Battlefield for a grand tour of that moving site. Photo of JLM at a Boyne Wayside. Last year we visited Culloden and this battle is closely aligned historically. We toured first as Williamites and then as Jacobites. After lunch we went to the Stone Age site of Newgrange (photo 2), a site where the winter solstice is marked through a passage in stones. It was a long and wonderful day. Our guide convinced us that we should stay long enough to visit Carlingford village, so we stayed on another day. We bought a great T-bone steak for dinner, a lamb shank to stew with beans, an a package of gammon and streaky bacon from the famous butcher. None disappointed. We walked around the village, ate fish stew and Guinness in a pub and had a thoroughly enjoyable day on land. A boutique distillery is just outside Carlingford and we bought a very nice bottle of whiskey.

So once again at 5:45 AM we were out on Friday leaving Carlingford for Bangor, Northern Ireland. The plans to visit the Isle of Man were squelched because of weather. Another 50 plus mile sail that took about 12 hours. Little wind to start and good wind by afternoon. Do we detect a pattern?

So we have been enjoying a first rate marina in Bangor. On Saturday we took a train into Belfast, saw the sights and ate a delicious lunch in the oldest pub in Belfast (photo). Sunday we walked and shopped a bit. There is an ADSA in the center of town, that translates to Walmart. Today we did boat maintenance and cleaning and tomorrow at 7 AM we leave for Troon, Scotland.