The reply to my colleagues "any plans for the weekend" and for this weekend question was "yes, I'm going to Newcastle in Co. Down (Northern Ireland). We rented a 6-seater new Renault Espace for the trip to avoid the hassle of having to stick to the bus timings which weren't bad with Bus Eireann but still not as flexible as having a car.

Friday was the rainiest day since I arrived in Ireland in fact my boss pitied me taking the bus and drove me to the airport. I'm in very good relations with the boss at the moment in fact I went for dinner at his country house (villa) the night before, which is always a welcome change from my previous work environment.

Our draftsman friend volunteered to drive, and guided by his wife we left Dublin airport at about 8.30 to arrive in Newcastle at about 10.45. The trip was quite straightforward taking the M1 motorway to Newry and following the signs to Newcastle.

Finding the Newcastle Youth Hostel was also easy after asking at the petrol station were Down Rd (read Doin Road) is. Two of our friends were waiting for us is the 6 bed dorm we had all by ourselves. I have some nice memories of spending nights with 6 persons in a dorm but most of this group was more into sleeping into having fun – apart from the explosive hilarious pal who kept me company till 3.30 am in the hostel lounge where we could use our natural loud voice with minimal damage. The youth hostel wasn't bad by other hostel standards and it was clean although the gentle sex group wasn't impressed by their first hostel experience and sweared they never enter a hostel again.

On Saturday after breakfast we went to Donard Car Park to start the climb to Slieve Donard. The path was easy to follow because all you have to do is walk all the way up the river and once you see Mourne's Wall climb up to the summit. Since I managed to borrow some photos of the scenery I can avoid describing it.

Points to remember:-

• North Ireland is in the UK so bring your British pounds if you have any. Euros are generally accepted though.
• We didn't have to cross an official border to get into North Ireland and the passport wasn't required, although it's not a bad thing to have it with you.