We left Portglenone and Northern Ireland behind us and headed for the Republic. The border is a soft one and really did not even announce itself. There was simply a point at which the road signs changed colour, shape and distance units. There was also a rash of gaming establishments that appeared all of a sudden.
We were well on our way to Buncara.
Buncara Aire allows overnight parking free of charge and offers fresh water supply. Situated behind the Tourist Information Office on the main road, it is run by the local community. Electricity tokens cost €5 for 10 undefined units and are purchased from the Topaz filling station across the road. There are no waste facilities, not even rubbish. (More on rubbish, later) Parking spaces are small and probably more camper-sized than being motorhome proportioned.
Free Wi-Fi from the TI Office is strong enough to be used in the Aire. Phone signals were good (Roaming enabled) but our own Wi-fi had stopped working now that we were out of the UK.
One unusual feature of this particular aire is the presence of a “wee library”.
The Topaz garage also sports a small shop and a cafe. The fresh baked bread products include some quite good croissants…
Adjacent to the aire are a small memorial park on one side and on the other a large pharmacy and a pub/restaurant. Beyond the pub is an off-licence.
All the comforts of home, bar the WC.
The beach is a short walk away and there are shore-front and woodland walks close by.
Overnight the site was quieter than we might have expected, with its proximity to the road. We had croissants for breakfast, straight from the oven at the garage across the road and then filled our water tanks and moved the van along to the car park for Swan Park. We walked along the coastal path, where it seemed that most of Buncara was out for a morning constitutional.
Everyone we met was agreeable and friendly and exchanged greetings – a very friendly people here.
