Kettle on in the slanting morning sun, I popped outside just to checkout Escape Velocity, having vaguely remembered being awakened last night, but not sure if I had been dreaming or not. I had not. Two egg bombs were splattered all over the back of the van. Coffee will have to wait because the sun is heating up the van and you do not want that stuff drying on the paintwork. With the cost of eggs these days, giving up two could be considered an honor. Sometimes a totally futile gesture is all that’s called for. First they love us, then they hate us.
Compulsories out of the way we began our rapid descent down the mountain towards the checkerboard alluvial plains of Magilligan Point.
Once at sea level we couldn’t have changed altitude more than a few inches as we traversed the entire pancake like plain, but we sure started to dogleg around every farmer’s whimsically shaped fields. Eventually we gained the coastal roads bordering Lough Foyle and our crack activity director mentioned that she’d found a more natural parkup in the low grass covered dunes adjacent to the Foyle.
We passed a large complex that had the feel of a high-walled, rusty barbed wired prison and then a military live firing range that takes up most of the rest of the peninsula. The red flag means they’re firing today. What could go wrong?
We passed up several spots that I judged a little too natural and when I saw that we were nearly out of parkup I turned hard to port, finding us in the neighborhood of dug-in camper with awnings, wind breaks, fire pit, you know, the full Monty. No one in evidence. I’m thinking they must do the entire summer here.
It’s usually not a good idea to interject oneself into the middle of an established community, but what are you going to do? We found a nice level spot, switched off and called it home.
After lunch we walked down to a small ferry dock and watched people crossing the Foyle from Donegal, Ireland to Magilligan Point, United Kingdom. A voyage of not more than 10 minutes but another country. It’s more of a pretend border but we bristled at the £9 fee per international passenger. I imagine it would be €10.48 on the way back.
After watching a few cycles of the international ferry ply the Foyle back and forth, we thrillseekers set out for more adventurous activities, and sure enough, we found a Martello Tower hidden in the high grass-covered dunes.
This one appears to not be oval shaped and an interior tour of the facilities were not on the offing.
Nice touch with the corbels though.
What sets this adventure apart from some others is that it’s a short walk back to Escape Velocity and her peaceful parkup.
