Traveling on the Cheap
Last night for only the second time we tried our hand at camping. Having ridden our bikes more than¬†60 km¬†in a day we found the thought of completing the final leg of our¬†90 km¬†journey from Athlone to Galway in the increasing cold of the evening unpleasant. So in the hopes of finding a camp ground we went a few km out of the way to where we believed we would be most likely to find camp grounds: a lake, specifically Lough Rea. Upon our arrival at this pristine lake we found camping strictly prohibited, though we took some joy in watching two locals take a swim in the frigid waters. After this short distraction we went about trying to work around our minor setback. Patrick suggested we ask one of the locals if we could stay in their fields. While I¬†didn’t¬†want to impose, I certainly wasn’t going to stop him from giving it a try. I’ll let him tell a bit about what happened next
The following is Patrick So I climbed through a rusty old fence and trekked up a giant hill riddled with stone walls. After some skilled climbing I approached the farmhouse. An old man was just getting out of his car when I asked him if we could camp on his land. He thought about it for about a half a second and then replied “that should be fine as long as you: close the gate, no knocking walls and no dogs” he was very avid about that last point, so I assured him and ran down the hill like Forrest Gump with the good news.
shayna responds:
Posted: June 14th, 2008 at 11:24 am →
aw. Thats so fun! It’s great that the locals are so considerate and laid back!
hehe. your tents are cute! hope you guys have a fun evening there in Galway and get to know some of the people! Dont get too cold, and have a good nights rest 😀 <33
danimal responds:
Posted: June 14th, 2008 at 11:24 am →
Awesome, I’d like to hear that story in person. Glad to hear you’re enjoying yourselves despite minor setbacks. By the way, Guinness is not exactly the gateway beer. Make sure Will tries something else too!
Mom (Jung) responds:
Posted: June 14th, 2008 at 5:18 pm →
Your tents look nice and cozy! Makes me want to camp myself. NOT! But it was nice of that man to let you stay on his property. Hey, it was awesome to talk to you on the phone today, Patrick!!! What a special treat! Oh, yeah. Dad liked it too. 🙂 So I’ve been googling everything I could to try to get any closer to our family farm. I looked up a bunch of stuff, but I did remember, Patrick, that our farm is in County Fermanagh. So I looked up stuff on that and got a smattering of info that might help. First, there are a number of working farms that are also what they call a “guest house”. (I suppose another name for a B & B?) One is Bayview farm guest house. It’s a working dairy farm & it’s 10 miles from Enniskillen & 12 miles from Belleek. (You should check out Belleek – it’s the only place in the world that makes that kind of china like our Irish teapot) Then there was one called Lackaboy modernized farm & guest house and the picture of it looked the most like our farm. It’s 2 miles from Enniskillen on B80. Then I read an interesting article written by someone whose family was also from that area. He contacted a man named Mr. John Cunningham, who is a local historian – he’s written 20 books on the hisory of Co. Fermanagh – Mr. Cunningham actually took them around and tried to help them find out more about their Irish roots. I’m assuming the guy lives in Enniskillen, but not sure. Oh! I also found out there’s a guy named Sean Quinn who is a billionnaire – he’s the richest man in Co. Fermanagh. So I’m absolutely sure we’re not related. 🙂 But, hey, why not give it a try and tell him you’re the long-lost Quinn cousin! Also, everything I’m reading suggests checking out the Marble Arch Caves as long as you’re in that area. With how friendly and kind everyone is, I’ll bet if you chatted up the populace, you might just find out some stuff. By the way, the name of the cousin that ran the farm until he retired and sold it is Cecil. Don’t know if his last name was Quinn or whether he was from a girl in the family or a boy. My great-grandma and grandpa were Hugh and (I think)Alice Quinn. I’m not sure any of this will help, but it was fun checking it out – Oh! There’s also a restaurant in Belcoo, Fermanagh called Cassie Quinns. Can’t wait to hear/see more blogs! Love you guys!
rachel responds:
Posted: June 14th, 2008 at 7:02 pm →
seriously that looks cold…i am glad you are safe after riding in such dangerous areas! and very thankful for that man that let you stay on his property. i hope you thanked him and sang him an irish folk song as payment. too ra lu ra lu ra too la ru la lay!
Lonette responds:
Posted: June 14th, 2008 at 7:08 pm →
What does no knocking walls mean? And another dog in the story, amazing! The field and the tents are quite lovely, Im glad you found a place to sleep. I personally find a nice bed and breakfast with massive amounts of food a bit more inviting! Love Mom
Alicia responds:
Posted: June 14th, 2008 at 10:40 pm →
Oh dang…your tents are cute but…yea lol
Lol thats really bold patrick. I’d never have the guts to ask someone
Sounds like your having a fabulous time 🙂
Renie responds:
Posted: June 15th, 2008 at 4:50 am →
What great adventures the green team seems to be having! Sounds like you are enjoying the trip to the fullest and was delighted to hear of you grasping the opportunity to travel! Be the blessings you are to family and friends here and your backs will be to the wind! God Bless, Renie
Jenn responds:
Posted: June 17th, 2008 at 11:01 am →
Hey, I was talking to you (Will) on the phone when you were in this field… and from the sound of the crazy, loud crows that were cawing obnoxiously in the background, you are even more the lord of the crows in Ireland than you were at my apartment on Paseo Grande! Haha!
I’m glad Carolyn left her long comment… I was starting to feel like I was the only wordy one! We can be wordy friends together now. 🙂
Continue to be safe and have fun! EAT CHEESE!
b&bs in Earls Court responds:
Posted: October 4th, 2009 at 10:05 am →
b&bs in Earls Court…
If wishes were horses beggars would ride. I wish I could always write articles like this and post at my blog. Great post with details information….
county hotel london responds:
Posted: October 15th, 2009 at 10:07 am →
county hotel london…
Wonderful post and straight to the point. Very informative post which will help everyone to who want\’s to know about the hotels and bed and breakfast industry in London and United Kingdom as a whole. Thank you for your efforts….