LashWorldTour 2024 UK Travels

Well here it is, October already, and getting towards the end of 2024!

I’m happy to report that my planned travel agenda for this year has been moving along pretty smoothly. As I detailed way back in February, my full travel plan for 2024 has been to explore four countries in the UK, three countries in the EU, and then head to the Middle East in December.

My plans for UK and EU covered three time periods. First I traveled through Scotland in spring. Then I headed to Europe for three months in summer. Finally, I returned to UK to travel around Wales, Ireland and North Ireland in autumn.

I’m currently on phase three of that plan, pet sitting in northern Wales for two weeks.

Looking back…

During phase one, April through early June, I traveled all over Scotland, pet sitting in five different locations. That showed me a pretty good slice of Scotland, including two major cities, a tiny coastal beach-side resort area, the hills of the Scottish Highlands, and a loch-side village on the far west coast. Here I wrote a summary of those Scottish adventures.

During phase two, I traveled around parts of EU from June through August, also pet sitting along the way. I spent three weeks in Belgium, exploring Brussels, Antwerp and Bruges. Then I spent about six weeks in Holland, mostly in/around Amsterdam. There I was pet sitting and visiting 50 luxury hotels on assignment.

Finally, I headed over to Cologne, Germany for 10 days to finish up my allotted 90-days permitted in EU/Schengen zone.

Phase three started in early September, when I flew back to the UK to explore Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland. I’m now here doing back-to-back pet sits all over the place, while exploring as much as I can.

Wales

Thus far I’ve spent seven weeks in Wales. Much like Scotland, my pet sitting gigs have taken me to several very different parts of Wales. I started off in the capital, Cardiff, looking after two gorgeous cats in a peaceful residential suburb.

Next I went to the coastal town of Porthcawl, located on the south coast of Wales, about 30 minutes west of Cardiff. There I was treated to a spectacular coastline of beaches, cliffs, rock formations, sand dunes, grassy bluffs and meadows, all set along wide open Cardiff Bay.

In Porthcawl I looked after three super adorable little doggies for 17 days. I took them out walking along the beautiful coast nearly every day, interspersed with some inland walks along deserted lanes between horse pastures.

Incidentally while I was there, the annual Porthcawl Elvis Presley Exhibition just happened to be scheduled. I couldn’t pass up a chance to check out one of the world’s biggest Elvis Presley events. Fun stuff.

I then returned to Cardiff for a quick four-day pet sit with two dogs and three cats. That was a very lucky find at the last minute since I needed to return to Cardiff to visit three hotels on assignment.

I also finally got to explore the city: Cardiff Castle, two museums and historic areas of Cardiff. During my first two-week assignment in Cardiff I was sick the entire time with a respiratory ailment and never stepped foot out the door, let alone see the city!

Finally, I took a train up to the north coast of Wales, to take care of two lively Cockerpoos and a lovely ginger cat. That was in Rhuddlan, a tiny inland town with a historic castle, small river and an important Welsh history.

While there I also got to visit stunning Llandudno Bay, a Victorian-era beach-side resort town set in a wide curving bay with bulging limestone headlands at either end.

I was in Rhuddlan two weeks after which my time was up in Wales. Last Saturday I took a train to the northwestern tip of Wales, at Holyhead. There I caught a three-hour ferry across the Irish Sea to Dublin, Ireland.

Dublin Castle – photo by Wojtek Gurak on Flickr CC

Republic of Ireland

So now I’m in Ireland for the first time!

I’m quite excited to begin explore Dublin. I’ve done some preliminary research online. Ireland’s capital has loads of great museums, historic buildings, parks and gardens to visit.

I’ll be here in Dublin nearly two weeks, looking after two little Jack Russell Terriers, hilariously named Jack and Jill. Hahahahaha!

Quite unfortunately, Dublin is all I’ll get to see of Ireland this year. I’m quite disappointed about that. I know there are so many really beautiful places in Ireland. I’d at least like to visit Cork, Limerick and Galway, to name a few famous beauty spots.

Sadly, it didn’t work out that way for me this year for pet sitting. I ended up getting a lot more pet sits in Wales and Northern Ireland. Since I fly to Dubai on December 1^st, my time became crunched to explore more of Ireland. So perhaps I’ll have to return to Ireland for a longer exploration.

For now, right after my pet sit in Dublin, I head up to Belfast, Northern Ireland on Halloween Day, October 31^st.

Northern Ireland

Just in case the concepts of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are a bit fuzzy, let me clarify. Both are located on the same large island of Ireland, but they are separate countries. This came about in 1921 after a long, long struggle between the two regions of Ireland, with the result that Northern Ireland broke away from Ireland.

The Republic of Ireland occupies 70% of the island and is completely independent from England and UK. Instead, Ireland is part of the EU and uses the Euro as currency.

Northern Ireland is a smaller country, occupying about the northern 30% of the island. That country is under the umbrella of the United Kingdom, aka the British Royal Crown, just like Scotland, Wales and England. It’s capital is Belfast.

Belfast Harbor – photo by Ian Britton on Flickr CC

I will be doing two pet sits near Belfast. The first in Newtownards, a small town east of Belfast, where I’ll be looking after a dog named Lenny for 17 days. While there, I’ll visit several luxury hotels on assignment and explore Belfast and area.

From there, I head about one hour south to the small town of Downpatrick, where I’ll look after one dog and one cat for a week.

Then I’ll return to my previous hosts’ home in Newtownards for a few days, where my hosts have offered to give me some sightseeing tours of the area. Nice!

In total, I’ll be in Northern Ireland nearly one month.

Finally, at the tail end of November I return to Dublin for four days to look after one elderly cat. That gives me the perfect chance to get myself situated close to Dublin Airport so I can fly to Dubai on December 1^st. Yeah!

Meanwhile, during the next few months in UK and the Middle East I’ll be writing more-detailed posts about the countries I’ve been exploring this year: my impressions, surprising facts, adventures, best things to see and do, pet sitting perspectives, and so on.

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You might also enjoy:

My First Impressions of Scotland

Nine Quintessential Scottish Traditions

My Three-month Travel Plans for EU 2024

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