Displaying items by tag: Glamping

9th June 2018

Coastal Spots Make List Of Ireland’s Top Glamping Destinations

The specially designed Clochan huts on Inis Mór

#Glamping - Kayaking and yoga on the Loop Head Peninsula is among the coastal offerings included in The Irish Times’ selection of Ireland’s top ‘glamping’ spots.

Aside from the aforementioned Purecamping experience on the Wild Atlantic Way, perhaps a stay in a seaside yurt on Cape Clear Island — or a modernist pod on Inis Mór inspired by the Aran Islands’ iconic beehive stone huts — might take your fancy.

And don’t forget the unique Quirky Nights village in Enniscrone, the centrepiece of which is ‘The Big Yoke’: a converted Boeing 767 jet that made headlines when it was transported by barge to the Mayo coast two years ago.

The Irish Times has more on the story HERE.

Published in Coastal Notes

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Glamping

8th May 2016

The Big Yoke Has Landed! Jet Plane Reaches Enniscrone By Barge

The Boeing 767 is transported across the road from the beach at Enniscrone to the new glamping site

#PlaneSailing - The Boeing 767 that wowed Ireland as it sailed by barge from the Shannon Estuary to a Sligo coastal town arrived at its new home, according to RTÉ News.

Preparations were being made last night (Saturday 7 May) to move the aircraft fuselage from its barge to the nearby site of Enniscrone entrepreneur David McGowan's ambitious Quirky Nights Glamping Village – where it will be converted into unique accommodation alongside converted buses, boats and black cabs.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the aircraft set sail from Shannon on Thursday on the barge after being lifted from the airport grounds earlier in the week using a specially commissioned cradle.

Today FM's Anton Savage Show, which has regaled listeners with McGowan's 'plane sailing' adventures over recent weeks, even broadcast from Enniscrone hours before the Boeing's arrival to mark the event.

Downtown Enniscrone of an average Saturday night.#PlaneSailing pic.twitter.com/HXbYjF3kSC
— TheAntonSavageShow (@AntonSavageShow) May 8, 2016

Published in Coastal Notes

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6th May 2016

Plane Sets Sail For 'Quirky Nights' In Enniscrone (VIDEO)

The Boeing 767 bound for Enniscrone on its barge in the Shannon Estuary

#PlaneSailing - Video has emerged of the Boeing 767 being sailed by barge from the Shannon Estuary up the coast to Enniscrone for its new life as part of a 'glamping' site in the Co Sligo seaside town.

Local funeral director and entrepreneur David McGowan has kept listeners to Today FM's Anton Savage Show updated on his plans to make the decommissioned plane – nicknamed 'The Big Yoke' – the centrepiece of his Quirky Nights Glamping Village concept.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, McGowan hopes for the aircraft to arrive in Enniscrone by tomorrow (Saturday 7 May).

And what's more, The Anton Savage Show will broadcast live on location from 11am on Today FM to celebrate its arrival - follow the hashtag #PlaneSailing on Twitter for live updates.

Said Savage of the incredible story: “First we thought David was funny. Then we thought he was crazy. Now we’re sure he’s a genius.

"Any man whose business plan is a plane, train and a teapot in a field is our kind of guy. It’s an honour to be there to see the Big Yoke land.”

Published in Coastal Notes

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3rd May 2016

Plane Sailing For New Coastal Glamping Village Later This Week

The Boeing 767 ready for lifting onto the barge at Knockbeg Point

#PlaneSailing - A funeral director's ambitious plans for a unique 'glamping' site in Enniscrone will move a step closer to fruition later this week as he prepares to sail a passenger jet by barge up the coast from Shannon.

That's right, a passenger jet – a Boeing 767 to be precise, which David McGowan picked up for a song from a liquidating Russian airline, as the Irish Examiner reports.

McGowan is the entrepreneur behind the planned 'Quirky Nights Glamping Village' in his Co Sligo seaside town, where the former airliner will be the centrepiece of a development that will also feature repurposed train carriages, dry-docked boats London black cabs.

All will be refitted to accommodate a new kind of camper inspired by boutique festivals like Electric Picnic, people seeking the beauty of the outdoors and the comforts of hotels with a twist.

"I’m surrounded with death every week," McGowan told Today FM's Anton Savage Show of what prompted his imaginative idea to boost his coastal community's economy. "You need something to give you a buzz. You need to out and do something unusual.”

But getting the plane from Shannon Airport to Enniscrone posed a problem, as it's simply too big to transport by traditional means.

Hence the need for a barge to sail it by sea along the Wild Atlantic Way, and a specially engineered 'cradle' to lift it onto the barge.

That didn't come cheap – more than double what McGowan paid for the aircraft itself – but it did the job, and the plane is now ready at Knockbeg Point waiting for the weather to clear before the barge sets off this Thursday, expected in Enniscrone on Saturday 7 May.

A previous version of this article incorrectly attributed Independent.ie as the source of quotes from The Anton Savage Show on Today FM.

Published in Coastal Notes

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Irish Sea Ferry Routes

Irrespective of the type of vessel deployed on Irish Sea routes (between 2-9 hours), it is the ferry companies that keep the wheels of industry moving as freight vehicles literally (roll-on and roll-off) ships coupled with motoring tourists and the humble 'foot' passenger transported 363 days a year.

As such the exclusive freight-only operators provide important trading routes between Ireland and the UK, where the freight haulage customer is 'king' to generating year-round revenue to the ferry operator. However, custom built tonnage entering service in recent years has exceeded the level of capacity of the Irish Sea in certain quarters of the freight market.

A prime example of the necessity for trade in which we consumers often expect daily, though arguably question how it reached our shores, is the delivery of just in time perishable products to fill our supermarket shelves.

A visual manifestation of this is the arrival every morning and evening into our main ports, where a combination of ferries, ro-pax vessels and fast-craft all descend at the same time. In essence this a marine version to our road-based rush hour traffic going in and out along the commuter belts.

Across the Celtic Sea, the ferry scene coverage is also about those overnight direct ferry routes from Ireland connecting the north-western French ports in Brittany and Normandy.

Due to the seasonality of these routes to Europe, the ferry scene may be in the majority running between February to November, however by no means does this lessen operator competition.

Noting there have been plans over the years to run a direct Irish –Iberian ferry service, which would open up existing and develop new freight markets. Should a direct service open, it would bring new opportunities also for holidaymakers, where Spain is the most visited country in the EU visited by Irish holidaymakers ... heading for the sun!