The Money Fight as Foreshadowed By Castle Ward's Boxing Squirrels- Plus Their Game of Thrones Winterfell Festival

I've been totally and utterly suckered into the hype for the Money Fight. Some guys are boxing in Vegas for billions of dollars.  If you live in the States you have to pay $80-$100 just to watch it. What happens if one knocks the other out in seconds? Is there a refund policy if you get twelve seconds of a match?

Its on at 5am our time, early Sunday morning, and whilst I'm not going to pay to watch it (£20-£24 here, I assume cause it's 5am) I am going to set an alarm to wake up and be on social media for the buzz. I love this sort of thing. 

Anyway, it reminded me of one of my favourite parts of Castle Ward's grand house tour- the taxidermy boxing squirrels.

If you are a Game of Thrones fan (and who isnt? Well, me, but I'm odd) then you might be excited to know Castle Ward is holding a Winterfell Festival on 24th September . 

Festival gates will open at 11am on 24 September and at 12 noon a fanfare will herald the arrival of the King’s procession as he visits House Stark at Winterfell for The King’s Tournament Games. Irish Arms, a historical reproduction company, will perform a series of medieval jousting shows on horseback throughout the day. Sword sparring, archery demonstrations, jesters and falcon flights will add to the atmosphere in the tournament ring where visitors will be able to feast on roast hog washed down with local cider.

Amongst the medieval themed stalls, armourer Boyd Rankin, who starred as Mikken in Game of Thrones will showcase a selection of the weapons he forged for the world famous TV series. Special guests will also include two of the original Stark family Direwolf dogs.

The iconic Winterfell Tower House will be open throughout the day and fans can join Winterfell Tours on a skirmish to Audley’s Castle before having their very own green screen photo taken in the Winterfell Courtyard where the Stark family famously lined up for the King’s arrival. An interactive show and workshop with Shadow Puppets themed on Game of Thrones will take place in the historic courtyard and can be enjoyed by all.

Travellers will also be encouraged to walk down the Kingsroad to the Inn at the Crossroads where they can pull up a pew and listen to stories from A Song of Ice and Fire Series One being performed by Footsteps theatrical company, while dining on venison pie and ale.

• Adult - £22.50

• Child - £10.00 (10 - 16 years)

• Family - £60.00 (2 adults and 2 children between 10 - 16 years)
  *Children under 10 are free

Access to Castle Ward on 24 September will be exclusively for Winterfell Festival ticket holders only. Castle Ward will be closed to non-ticket holders, including National Trust members, from 9am-6pm on 24 September.

You can plan a do it yourself road trip to visit all the filming locations the National Trust work with HBO on Game of Thrones, with this handy guide to where they all are.

So, shall I see you online at 5am on Sunday morning? Who do you think is going to be champion? 

P.S. I made the long list of this year's Irish Blog Awards in the Lifestyle and Best Blog Post categories, but I won't make a song and dance about it as every valid blog that got nominated makes the long list. When the short list, then the finalist lists come out I'll add buttons etc then (if I'm a finalist again this year- fingers crossed!) But thank you to anyone who nominated me I really appreciate it. 

Retro Ulsterbus and Vintage Travel Advertising Spotted at the Ulster Transport Museum

I think everyone in this neck of the woods has been to the Ulster Folk & Transport Museum at Cultra, just outside Holywood, but for non-NI-natives and tourists it's well worth visiting. We went along today especially to see the Flight part, but dandered through the other galleries we had seen before because the giant locomotives and engines are always impressive.

There are half a dozen galleries, including the absolutely HUGE train hanger. As well as the actual trains there is a wealth of reading exhibits and model dotted around each pavilion. 

New since our last visit are the massive five or six story high photos at either end of the train hanger.  One end shows a vintage station (I forgot to check which, if it was Central or Great Victoria Street) with signs for trains for Bangor, and interestingly Castlewellan.

The end below shows Portrush Train Station in its heyday.

We had a cuppa in the cute tea rooms, then walked down to the flight part of the museum.

They had a mini version of the tearoom down there in the separate building for planes, carts and cars.

The flight part is quite small, and hasn't really been updated in years and years. If you are Aviation mad like Smix it may be worth a trip from Belfast, but honestly if you only like planes be aware it's a very small part of the museum. 

The YouTube daredevil pranker idiots of the 1920s

Whilst Smix loved the aircraft section, I loved all the vintage photos of Northern Ireland, and the old fashioned advertising. 

Bonus snaps-

1. facts about the world's worst poet who was from Larne. Sounds about right. 

2. the derp-iest looking plane ever. Smix was able to tell me all about it. It's used to Transport bits of planes to different parts of the world. I think if I ever saw this at the airport I would die laughing.

Concerned About The Prospect of Sea Sickness On a Stena Line £12 Kids' Day Cruise? This Will Put Your Mind At Ease.

Last weekend Smix & I had a full scale adventure at sea, taking a Stena Line Day Cruise, which I reviewed in full for you. You spend six hours plus on board, so that may be daunting to anyone who experiences travel sickness easily.

I get very sick, almost instantly on any size of bus, so I can't partake in travel tours that use them for a leg of the journey. Planes I'm usually okay, trains are touch and go- I have to be facing forward on the journey. So I wasn't too sure about how the large ferry experience would go. I have been fine any other time I've been on the Stena Super Fast, but I've been sick on competitor's boats in years gone by.

So if you are concerned like me, you'll be pleased to hear this ship, and this crossing journey specifically seems grand.

There is one section of the journey just for about twenty minutes when you just pull out of Belfast Lough, and again right that spot on the return, where it gets a little choppy. So if you experience that on your trip, don't panic, it doesn't last long, it passes. Try to be near a window or outside for that part. Do not hide up in the toilets. I found the lack of sight line to outside to match the bobbing about made me queasy.

So here's a sped up, snippet jigsawed journey so you can see just how flat the waters were. This was February and a day where it was grey and drizzling on land in Belfast.

Lastly-  read all about the day cruises here. I reviewed the entire trip and gave you pointers to be prepared for your trip.

A Day Out With a Difference, and Only £12 Each! Stena Line's Day Cruises Are Back- Here's Everything You Need to Know To Have The Best Day at Sea!

Stena Line's Kids' Day Cruises from Belfast are back! Priced at just £12 per person, or £44 for a family, you can take them somewhere a little more exotic than the play park next weekend. They'll have quite a cool story to tell come Monday morning when the teachers asked what everyone got up to this weekend!

So what do you need to know before you set sail, to get the most out of your day? 

This year the day cruises are themed either 'Pirates & Princesses' or 'Superheroes', you can check for the theme of your choice  when you book online. There is a full afternoon filled with craic to be had for free onboard, plus added extras you can pay to add on, for a more luxurious trip, for instance a quick trip to the spa for a manicure for Mum. I'll tell you about those as we go, but let's start with your booking and arrival.

You book your tickets online, where you can also get the Sat Nav postcode or coordinates to get you to the port Stena sail from. Finding it is really easy without maps though- you travel on the motorway out of Belfast toward the North/Carrick and you'll see huge signs for the port and Stena Line to follow right to the parking and terminal at the docks. 

Its a pay to park car park (more on that later) and it has tonnes of room, so there's no panic trying to find a space if you are running late. Speaking of which, the boat leaves the dock at 1130am, with last check-in being 1045am. You board shortly after 11am, but we sat for a while and had coffee in the terminal, so if you are early there's somewhere to be fed and watered. 

There will be passengers who are driving on and who will actually only be on the trip to get to Scotland, but you'll strictly be a foot passenger and no-one is allow to disembark in Cairnryan if you are travelling on the day trip cruise. 

The disco and entertainment area

So, once on board your child will get a coloured wristband. This is simply because one of the activities is a disco, which would be chaos in the small allocated space if every child wanted to dance at once, so that part of the fun is done in sessions by wristband colour. 

The specific day cruise entertainment all takes place in the main bar and lounge, just one of the places you have access to during the cruise. I would refer to this lounge as having a bit of a Butlins feel. There's face painting, games, balloon modelling etc. so most of the families with young kids set up camp here. There are staff on hand to entertain the little ones, including a puppet show and a magician. All the themed fun goes on here. There's even karaoke and a best dressed costume competition. 

Face painting

Mister Giggles gets the party started

There is plenty of seating, and this is definitely the hub for kids and families. However, as you can imagine with all that fun comes a lot of excited noise! Six hours at sea in a children's disco might sound daunting, but there is a whole ship to explore and much more to do, even for the kids too. 

Beside that entertainment lounge is a gaming section with arcade games.

There is a cool little shop akin to a Duty Free, with equally tempting bargains. They've all the top perfumes with good price deals, make-up including a snazzy Benefit counter, plus toys, sweets and souvenirs.  

It's worth noting with the day trip ticket you will receive two vouchers, both for £5 when you spend £25- so if you've your eye on a particular perfume or aftershave, you could come away with a cracking deal on top of the already lower prices.

 You can even check out the deals here online before you sail.

The Pod Lounge is a quieter space which suits older children and teens better. It houses the onboard cinema, PlayStation 4 terminals you can use for free, plus internet access. 

The internet terminals however aren't that great. They are frustratingly slow, so it's handier just to bring your own laptop or tablet. 

The cinema

Another word on the internet at sea, which is cleverly called- 'Internet@sea'. It's free wifi, but in the old tradition of all free wifi, it's a bit slow.

So if you plan to watch Netflix or stream the BBC IPlayer onboard while your kids are having fun- you'll be stuck. I would recommend downloading a movie or to episodes to your device. 

There is a lot of exploring to do however, so you probably won't even need to use it apart from to share photos of the day as it's happening- which it works fine for. 

There are lots of places to eat onboard, including the first entertainment lounge. The Taste restaurant has a selection of great freshly made food, and many offers to chose from, including family deals. You can check the deals out and even pre-purchase before you sail. Because of the size of the ship, you won't have to wait for very long to order when you want to eat, so it's hassle free.

Theres also a separate coffee lounge with sandwiches and pastries as a lighter bite. There are also bars onboard with wines, beers and spirits. Sporting fans can watch Sky Sports in the Pod Lounge too, so you won't miss an important match. 

With any luck you'll have a nice, clear, dry day like we did, so you can get out on the outside decks. There is access on floor seven and floor ten. It can be a little windy, but exhilarating. Smix loved that part as he's really into boats and planes, so he could nosy close up at the lifeboats. 

About 2pm you'll arrive in Scotland. As this is a regular ferry trip for many onboard, there will be a departure of many families at this point. It's a good time to relocate to a better seat if you want a window view for the journey home. 

I recommend trying the Living Room Lounge, it's nice and quiet and there are huge windows to enjoy the scenery of Scotland as you depart again.

The Living Room has a coffee bar, big TVs showing news, and a selection of free magazines to borrow to read. 

The ship also has vending machines for snacks, and for the iPad obsessed like us, plenty of charging sockets! 

You'll be on board from 11am until 530pm, so that's plenty of time if you want to slip away to deck ten, where the Pure Nordic Spa is located. Treatments begin at £10 and include manicures, massages, pedicures, gel nails etc. Or you can pay £10 to get access to the jacuzzi and sauna. If you travel as a family maybe one parent could visit the spa on the Scotland bound journey, and the other on the return.

You'll arrive back in the Belfast port at 530pm, and you can disembark quite quickly, there's not much having to hang around. 

One last thing I have to mention which I knew about from travelling before, but that many families around me were ticked off about- expect to pay £8.50 for your day's parking. After spending money on food and gifts onboard, it's irritating to have to pay almost the same price as a day trip ticket for your parking, and with being in the harbour area you don't have an alternative option for parking. If I had one suggestion that would make the day perfect, it would be scrapping the parking charge for the day trip customers. Just be prepared and factor in that cost when you are planning your trip.

So the dates are available for the kids cruises up until June- with the different themes available, but all priced £12. 

I definitely recommend it. For £12 each it's a very exciting day for kids. As adults we are more used to travel, but the kids on board were all just so excited to be on a big boat! Add in the included entertainment both ways, and it's something they'll always remember. Michael first went on their day cruises when he was about five or six, and now sailing again aged nine he was actually more excited about the whole prospect this time, despite being a little too old and cool to dress up!  Thanks, Stena Line for the fun day at sea.

Another Day Trip Destination: Kilbroney Park Narnia Trail

Two weeks ago I shared with you the new family forest trail at Slieve-Gullion . My friend Karen tipped us off about a similar destination, The-Narnia-Trail at Kilbroney Forest Park. We hadn't been to Kilbroney before, but we had driven past the entrance to it several times whilst staying down in that direction. It's situated right outside Rostrevor, near Warrenpoint, which means if you are Bangor or Belfast based, like us, it is a bit of a hike, but given that it's summer you can take a day and maybe fit in Slieve Gullion too. We were staying not too far away, in Teepee Valley one night and Hanna's Close the next, but I shall tell you about them shortly.

Kilbroney Park has a large carpark which is free. The set up is a bit like Carnfunnock in that there's a good sized, free play park, and a multi-level restaurant/cafe. Plenty of free to use toilets too, and by the looks of things mountain bike trails and rentals. The day we were there there was a guy doing horse drawn carriage rides, I think it was about £3 an adult, £1 a child.

As for the Narnia Trail itself, it's great. I love any sort of sculpture walk, so these trails are right up my street. It's worth asking directions, as there are signs all over the place, but to actually get to the trail from the carpark you have to go down through the building and then down to your left, past where the outdoor gym equipment is. 

The trail then begins with a giant wardrobe, of course, and it's well signposted throughout. It's a lot shorter in length than the Giant's Lair walk; I'd say the Narnia one is only 1/4 mile in a small loop. You do go off road so to speak, down through wooded areas & over lawns. It's definitely worth a day trip however, with the added bonus of one of the citadels looking a little like Elsa's castle! 

Summer in Newcastle, County Down

Continuing on our week in The Mournes, here's what you can see & do in Newcastle, the main seaside town at the base of the mountains.

It's always been a fun, family destination with twee, little shops with fancy dress & jokes to buy. There's a new bead shop where you can pick & choose from hundreds of designs and make your own necklace, bracelet or brooch.

Doll's house accessories in Bon Bon's

There are a handful of amusement arcades with video game machines, two penny drop gambling games and a few rides too.

Down in between the buildings we found an outdoor funfair with five rides including small chairaplanes and a waltzer.

These boats are £2 a go.  

For food there's a KFC, Subway, Country Fried Chicken, Mauds Cafe and dozens of ice cream parlours.  There's even a machine that makes candy floss outside Bon Bon's shop.

So whether you're staying at The Mourne Lodge, Dan White's Cottage or Hanna's Close, or just down for the day, Newcastle is a nice little nostalgic seaside stop off.

Expensive, but cool, American import sweets available from Ben & Jerry's icecream shop.

Visit The Fairy Village at the Giant's Lair, Slieve Gullion

Just outside Newry is Slieve Gullion Forest Park. The carpark is free and they've a giant playpark, also all free. There's a cafe and ice cream vans or you can bring your own picnic.  

What we had visited for however is the new sculpture walk, complete with magical fairy village. I would have gone wild for this sort of place as a child. The walk is around a mile through the forest, and again it's totally free. It's definitely work the drive down if you're from near Belfast like us. 

Eddie Rockets, Dundalk Shopping & The Armagh Planetarium

So I shared with you our lovely accommodation at Dan White's, but what did we get up to during our stay? The next few days I'll share with you what you can do down in the Kingdom of Mourne & surrounding area. Of course there are the outdoor pursuits like mountain hikes, biking trails etc. but if you've young children there are plenty of family activities too.  

Here is a good day's worth of fun should you have rainy weather during your stay. Newry is about a half hour drive from Dan White's and the drive comprises the Mourne Coastal Route which is outstandingly beautiful. You pass through picturesque towns like Warrenpoint where you can stop for fish & chips or an icecream.

Reaching Newry & following the signs to Dublin will bring you to The Quays and Buttercrane, the city's main shopping centres which are side by side. Both centres parking is paid, but it's about a pound for an hour, so it's not terribly steep. 

The Quays has Eddie Rockets, the first of the 1950s' themed restaurant chain to open North of the border. We hit it up for breakfast AND dinner. Their milkshakes are famously amazing, and I highly recommend the bacon and cheese fries. 

The Quays has stores like Topshop, Lush, H&M and Debenhams. Crossing over to Buttercrane you'll find Mark & Spencer and an absolutely massive Primark. Buttercrane also has some kids' fun going on during the summer months, plus an igloo where you can get your photo taken with Elsa from Frozen for £6. 

Leaving Newry & following the motorway to Dublin will lead you over the border to Dundalk, about a further half an hour drive. For those who aren't from Northern Ireland and might be planning a visit, crossing the border is simple. There's no passport check or anything, in fact you only know you've crossed over when the road signage changes from miles to kilometres.

Keep an eye on your phone network too. It may be worth switch off data unless your contract allows roaming, as your phone will switch to an Irish carrier even around Newry. 

Our destination in Dundalk was Marshes, their huge shopping mall. I didn't have a sat nav or map, I just winged it, and found it easily enough. Again you pay for parking, €1 an hour or so. The highlight of Marshes for us was Tiger, which I mentioned before. A really cool home ware store. You'll also find a huge Dunnes, a big Primark (called Penney's in the south) and lots more fashion stores. 

We left Dundalk to cross the border again and head toward Armagh. A good tip here is to NOT follow the signs to Armagh you see round Dundalk town. We followed that route and it was a twisty country road that took about an hour. I think you'd be quicker to fly up the motorway to Newry again & through to Armagh that way, on roads where you can do 70 mph rather than twisting through tiny towns doing 45 mph most of the way. Michael got really car sick that route too.

But eventually we got to Armagh & the planetarium. It's free to come in and walk about the displays, but you must be over age six to enter the dome shows. They run on the hour and we arrived in time to catch the 2pm show. Each programme runs for about 35 minutes, so we ended up staying and watching the 3pm & 4pm shows too, making rockets in the crafting room in between.

The shows cost around £5 per person & are well worth catching. We had a lot of fun that afternoon, and have decided we will call back again when we are down again in a few weeks' time.