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We are excited to be in Liverpool, although the virus is going to restrict us somewhat. We are staying near the Albert Dock, the vibrant heart of Liverpool’s historic waterfront.

Whilst in Liverpool, the UK is hit by a two day heatwave. Temperature reaches a day time high of 36 degrees. Fortunately, our hotel is air conditioned. We were to do a bike tour of the city, but the heat and our health ruled that out. Instead, we opted for a sedate ferry ride on the Mersey, and the British Music Experience.

Liverpool is notable for its mix of massive, spectacular old buildings, and a large number of new. The old dock area has been nicely renovated, and an extensive pedestrian friendly shopping precinct is nearby.

Our final night in Liverpool, we dine ”al fresco”, as the evening temperature is very mild. The next day is threatening to be even hotter!

Halifax is a city of around 80,000, in the South Pennine area of west Yorkshire. The Travel Lodge is located in an old Mill building area, Dean Clough. Once the home of the worlds largest carpet manufacturer, Crossley Carpets, it’s now a thriving community which combines arts and culture, leisure facilities, restaurants, bars, cafes, shops, events spaces, offices and the hotel.

Whilst Sue heads off for a catchup with the Baigents, Blair has an afternoon snooze, as Covid takes hold.

The next day we are off to Liverpool. With some hot weather on the way, we are pleased our hotel, the Hilton, has air conditioning!

A classic English seaside town, with beach, harbour, pier and lots of fish and chip outlets! We are staying in a small private hotel, on the edge of town. Blair is struggling with fatigue, sore throat and cough, with Sue more headache and cough. Appetite for food and and drink had also diminished.

Whitby is popular and pleasant, but the tourists are flagging under the ravishes of Covid-19. Back to the hotel, and a plan of attack for our next stop Halifax, West Yorkshire. We were to stay with an old school friend of Sues, Richard Baigent, and his wife Sarah. However, that is now not possible, so we book a Travel Lodge in the town.

After sixteen very enjoyable days in Ireland, it was time to fly back to Blighty. The itinerary was to fly to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, then motor through North Yorkshire, and across to Liverpool. Then down to Oxford and finally, our Airbnb at Buckland St Mary, Somerset. By a miracle, our budget flight on Ryanair was on time, and the security delays at Dublin airport, not too bad!

The night before leaving Dublin, Blair started to fell a bit ”ropey”. The next day in Newcastle, he felt worse, did a Covid test and .. positive! Two days later, Sue is positive also. So this is to put a dent in the OldPharts plans for the next few days.

Despite their ailments, the struggling tourists are still able to take in a lot Newcastle, and are most impressed with the architecture, and also the Quayside area.

After a comfortable night in The Vermont Hotel (an old classic), we crossed the Tyne into Gateshead, and visited the Angel of the North.

Our destination is to be Whitby, on the North Yorkshire coast. A certain James Cook spent his formative years there, and developed his love for the sea.

However, we wanted to make a couple of stops on the way. Firstly Chester-le-Street and the Riverside Cricket Ground, home of Durham cricket. Then on to Durham itself, with its University, Castle and Cathedral.

From Belfast to Dublin, and our final three days in Ireland.

The weather has finally warmed up, and we wandered around central Dublin in a warm 27 degrees. The city is very busy, and we were unable to get into our first choice restaurant. Fortunately, ”Mama Yo” squeezed us in. Excellent Asian food!

The next morning, we embarked on another city bike tour. Once again, really enjoyable, a great guide and a lot of territory covered.

For dinner that night we spotted a Syrian restaurant opposite our hotel, ”Damascus Gate.” Excellent food and the best hummus we had ever had!

For our final day in Dublin, we booked tickets for the ”Book of Kells” and the Old Library Exhibition, at Trinity College. The Book of Kells is one of the great treasures of medieval Europe. It was created by Early Christian monks around 800AD. The main chamber of the Old Library is the Long Room, filled with over 200,000 of the Library’s oldest books.

Suitably loaded with culture, we headed north, crossed the Liffey River, destination “Epic”, the Irish Emigration Museum. This was an interactive journey about how a small island made a big impact around the world. We really enjoyed this, and would recommend a visit when in Dublin.

We have had a great 16 days in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. We are to fly to Newcastle in England, and slowly make our way back to Somerset.

Now, on to Belfast, the largest city in Northern Ireland. We took the scenic route around the coast, but unfortunately it was cool and misty, restricting our views!

Arriving in Belfast, we settled into our hotel, ”The Warren”. It was fairly close to the city, but very close to Queens University, the Museum and Botanic Gardens. We went for a wander.

The next day was to be busy. Firstly, a morning coffee with Fintan and his wife Collette. They are Belfast locals, with Sue and Fintan having been at Bath University together. Quite a few years of catching up to be done!

All the catching up made us a little late for our Belfast Bike Tour, but guide Dave was understanding. Whenever in a city for a few days, we try and do a bike tour. A great way to see plenty in a short space of time. This was an excellent tour, with Dave knowledgable and informative.

For our final morning in Belfast, we did the Titanic Quarter tour. Belfast back in the day was a major shipbuilding city, at one stage employing 60,000 workers. The Titanic was built and launched in Belfast, the jewel in their crown. This exhibition centre shows the history of the build, but also the history of Belfast. Well worth a visit.

We enjoyed our two days in Derry, and with the now familiar cool wind and grey skies, we were off. Our destination, Northern Irelands most popular tourist spot, The Giants’s Causeway. It is a short drive along the coast from Portrush, our home for the night.

A popular destination, but very well done by the National Trust. After spending a few hours there, we motored back to Portrush for a look, then check into our hotel, the ”Golf Links”.

Portrush is surrounded by very nice, sandy beaches, and has a ”holiday town” feel to it. However at 15 degrees, not really summery weather.

Opposite our hotel is the Royal Portrush Golf Club. The Open Championship was played here in 2019, with Irishman Shane Lowry winning. The 2011 Open Champion Darren Clarke is a Honorary Member.

Our stay at the Glass House Hotel in Sligo was most comfortable, but it was time to be back on the road. With Derry being a two hour drive, we decided to stop at the beach resort of Rossnowlagh, near Donegal, then Donegal itself. The beach and resort were very nice. However, it was cold and windy, but amazingly, a lot of people swimming in the sea!

Derry is quite a compact city, and very walkable. There is a walk/cycleway stretching along the Foyle River, and the pedestrian ”Peace Bridge” across. Derry also has the most complete circuit of historic walls of any town or city in Ireland. They stand up to 8 metres high, measure almost 2 kms around, and were constructed between 1613 and 1618.

After a pleasant meal at the Quay West bistro, with nothing a bother, and a good nights sleep at the Holiday Inn, we made plans for the next day in Derry.

We decided to visit Bogside, a city neighbourhood area just outside the wall. It is a majority Catholic/Irish Republican area, and a focus point for many of the ”Troubles” The end of many of the terraced houses are decorated with murals, illustrating the history of the area. This was the scene of ” Bloody Sunday” in 1972.

Sligo, in the north of Ireland, is our next destination. It is known for its literary heritage and rugged landscape. Unfortunately, the cool, cloudy weather that has plagued us throughout continues, with some light rain thrown in! The poet WB Yeats spent a lot of time in Sligo.

In the afternoon we drove the short distance to ”Carrowmore”, a neolithic burial area. Following that we motored out to Rosses Point, with two beaches and a very highly rated golf links course. It was cold and windy, but the sail boats and sailboards were out!

After two very enjoyable days in Killarney, the direction was north, destination Galway. Instead of taking a more direct route, we drove through ”The Burren”, which contains one of Ireland’s National Parks.

The Burren is an example of a Karst lanscape of bedrock incorporating a vast cracked pavement of glacial-era limestone, with cliffs and caves, fossils, rock formations and archaeological sites.

And so on to Galway, a harbour city on the West Coast, where the River Corrib meets the Atlantic Ocean. Our accommodation is the Nox Hotel, within walking distance of the town centre.