Boondocking in Ireland

Today I am flying back to the United States. I want to remember what I experienced during my one month in Ireland. It was an unusual trip as I travelled with my son in his RV. We started in Killarney boondocked (parking RV without payment) at the Killarney National Forest, then on to the ring of Kerry and the ring of Skellig. Dingle and a bit of the Dingle Peninsula

The roads are narrow and the countryside green. All the roads are bordered by either Stonewalls or hedges  There are few trees, not too many people in the rural areas and lot of grazing sheep, dairy cows, and cattle. The grazing area is divided up into irregular lots bordered by either Stonewall or hedges.

So looking out are green pastures with sheep cattle Stonewall hedges and tidy cottages.

The Irish build to last. Wether it be Stonewall or houses. Slate is the common stone used in both. Slate roofs are common and most have hot water heaters on the roofs. Of course these need sun to work and they're isn't much of it and Ireland. The sky was usually dark with clouds with light peeking through at times. There was enough Sun which was great for us as we have solar panels on the roof which generate electricity.

Of course there was the ever present sea as we were most often driving along the coast. They say that Ireland has the longest coastline in the world. The wild Atlantic Way which we followed also has the most sandy beaches. The last one we found was at least two miles long with very few people on it. We were able to camp right close to the beach. I never did swim but I saw a lot of crazy Irish swimming in the ocean. They are a Hardy folk. We took long walks on the beach and let our dog Shiba run to her hearts content.

I have to mention food of course.  We ate out only once as the Irish cuisine is not exciting but the food markets and bakeries were excellent.  They have 2 chains for food store, Lidl, in the bigger cities.  What is so cool about all countries in the EU is that they carrry food products from all of Europe.   We ate Lamb, Irish soda bread, potatoes, scones and jams from Ireland, cheeses from England and France, and sausages from Germany.

But I can't forget the Irish pub. I'm a fan of cider and Guiness and love to sip and listen to Irish music. And a toast to the Irish people. We talked to them on the beach and in the pubs and in the supermarket. They were warm and friendly and funny and the best

The only drawback was the lack of facilities for RVers.  They try to discourage Irish Gypsies and that also makes it difficult for all travelers outside of tours and families.  Rvers need water, a place to dump black and gray water and trash and recycling receptacles.  They did recycle but that is all.  We had to get very inventive but we always respected the environment.