I clearlyhadn’t thought this through, I thought to myself, as I drove north-west on the Friday of the August Bank Holiday. The motorways were so bad I resorted mostly to A roads, but I wasn’t too worried as I was off on an adventure next morning. And choosing the ferry over the plane really did turn my trip to County Down into an adventure, even if that might seem a little over the top for a near-60-yearold man. I was sailing from Liverpool to Dublin, then back from Belfast three days later, and having eight hours each way to myself proved a rare pleasure, especially with the Irish Sea uncharacteristically mill pond-like and both Anglesey and the Isle of Man clearly visible.
This time there would be no Royal County Down for me
