Hello there Beastie friends! And hey, look at this – we’re nearly halfway through January already. That HAS to be worth celebrating! Now normally at this time of year, my brother and I (often with a certain small blue and yellow woolly monster in tow) would spend a day driving around beautiful Co Donegal, in the extreme north-west of Ireland. For obvious reasons, we haven’t managed a Donegal road trip in a good few months – possibly since last Christmas. Yikes!
So, I thought I would use today’s post to take a virtual road trip instead. Quick, put on the kettle for a nice cup of tea, or grab a can of the black stuff… Ready? Okay, let’s go!
First of all, it’s never advisable to start a road trip on an empty stomach. How about we kick off with a nice healthy Full Irish Breakfast?
Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of opportunities to walk this off later.
Now that we’re properly fuelled up, let’s go and enjoy some scenery.
Glengesh Pass is pretty spectacular at any time of the year. The last time we were there it was late summer – look at those rolling green hills! It’s also on the way to Glencolmcille, where a Beastie can dip his paws in the Atlantic if the mood takes him.
Mind you, it’s not all sunshine and sand dunes here. Sometimes it can be a bit on the breezy side…
… And the traffic is terrible.
All this would really give you an appetite. Lunchtime! Conveniently enough, we’re just passing through Ardara… Nancy’s Bar here does a cracking lunch, and a very tasty homemade cider.
Also, you feel like you’re hanging out in someone’s cosy living room.
Alright, time to head north! And because we’re travelling by blog, we can enjoy two sunsets at two different locations. First, Fanad Head, where there’s a beautiful lighthouse to admire…
… And rocks to scramble over.
Next, we can journey to the northernmost point of the island of Ireland – Malin Head.
Then we can cruise by the wide sandy beach at Five Finger Strand…
… Before catching the last of the daylight on our way home.
Don’t forget to leave a rock monster behind to show we were here!
And once we get home, we can warm up by the fire and swap adventuring stories.
Aaaaah! Toasty.
So, where would you next like to take a road trip to? Be sure to share your travelling daydreams with us in the comments!
And with the warming temperatures and gradually lengthening days, activity levels have been picking up a little too! Today I wanted to share some of the extra-curricular activities that have been keeping me and the Beasties busy this past while.
But this year, I decided enough was enough. Let’s master those sewing machine demons! So I signed up for a class with 
You see, a lot of students want to take on the challenge of making a jumper quite early on… But even the simplest-looking designs often have next-level knitting skills lurking in the pattern. And while some new knitters thrive on being thrown in at the deep end, more than a few are put off by the idea of fancy shaping techniques, decorative seams and the alphabet soup of abbreviations that crop up in many “beginner” patterns.
… And I couldn’t resist leaving a monster behind on one of the beaches, just to prove I’d passed through!
What’s the hurry? Well, we had plans to eat in 
Although I was sorely tempted to hide away in Nancy’s for the rest of the day, and sample some more of their delicious house cider, Explorer Beastie reminded me that we had planned to see more than just the inside of a pub. We also had others to consider – we were tagging along with my brother and Alfie the wonder dog, and at least one of them was due for walkies! So we headed off in the direction of Glencolmcille, to enjoy the cliff walk just outside the village and see some spectacular views.
It was still pretty blustery here though – as you can see! Poor Explorer Beastie was literally bent over backwards by the stiff sea breeze, and nearly lost his backpack to a particularly strong gust!
… And this pastime seems to be something he shares with his woolly cousins. How did they get up there?
… And with one last look back…
