Technically this is the beginning of the Portpatrick Folk Festival. At 7 o'clock on the Friday a piper stands out on the rocks and gives us a few tunes for quarter of an hour. By this time I'd got my tent put up, had tea in a cafe in Stranraer with my parents, enjoyed a pint in the company of Jill and Steve and had a good old general wander about town.
I also bumped into the following well travelled character below having a pint of Acme's Best Bitter after a long day of roadrunner hunting (in vain)
Friday evening was spent in the Waterfront Hotel at a session of well mixed mostly familiar songsters and tunesters.
Jill and my father
Mouth organ maestro, Davey, plays a mean Bodhran too.
An unknown flute player
Gus is usually a fiddle player of extravagant style and general panache but turned up with a cello - we wondered how he was going to get it under his chin,
Jill and Steve (part of Mooncoyn - http://www.mooncoyn.co.uk/ )
Jimmy holds back the rabble with nothing but a guitar and a pint of Guinness
The session must have ended round about 1 o'clockish and folk were wandering off. and I had the guitar and mandolin bagged up. But until everyone is finished up there's always that wee ember that can start it all of again, so first of all it was the mandolin out and then the guitar and it was eventually about half past 3 by the time I had wandered up the cliff path by torchlight to my tent.
The dawn pays little attention to the time you got to bed and in a tent there's only so much resistance you can put up to daylight so it was up at the back of 8 for a cuppa and a bacon roll and I was ready for another day.
View from a tent
Tent from a view
When you live in a street with a castle at the end, it's good to have a castle at the bottom of your camp site to make you feel welcome. Perched on edge of a cliff, Dunskey castle has been derelict for the last 300 years.
Ever since I've been to Portpatrick most of the half mile path into the town has been fenced off as it's a touch precarious.
These drops are not completely compatible with often less than sober folkie (oh, not I of course) struggling along with instruments in the darkest part of the night.
It's a pleasant walk on a pleasant if breezy September morning and eventually Portpatrick comes into view.
3 comments:
im sat here feeling quite green with envy, that realy did look the crack a good time had by all i would say, think you caught the momment well with the camera, and must tip my hat to you for showing us all how WILD CAMPING should be done,,,,,,,,,,,,
"nice one mate"
Thanks Billy, Twas excellent and free apart from the concert the pubs even threw in the odd free drink for players and plates of chips.
You can still retain your wild camping crown (I've got my toilet block key there - the official badge of the namby pamby "camp siter")
Certainly looks like a good time was had by all, never even knew there was a camp site so close to Dunskey ( which is easily enough accessed these days ) and looks quite homely to me if you found the " wild camping " a bit hard going !
Super pic of the piper chappie at the harbour entrance.
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