We were up early and headed straight to the Giants Causeway. We found a car park that offered free parking for National Trust members so took advantage of that and walked down to the Causeway. With not a soul in sight we enjoyed a good 45 minutes or so at the spectacular natural coastal feature. The sun was low and created some amazing light on the rocks. Back to the B&B we showered, had breakfast and checked out for our drive to the first visit of the day. Larne Lifeboat Sta

We had taken a day off from visits to recuperate and to do a bit of sightseeing. It transpired that we had been given a loose invite to the Marine Rescue Coordination Centre at Malin Head where a regional RNLI familiarisation meeting was taking place. So we made our way to Malin Head and to the station where we were warmly welcomed by some of the crew that we had met previously and by Paul, the Divisional Controller for the Coastguard. We felt like we were gatecrashing a bit

The island of Arranmore lies just off the Donegal coast and accessible by vehicle ferry from the small village of Burtonport. We had a fairly lengthy drive from our fabulous accommodation just outside Donegal town, but it was through stunning countryside. Arriving early at Burtonport we found a lovely café for a cup of tea and a light breakfast. We then headed over to the ferry. We had to board the ferry in reverse, a first for us and a novel experience indeed. We were also t

We based ourselves just outside of Donegal town for the next couple of nights and on the way up from Bundoran we did a little bit of sightseeing in the hills of Gleniff. Visit Ireland social media posts had guided us to some stunning sights so we enjoyed a pleasant evening exploring. After a good night sleep in an amazing self-catering converted outbuilding, we headed inland to our first visit of the day. Enniskillen Lifeboat Station On arrival at the impressive Enniskillen s

We stayed in a lovely hotel overlooking the beautiful Belmullet Sound. We were just a short drive from the lifeboat station at Ballyglass so we headed there for our first visit of a busy day. Ballyglass Lifeboat Station We were greeted at the station by some of the crew who had kindly taken time out of their day to come and meet us. The first thing we noticed was that the lifeboat station had no slipway on which to launch their D-Class lifeboat. Instead, they tow the lifeboat

Leaving Galway we headed west to the Galway Coast and the town of Clifden. Clifden Lifeboat Station This station has two buildings, one just outside the town centre nestled between houses and one further down the beach road where their Atlantic 85 Lifeboat is housed. We stopped briefly at the old station building and took a photo before heading to the Clifden Beach location. The boathouse doors were open and as we arrived they were being closed up and we managed to catch a co

The Aran Islands (Inis Mór, Inis Meáin, and Inis Oírr) are a trio of Irish-speaking islands located in Galway Bay, famous for their rugged limestone landscapes, ancient stone forts and traditional knitwear. They are accessible by seasonal ferries from Galway. The largest of the Islands, Inis Mór, has the Aran Islands Lifeboat Station located in the pretty harbour. It was a glorious sunny morning and we walked from our hotel to the port where we had visited the lifeboat statio

There are four RNLI Lifeboat Stations serving the inland Loughs of Ireland. Today we visited two of them at Lough Derg and Lough Ree. After a lovely breakfast at our B&B we took the short drive to the shores of the beautiful Lough Derg, It is the largest lake, at 27 miles long and 1 mile wide, fed by Irelands longest river, the Shannon. Lough Derg Lifeboat Station At the station we were warmly welcomed by many of the volunteer crew and fundraising team. We had a cup of tea an

After a day of sightseeing it was time to leave Killarney and head to the final station in County Kerry and on to the only station in County Clare Fenit Lifeboat Station The small village of Fenit lies on the estuary of Tralee Bay, sheltered on the southern side by the Slieve Mish Mountain Range. The lifeboat station itself is in the harbour at the end of a pier and is accessible to vehicles. We parked outside the station and were soon welcomed by Launch Authority, Fergus. He

Whilst basing ourselves in Killarney for 3 nights was a good plan for stability, it did result in some long drives to two of the most remote stations on the far south west coast. Heading out early we travelled for about 90 minutes before reaching Casletownbere, the furthest west station in County Cork. Castletownbere Lifeboat Station We arrived in good time and found a café for some tea and breakfast before heading over to the station. The shop was open and we had a good chat

We can’t believe our luck with the weather so far on this trip. We woke to another clear blue sky and took breakfast at the B&B before heading the short drive to the small village of Union Hall. Union Hall Lifeboat Station We were met at the station, located on the fishing pier, by Andrew. He was a local photographer not directly involved in the station but working very closely with them to promote the life saving work they do. Our first observation was that Andrew did not ha

We started the morning with a relaxing visit to Blarney Castle and gardens. Here we climbed the narrow castle steps to the top of the tower to kiss the Blarney Stone. ‘There is a stone there, that whoever kisses, OH! He never misses, to grow eloquent’. The term ‘blarney’, meaning beguiling but misleading talk, gained currency during the 16th century as the MacCarthy of the day attempted to fend off the demands of Queen Elizabeth I. We explored the stunning gardens for a coupl

We woke on day two of our three-week trip to glorious sunshine overlooking Dungarvan Bay. We were just a short drive from the Lifeboat Station at Helvick Head and so after breakfast we headed down to the station. Helvick Head and Dungarvan Lifeboat Station Unfortunately, no one was available to meet us but it was Monday morning and we never take for granted that anyone will be available as they are all volunteers. We took our evidence photos and looked around the outside of t

We travelled from home to Newport in South Wales on the Friday night and then on to Fishguard the following morning. It was glorious warm calm weather which was reassuring for our crossing of the Irish Sea. Before heading to the port we visited the little Artisan shop that sold RNLI merchandise to get a pin badge from Fishguard Lifeboat Station. On our visit last year the shop was unfortunately closed. Our ferry across the Irish Sea to Rosslare was due to depart at 2pm and we

Our previous attempt to reach the Channel Island of Alderney in March by air was aborted due to inclement weather and poorly aircraft. The island is notoriously tricky to reach with the slightest hint of bad weather and so on our re-visit we decided to take the small ferry from Guernsey. St Peter Port We left Gatwick on a warm sunny Friday evening to get to Guernsey where we stayed overnight in St Peter Port. On Saturday morning the weather was sunny but chilly as we headed d

Our journey to the beautiful Channel Islands began on Thursday afternoon with a short 45 minute flight from Gatwick Airport to Guernsey. We took a bus to the hotel situated in the center of St Peter Port and got ourselves settled. We headed out to have a look around the town and walk around the Harbour, popping by the Lifeboat Station and to see the lifeboat moored alongside the jetty. We also spotted two former lifeboats moored in the Harbour. SSR53310 is the former Mersey C

When Helen and I started on this incredible challenge we knew very little about the history of the RNLI. As we learnt more, it became apparent during the 200 th anniversary year that we needed to find our more about its “Founding Father”, Sir William Hillary. Indeed Allan’s original plan was to finish the challenge on the Isle of Man where Sir William resided for much of his life. That plan changed but we still wanted to absorb the history of the Institution during our visit

At the start of the second day on the Isle of Man, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at our B&B before checking out and heading North. The Isle of Man is of course famous for its TT races and so it was an experience to drive the mountain route on the race track up to the town on Ramsey. We enjoyed some fantastic views on the way as the weather had cleared. "When I Grow Up" Ramsey Lifeboat Station At Ramsey we parked opposite the Lifeboat Station and, as we were a little early,

After an aborted attempt to reach the Isle of Man in October last year, thanks to Storm Amy, we finally arrived on an evening flight from Gatwick to the Irish Sea Island on the 20 th February and settled into our comfortable accommodation in Port St Mary. Our plan for the weekend was to visit the five RNLI Lifeboat Stations on the Island and experience some of the history of the founding of the Institution. Port St Mary Lifeboat Station Our first visit of the weekend was to

In April we travelled down the east coast of England with the intention of visiting all the stations from Cullercoats down to Skegness. Unfortunately along the way we were unable to visit Humber Lifeboat Station due to the restriction withing the Port of Grimsby – Security said No!! Humber Lifeboat Station Following further arrangements with Coxwain Sean “Chezzy” Cheston, we made the special journey up to Grimsby to finally meet the crew and complete visit number 182. After