A quick search of the internet revealed a VW commercial garage in Waterford, a city which we’d been thinking of visiting in any case. A quick call to explain the situation and they said drop the van in and they should be able to fit the belt that afternoon. Perfect.
The quickest route to Waterford involves crossing a river on a small ferry which is always exciting. As we made our way into the city Mrs TomTom got us completely lost on an industrial estate. We eventually found someone who directed us off the estate and just down the road a little bit.
“What’s your address while in Ireland?”. “The van”, we answered. Lynn returned a quizzical look. “We, err, sort of drive around without any sort of plan and see what happens”. “Generally we break down and end up at a garage”, Dan added helpfully. We got an address of Travelling.
Despite a slight history of unreliability from the van we’ve never actually been a Volkswagen main dealer before, but the service we got from Lynn and the team at Tom Murphy Car Sales in Waterford was first class, we’ve never felt so well looked after. We were given a lift into the city, left with a voucher for tea and scones at the Granville Hotel and taxied back to the garage when the work was finished. Rarely is going the garage such a pleasure and it turned what could have been a dull day in a waiting room into to a great day out exploring a new place.
With an afternoon free to wander the streets our thoughts immediately turned to lunch. After lunch we headed off to find the museums, then returned to the cafe to find our guide book (note: Dan still not to be trusted with important things) before heading off again to find the museums.
The city of Waterford is old, dating back to viking settlement in the ninth century. Reginald’s Tower is the oldest surviving building and located next to the river is a prominent landmark. It’s open to the public and although not large, it’s an interesting place wander around, giving a good introduction to the history of the city and this corner of Ireland.
While we were in the history mood we made the Medieval Museum our next stop which provides a much more in depth look at Waterford’s long history.
Finally Museum’d out we waited in the Granville for our ride back to the garage, enjoying our tea and enormous tasty scones.
Reunited with our home, we headed towards the sea and joined the narrow but scenic coastal road in a southwesterly direction looking for somewhere to spend the night. We settled on a beachside car park at Annestown, next to a long abandoned lime kiln and with only a French motorhome for company.
Still stuffed from our scones we didn’t bother with dinner and as the rain fell and darkness descended we entertained ourselves playing Mapple while in the distance a lightning storm raged into the night.
The Betty Bus Diaries 