01 / MISSION PROFILE
Six counties, one crossing, no hurry.
Northern Ireland is compact once you're across: short hops between loughs, mountains and basalt, with the National Trust's best-per-mile portfolio anywhere. Two sailings bracket the fortnight and the van rides both. Route planned, not yet driven — this file will gain field notes after the wheels turn.
DEMAND
COMMITTINGReal distance or real lanes, and days that need planning. · multiple sailings, 950–1100 miles.
WORCESTERSHIRECAIRNRYANMOURNESFERMANAGHCAUSEWAY COASTHOME
02 / JOURNEY LOG
Fourteen days. Lough, mountain, lakeland, basalt.
North to Galloway, across from Cairnryan, then a clockwise sweep: Strangford, the Mournes, Fermanagh, Derry, four Causeway nights, the Glens and Belfast for the sailing home.
Worcestershire → Galloway
The long positioning leg: M6 and the A75 west to a shore pitch on Luce Bay, twenty minutes from the port. Early night — the vessel boards a bigger vessel tomorrow.
NIGHT 1 / NEW ENGLAND BAY C&MCCairnryan → Belfast → Strangford
The crossing — around two and a quarter hours with the van below and the crew above — then south to a pitch beside Delamont Country Park, admission included, with Strangford Lough spread beyond the heronry.
NIGHTS 2–3 / DELAMONT C&CCStrangford Lough day
Mount Stewart's gardens (NT) up the Ards shore, Castle Ward's two-faced house (NT) — and the Strangford–Portaferry car ferry across the Narrows, a five-minute crossing the Landship can ride for fun.
BASE / DELAMONT C&CCStrangford → the Mournes
South past Dundrum with the Murlough dunes boardwalk (NT) under Slieve Donard, then round Carlingford Lough to Rostrevor, where Kilbroney's forest park rises straight from the shore.
NIGHTS 4–5 / KILBRONEY PARK, ROSTREVORMournes day
The Cloughmore Stone above the lough and the Narnia trail through Rostrevor's oakwood — C. S. Lewis country — then Silent Valley's reservoir amphitheatre in the heart of the range (fees apply).
BASE / KILBRONEY PARK, ROSTREVORMournes → Fermanagh
West through drumlin country — Armagh's two cathedrals face each other across the city if a stop appeals — to the lakeland edge at Belcoo, on the shore between the two Lough Macneans.
NIGHTS 6–7 / RUSHIN HOUSE, BELCOOFermanagh day
Marble Arch Caves by boat and boardwalk (book ahead), Florence Court's Georgian estate (NT), and Enniskillen's island town between the lakes for the evening.
BASE / RUSHIN HOUSE, BELCOOFermanagh → Derry → the Causeway
North to the only completely walled city in Ireland: the full circuit of Derry's 17th-century ramparts and the Peace Bridge, then on over the Sperrins' shoulder to the four-night Causeway base.
NIGHTS 8–11 / BALLYNESS, BUSHMILLSGiant's Causeway
The basalt columns themselves are free to walk; the Trust experience covers the visitor centre and parking, and the card covers the crew. Old Bushmills Distillery — the village's other institution — finishes the day (tours, fees apply).
BASE / BALLYNESS, BUSHMILLSCarrick-a-Rede and the rope bridge
Book the timed tickets (NT) before the trip: the swaying crossing to the salmon-fishers' island, then Ballintoy's film-set harbour and the white arc of White Park Bay (NT).
BASE / BALLYNESS, BUSHMILLSWeather-flex day
Intentionally unscheduled — the Skye rule travels. Fair: the Rathlin Island passenger ferry from Ballycastle for the RSPB seabird centre's puffins in season. Foul: Dunluce Castle's clifftop ruin (state care, fees) and Portstewart's prom.
BASE / BALLYNESS, BUSHMILLSThe Glens → Belfast Lough
The A2 Antrim coast road — one of the great drives — with Glenariff's waterfall walkway in the queen of the Glens (Forest Service, fees), ending at a lough-shore pitch north of the city.
NIGHTS 12–13 / JORDANSTOWN LOUGHSHOREBelfast day
Leave the van pitched and ride the shore-road links into the city: Titanic Belfast at the slipways (book a slot), City Hall, St George's Market if it's a market day, and a Cathedral Quarter evening.
BASE / JORDANSTOWN LOUGHSHOREBelfast → Cairnryan → home
The archive's longest closing day: an early sailing, then the A75 and M6 south — split it with a proper stop at Tebay. Unpack, weigh the lessons, file the field notes.
HOME / WORCESTERSHIRE03 / OPERATIONS BRIEFING
The details that keep the adventure easy.
Treat the two sailings, the four Bushmills nights and the Carrick-a-Rede timed slot as fixed points. Everything scenic around them can flex with weather, naps and the pace of the crew.
PRIMARY CROSSINGPRE-BOOK ×2
CAI~2¼ HRSBEL
Cairnryan → Belfast
Enter the camper's exact dimensions when booking both legs: 5.98 m long × 2.98 m high, plus anything fitted outside that envelope. Add Percy under the operator's pet-travel options, arrive inside the check-in window with the gas bottle closed at the internal shut-off, and note the alternative Cairnryan–Larne route as the fallback if sailings shift. It's a domestic crossing — no passports, same currency, same rules of the road.
BOOKING SEQUENCE
- 01Both sailingsExact dimensions, Percy's pet booking, early return slot.
- 02Ballyness, BushmillsSecure all four Causeway nights — a Top 100 park.
- 03Carrick-a-Rede + TitanicTimed tickets for both before departure.
- 04Delamont, Kilbroney, Rushin HouseThe three touring pairs — Delamont has no motorhome service point, so arrive serviced.
- 05The bookendsNew England Bay and Jordanstown Loughshore.
VEHICLE PROFILE
5.98M LENGTH
2.98M HEIGHT
2.11M WIDTH
The same profile goes on both ferry bookings — and an open border means a Donegal day from Derry needs nothing but fuel and insurance that covers the Republic; ours does.
CREW RHYTHM
One major objective per half-day.
Days one and fourteen are the exceptions — long positioning runs bracketing thirteen gentle ones. Causeway day 11 is intentionally unscheduled — protect it.
ROUTE CAUTIONSkip the Torr Head scenic loop between Ballycastle and Cushendun — single-track hairpins with severe gradients.
The A2 through the Glens still delivers the full coast-road spectacle, and Glenariff's waterfalls wait at the end of it.
04 / UK ACCESS STACK
The same wallet, across the water.
This is the National Trust's masterclass route — the best members-per-mile portfolio anywhere — while the heritage and forest cards learn the local rules: state-care monuments and Forest Service parks work differently here. Carry physical cards; admission, booking and parking rules vary by organisation and property.
Causeway, rope bridge, two great houses
Giant's Causeway's visitor experience, Carrick-a-Rede's timed crossing, Mount Stewart, Castle Ward, Florence Court, Murlough's dunes, White Park Bay, Portstewart Strand — no other fortnight cashes the Trust card this hard.
Rathlin's seabird city
The passenger ferry from Ballycastle reaches Northern Ireland's only inhabited offshore island and the RSPB's West Light Seabird Centre — puffins roughly April to July. The card's flex-day ace from the Bushmills base.
State care, not English Heritage
The EH card doesn't cross the sea — monuments here sit in Northern Ireland's state care, and the good news is many are free to enter anyway. Dunluce charges; Derry's complete walls cost nothing to walk.
Forest Service, pay per park
Forestry England stops at the sea too: Tollymore, Glenariff and Kilbroney's forest are Forest Service or council ground with day charges. Budget them rather than assuming coverage — the waterfalls at Glenariff earn theirs.
Delamont carries it
Delamont is currently the only club site in Northern Ireland — country-park admission included — so the rest of the spine is strong independents and council parks, with New England Bay holding the Galloway bookend on the mainland side.
Run the numbers
The complete seven-membership dashboard — coverage, reciprocals and official links — lives on the Journeys page, and the optimiser prices the whole stack against your actual plans.
05 / THE NATURE MATRIX
The living checklist.
This file’s six species from the Nature Matrix — the archive’s 354-species UK wildlife calendar — with their peak months lit. Gold entries are the rare ones: never promised, never chased. Tap a card to log a sighting, and four of six earns this file a bronze patch, all six turns it gold.
Corncrakes on Rathlin
★ RAREJFMAMJJASOND
A rasping call from deep cover — the island’s long recovery project, heard far more often than seen.
Rathlin puffins
LIKELYJFMAMJJASOND
The upside-down lighthouse seabird city.
Seabird cliffs in full voice
LIKELYJFMAMJJASOND
Guillemots and razorbills in tens of thousands.
Strangford brent geese
LIKELYJFMAMJJASOND
Light-bellied brents — most of the world’s population.
Red squirrels at Kilbroney
LIKELYJFMAMJJASOND
The Mournes’ oakwood residents.
Porpoise + dolphins
LUCKYJFMAMJJASOND
North Channel watches from the Causeway coast.
Strangford seals
COMMONJFMAMJJASOND
Hauled out along the lough narrows.
Irish hares
LUCKYJFMAMJJASOND
A species of their own — field edges at dawn.
Fulmars riding the updrafts
COMMONJFMAMJJASOND
Stiff-winged along the basalt.
Bluebells at Portglenone
LIKELYJFMAMJJASOND
The Bann-side woods in full carpet.
The Glens in colour
COMMONJFMAMJJASOND
Glenariff’s waterfalls framed in gold.
Dollaghan of Lough Neagh
LUCKYJFMAMJJASOND
A trout found nowhere else — running the rivers on autumn spates.
Brown trout in the Mournes
COMMONJFMAMJJASOND
Granite burns full of small wild fish — permits from local clubs.
Marsh fritillary
LUCKYJFMAMJJASOND
A declining butterfly of damp grassland — the Trust’s meadows hold it.
Rockpool life at Ballintoy
COMMONJFMAMJJASOND
Basalt pools full of anemones, crabs and blennies at low water.
Common lizards on the dunes
LUCKYJFMAMJJASOND
Ireland’s only reptile, sunbathing on the boardwalk edges.
10 more from the Nature Matrix
FIELD LAW: DISTANCE · PATIENCE · ENGINE OFF — THE CHECKLIST TICKS ITSELF; THE ARCHIVE NEVER CHASES.
06 / EXPEDITION TOOLKIT
The calculators, the cover and the app deck.
Run this file’s numbers through the free tools, confirm your own cover, then let the installed app deck cross-check pitches, navigation and live conditions. A layered toolkit — never permission to ignore campsite arrival instructions, signs or local access rules.
FREE TOOLS / RUN YOUR OWN NUMBERSNOTHING LEAVES YOUR DEVICE
Take this file to the calculators.
Every number on this page is a starting point. Push the route, the days and the crew through the free tools — they run entirely in your browser, save to your device only, and need no account.
BEFORE DEPARTURECHECK, DON’T ASSUME
Cover and the flex layer.
Insurance and breakdown: confirm your own policy covers the vehicle, the crew and the territory for the whole trip — and cache the certificate, policy number and breakdown numbers offline before signal thins.
The flex layer: Woodland Trust woods are free to visit and useful for short decompression walks around transit days — search near the next fuel or overnight stop rather than forcing another attraction into the day.
INSTALLED APP DECK
Cross-check, download, then go offline.
01PITCH + PARK
Find the night
CAMC BookingSiteSeekerpark4nightCampercontactStayFreeCampyWikiCampssearchforsitesBrit StopsCampingCard ACSICampernightCampsites.co.ukHipcamp
02MAP + WALK
Navigate on and off road
WazeHiiKEROsmAnd MapsPeakVisorOS MapsOS Locatewhat3wordsOrganic MapsWikiloc
03CAUSEWAY LAYER
Discover the route
Stena LineDiscover Northern IrelandTranslink Journey PlannerRathlin ferryMarble Arch CavesNT Days Out
04UTILITY + EUROPE
Keep the vessel moving
StarlinkUlysaFerryLeShuttleGreen-ZonesFlushRainTodayMeteo-FranceLevel RemotePetrolPricesFlightradar24Club Magazine
FIELD RULEClub arrival directions beat Waze on the final approach. Download OS or OsmAnd mapping before the signal disappears.
07 / DEPARTURE CHECK
Ready the landship.
A short final check now prevents the unglamorous problems from hijacking the first few days.
Canvas clear, locked, verified
Pull the elevating-roof canvas clear, lower, twist-lock and physically check it — every departure, no exceptions, and doubly before boarding.
Weigh the real expedition
Load exactly as you intend to tour and visit a weighbridge. The automatic's 370 kg must absorb crew, Percy, water and every bag — check total and axle weights.
Systems set for the sailing
Gas bottle closed at the internal shut-off before check-in, fresh tank part-filled, waste and cassette empty — Delamont has no motorhome service point, so arrive there serviced.
Leisure battery green
Battery charged, solar clean and reporting, hook-up cable, adaptors and USB leads aboard. Run the off-grid calculator for the no-hook-up nights.
Restraints rigged, pet booked
Child seat installation confirmed, Percy's crash-tested harness or crate anchored — Highway Code rule 57 — and his ferry pet booking confirmed on both sailings.
Cards and cover to hand
Licences, insurance app signed in and cached with the Republic-cover wording checked, club and heritage cards, both ferry confirmations, Carrick-a-Rede and Titanic slots, and the Travel Passport checklist run.
OFFICIAL RESOURCE DESK
Recheck before departure.
08 / OPEN MAP
Browse the six counties from home base.
The map opens on Northern Ireland at country scale. Pan, zoom and search freely — this is a planning surface, not a fixed route.
LOCAL MAP / OFFLINEOPEN THE FULL MAP BELOW FOR ROUTING
EXPEDITION FIELD / NORTHERN IRELANDOpen full Google Maps ↗
09 / WHERE NEXT
Three files that pair with this one.
Chosen by shape rather than geography: matching tier, shared ground, overlapping species or the same appetite for boats and lanes. The free Trip Engine will rank all twenty-two against your actual dates.
EXPEDITION 01 · STANDARD TRIPScotland: Skye & TorridonThe same standard trip, somewhere else entirely14 DAYS · OPEN FILE →EXPEDITION 03 · STANDARD TRIPThe South West: Land’s End & backThe same standard trip, somewhere else entirely14 DAYS · OPEN FILE →EXPEDITION 05 · STANDARD TRIPNorthumberland: the frontierThe same standard trip, somewhere else entirely14 DAYS · OPEN FILE →
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