Re-caffeinated at last
Re-caffeinated at last

Re-caffeinated at last

We left Cong with some trepidation. We had struggled to map out the next few days adequately, with Mr Snail resisting the idea of going to Terryglass Quay (due to Portumna Marina being closed for development) due to the known presence of “No Overnighting” signs. Eventually the struggle became too great and so we pencilled in Terryglass anyway but not without raising his stress levels.

I had emailed the Waterways to check what exactly the situation was but had not received a reply by the time that we set off.

We drove down to Galway and experienced our first stretch of Irish Motorway (M6). Along the way were signs that Spring had truly set in and there were trees in blossom and hosts of daffodils and lambs. It has been so warm that we have had no heating on in the van  for days past – not day or night. In fact the previous night had seen the internal temperature in the van at 16 degrees Celsius in the small hours, and us uncomfortably throwing off the bedding in order to keep cool. Not that it has been sunny – not at all, it has mainly been dull, or wet or dull and wet.

We had to pass through Portumna to reach Terryglass and decided to go and look at the Marina to see how things were progressing, in order to report back to various interested parties and groups on Facebook. Unfortunately, we failed to find the marina before finding ourselves on the far side of Portumna.

Vincent at Terryglass

Happily, Terryglass Quay was more readily found. The unwelcoming signs are still there and Mr Snail was not in the least bit happy. We parked up out of the way and took the dog for a walk.

There’s a good cemetary in the village but I had no time to explore

On returning to the van I found my reply and was delighted that it told me that “Waterways Ireland do allow campervans to stay overnight at our facilities on a short term bases.  I have attached our Voyages and Visits publication and you will find information on pages 32 of the facilities available. ” 

We breathed out and settled in. Then we went to The Derg inn for dinner.

I liked Terryglass. It is a lovely little village, very peaceful and very neat and clean and tidy. It has the regulation two pubs in the regulation side-by-side configuration,

Twin pubs

The school is in the heart of the village and there is a large area for parking.

Vincent in Terryglass

The village holds a few delightful surprises to reward the wanderer. We visited two Holy Wells – the one for the eyes (only has efficacy in May) and the one for the head (seems to work any time of year.) Both had cloots, mainly of the paper napkin or hanky  type and only a few of those, nothing as impressive as Munlochy.

The Quay is a short walk away from the village centre and has street lighting all the way, The Marina area is also well lit (possibly too well lit for van sleepers.)  There are Public Conveniences (locked) as well as the facilities block  (card operated – cards from the Derg Inn/Shop) for the leisure amenity users. There are picnic tables and recycling bins. No off the lead walking anywhere that we could find in the vicinity of the village.

We passed a quiet night with no disturbances and just the sound of running water to lull us to sleep.

Excellent coffee at the Derg Inn, by the way. I was well in need of a shot of proper caffeine after so long on campervan instant.

One comment

  1. Pingback: Water, water everywhere – Two Snails

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