Galway to Portaferry

We left Galway before 7am and travelled 200km east to the outskirts of Dublin, then a further 200km north to Belfast, arriving at the seaside town of Portaferry around 1pm. We had a booking at Barholm Hotel on the Strand but it was closed when we arrived. A phone call brought a woman in a car to open up, show us to our room and give us some keys. It turns out that this is actually a hostel and, although fairly basic, our room has a lovely view of the Strangford Lough - well it would be lovely if the drizzle cleared! At present it's 5pm and I can see the lights of the ferry as it comes back across the lough from Strangford in the hazy dusk.

The view from our room

After we settled into our room, we wandered around the town but most of the businesses appear to be closed at present, including the information centre which won't reopen until Easter next year. Lunch was therefore cheese and biscuits at the window in our room but we have booked into the Portaferry Hotel for dinner. We have been for a walk along the seafront and through nearby Nugents Wood. The canopy of trees protected us from the occasional shower and we had glimpses across the lough through gaps in the cover. Apparently the wood is home to red squirrels and badgers but, of course, we didn't see any!

Nugents Wood

We only had a block to walk to the Portaferry Hotel but we chose the moment when there was a torrential downpour and arrived absolutely drenched. Luckily they had a beautiful open fire where we could dry off and the meal was delicious. Even better, they have free wifi and, since we can't seem to get a connection at Barholm, I am posting this from there. I hope I can do the same tomorrow!