Backpacking in Northern Ireland: Touring Islandhill, Near Newtownards

Backpacking in Northern Ireland: Touring Islandhill, Near Newtownards

In 1980 I was born in the Northern Irish town of Newtownards. It’s a place with a lot of important links in my life. I was born there. I passed my driving test there. I studied there. I got into university by doing a course there. Despite all of that, I grew up in the Read more about Backpacking in Northern Ireland: Touring Islandhill, Near Newtownards[…]

Thirsty Thursdays: Top 5 Coffee Shops in North Down, Northern Ireland

Thirsty Thursdays comes from North Down in Northern Ireland today, so it does. Northern Ireland punches above its weight time and time again. And I mean in the metaphorical sense, not just in boxing (though the likes of McGuigan and Frampton certainly justify the phrase). A country housing 1.6 million people, boasting some of the Read more about Thirsty Thursdays: Top 5 Coffee Shops in North Down, Northern Ireland[…]

Everything You Should Know About The Giant’s Causeway, Northern Ireland

Backpacking in Northern Ireland, October 2014

“Someday we’ll return here. When the Belfast Child sings again.” – Simple Minds How can you go backpacking in your home country? Is it even possible? You know the towns, you know the roads, you know the local lingo, you can talk your way out of a political argument. But then…I’ve been away a while. Read more about Backpacking in Northern Ireland, October 2014[…]

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Working Wednesdays: Feature in the Ards Chronicle, Newtownards, Northern Ireland

This week has been a really, really busy one in my travel lifestyle. Last week I got a tweet out of the blue from a journalist from my birthtown of Newtownards. She writes for the Newtownards Chronicle, a weekly paper which oddly I once worked with the sister company/newspaper while doing my media course in Read more about Working Wednesdays: Feature in the Ards Chronicle, Newtownards, Northern Ireland[…]

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Friday’s Featured Food: Morning Coffee and Scones in Knotts, Newtownards, Northern Ireland

When life takes you back to the town you were born in after backpacking incessantly to 188 countries around the world, you do often wonder what sparkle your original home has left for you. Straight from my adventures in the Middle East (touring Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan etc.), I headed back with my Mum for a Read more about Friday’s Featured Food: Morning Coffee and Scones in Knotts, Newtownards, Northern Ireland[…]

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Top 10 Backpackery Things to do in Newtownards, Northern Ireland: The Town Where I was Born!

Life may take you on many roads and to many towns and cities around the world but one fact is true: you can only have one birth town. You are born in one place and we must try and be proud of our roots. I certainly am, and I owe a lot more to my Read more about Top 10 Backpackery Things to do in Newtownards, Northern Ireland: The Town Where I was Born![…]

Return To My Birthtown: Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland

A grey 1980s sky skimmed over sheltered Newtownards as I appeared on this planet. It was Sunday March 30th 1980 and there I was free to the world in Adair House in Ards Hospital, Newtownards, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom / Untied Queendom. I love Newtownards for some reason, and I’ve seen a hell of a Read more about Return To My Birthtown: Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland[…]

Studying Saturdays: Attending Ards Tech 2002 – 2003, Northern Ireland

“He wanted Lebensraum in every Polish town” The quote is about Hitler, this blog post is all about my random time at Ards Tech and how the fuck I ended up in England…   It was basically by total fluke that I moved to England in 2003. In fact it was because we ran out Read more about Studying Saturdays: Attending Ards Tech 2002 – 2003, Northern Ireland[…]