A couple of months ago, I came across a post online seeking a winter caretaker for a small plot of land. The tiny caravan and shed, refered to by the owner as a farm, was completely offgrid (and probably completely lacking the planning permission necessary for its very existence) and conveniently located miles from nowhere,… Continue reading The Backwards Van meets The Sometimes Shed
We found ourselves one Sunday, late February in County Donegal, cruising the deserted country roads in search of a refill for our empty 6kg bottle of butane. Time was of the essence, the radio man predicted a yellow warning, a cold weather spell coming our way in the form of Winter Storm Emma and dealing… Continue reading Beds, Breads and the Beast from the East (Moville Boutique Hostel, Feb 2018)
This is Ireland, and this long grey inland chunk in the middle? This is County Cavan. Dixie the Backwards Van rolled into Cavan with little expectation really, just full tanks of both diesel and fresh water (and thankfully empty tanks of everything else), we were looking for a week off. A week off what, I… Continue reading This Is Cavan! (Vanning, Planning & Shelter from the Storm)
Wow. In July The Backwards Van.com turned a year old and in late August we celebrated our vanniversary- a whole year of living in Dixie the 1997 Ducato. To mark the occasions we entered our page into the 2018 Irish Blog Awards. We are proud to announce we made it through three rounds of judging… Continue reading The Backwards Van- 2018 Blog Awards Ireland Finalists!
In 12 months on the road, we have yet to use the services of any kind of campsite for any kind of reason. Slightly reluctant to have Dixie The Backwards Van herded into a flat field and parked regimentally alongside so many other vehicles, unsure that we want the associated rules and regulations but whats… Continue reading Hook Head Revisited (Vans, Clans and The House People)
I'm from Dublin. I was born, bred and buttered here as they say, raised on the north side just a couple of miles from the city centre so being in Dublin is just... being home. You'll have to forgive my romantic, soppy and sometimes rose tinted view of our nations capital for most of my… Continue reading Dixie Does Dublin (Daytrips Down Memory Lane)
Anyone remember the year 1999? Mambo Number 5 had hijacked the airwaves, the internet was still a relatively new and exciting invention and the whole world was gripped in Y2K panic, fearing the end of life as we know it was nigh because computer programs might not understand or be capable of interpreting the number… Continue reading In Search of the Family Tree
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