Day 6 – Creveen Lodge
Today we left the car park (as it will be forever known) and headed for County Kerry in the southwest. Mel had done some research and found a woollen mill on the way, and we stopped for a look around. What that really meant is that I spent lots of money on wool tops ready to be spun by my new love – Sally the spinning wheel.
I was in heaven as you could see the whole process from fleece to weaved product. I duly bought two big bags of wool and we head for Killarney for a wander around the shops. This is where Ethel got injured.
The larger, motorhome size parking spaces were close to a wall and to ensure we were within the lines, I had to park her millimetres from the wall with the wing mirror pulled in.
When we got back from town, I started her up and went to pull out. But I hadn’t factored in how close I was to the wall and as I pulled out there was a big screech followed by a shout from Mel. The rear corner of the van had hit the wall and the bottom panel with the lights on had been pulled out and the sealant broken. Ethel was broken.
After initial concerns that a) the panel would fall off and b) the lights wouldn’t work, were proved wrong, we used bungee cords to ensure the panel couldn’t bounce off and continued our journey knowing that private health care for Ethel will be expensive when we get home.
The route to Kerry took us up and down the mountains with spectacular views which could easily be compared with those in the alps. Every ½ mile or so, we stopped for another photo opportunity but eventually we had to push on and arrive at Creveen Lodge.
If you ever thought a site would allow murder, this was it. We were half expecting Frankenstein to appear wielding a machete and we bravely parked next to a sign pointing upwards to reception. And it meant upwards. Mel had to hike up a really steep slope until she found a mad women in the house at the top. When she returned, Mel was giggling about how bizarre it all was whilst at the same time telling me how fantastic the view was.
We parked in the best place possible to see the spectacular views and the sunset was perfect. The shower (singular) was interesting as the door didn’t lock and there was only a curtain separating you from where you got dressed and the toilets.
Mary (as we found out was the mad woman) was clearly a believer in recycling as every sign was written in felt tip on a scruffy piece of card. All these things we found really endearing and we were so content, we chose to stay an extra night.
This may not have been the best idea though as the weather turned and the wind was blowing at over 50 mph. We were parked sideways on, near the top of the mountain as the wind cranked up.
Lying in bed, you could hear the wind swell and gather speed as it came up through the mountains and then it smacked into the side of Ethel rocking her sideways throughout the night. Mel and I lay in the darkness trying not to imagine the worse until about 5am when I am sure that one gust lifted ethel off her wheels for a millisecond. That was it. I got up and declared we would be leaving as soon as it was light. We needed to get lower down the mountain.
We left before 8am and as predicted, it was a lot calmer further down.
2LadiesTravelling 