It seems like only yesterday we were in Crosshaven but in the 3 days since we've sailed pretty much the length of Ireland.

We left Forlorn Point off Cork, passed Fundale which sounded like much more, well....... fun. We stopped at Arklow and had a pleasant hour or two with a couple harbour hopping north with us. After Arklow, we had a good sail to Dun Laoghaire although it blew up towards the end and we had another bashing to get into harbour. Last night we snuck through the rocks into the very tight, very sheltered harbour/marina at Ardglass but just 10 minutes too late for the chippy. Tonight we're in Bangor and, for the first time in 2 years, got the boat back into the UK.

The passage north was uneventful and we had a great evening in Dun Laoghaire where we met up with Myles, one of our ARC crew from 2011 for Ireland's best Indian dinner. (Thanks Myles - see you in Las Palmas). We left Ardglass this morning into a north west, beating up the coast with 2 knots under us. After making great time for a couple of hours the wind veered and we ended motor sailing with the wind on the nose for 3 hours.

We poked our nose into Donaghadee, thinking we might save the last 5 miles to Bangor (and the £35 per night) but it was just too tight and no way Anne was going to scale the 20 feet of a slimy ladder to the pier.

So, Bangor it is and what a pleasant wee town it is. There's a new promenade been built, just opened and it all looks very smart. Settling down now to dinner, the luxury of BBC Iplayer and an early night before heading across the North Channel tomorrow.

Next stop Campbeltown.