STAYCATIONS SPECIAL FOCUS
Staycation Escapes We chat to some prominent local figures about why Ireland, north and south, is the perfect place for a weekend retreat or a day trip.
Portrush - photo by Tourism Ireland.
Andy Rea, Local Chef & Business man 2020 has been a year of new words like “COVID”, “Lockdown” and “Staycations.” In March, the business that served me well over the last 15 years became void. The first lockdown forced me to rethink the business model and, with the help of the team at Mourne, our Mourne@Home range was born. We prepared restaurant calibre food that people could finish at home, dishes faithful to their origin using locally sourced ingredients. After several months of working from home, my wife, Caroline and I were in the mood for a change of scenery. However, travel restrictions remained in place, flights were a no no and weekend breaks as we knew them were no longer. So we
travelled in a way that was permitted. In a classic red VW camper, Peter Pan Camper Van. There’s no shortage of landscapes to explore in NI, I had forgotten how blessed we are to live in this gem of a place. No face masks, no queuing at airports, no hassle. Just the open road, plenty of wine, a few Mourne@Home goodies and some cheesy 80s playlists. Going totally unplugged for a few days allowed us to forget about the madness. It felt very liberating and we only had to travel 30 minutes to a little place overlooking Strangford Lough.
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