Soaked through to the knickers in Co. Fermanagh

We have just returned from a weekend camping trip, it was a planned trip - something we had organised to do a few weeks ago when the sun was gloriously shining and the temperatures were in the mid 20s.

So it was with some disappointment that we woke to dull skies on Friday, and even more disappointing to see the rain arrive later in the day. But we had packed the car and leave had been taken, so off we set on the 80 odd mile journey to the selected campsite in the lovely lakeland area of Co. Fermanagh.

As we travelled down the road the weather got worse and worse to the point were the window wipers were on full speed and still were not clearing the windscreen :-(

The Killyhevlin Hotel looked VERY tempting as we passed it, however camping had been promised and camping it had to be. When we arrived at the site the fun really started. In faith, I was totally unprepared for putting up a tent in the rain, especially rain of the kind last seen when Noah built the ark. And so it was that I was soaked through to my knickers before we had even managed to get the tent out of the boot of the car.

It gets to the stage were you give in and admit there is no point trying to avoid getting soaked, and just pretend you are standing in a shower, albeit with all your clothes on! (At least thats not a first for me)

Of course, it doesn't help to see all the caravan and motorhomes rolling up and just plugging in. At least none of the owners had the nerve to wave at us out through the window.

Eventually the tent went up, round about the same time the rain eased to simply torrential. Although the bedrooms were dry, there were puddles in the front part of the tent Dr Foster would have been wary of, but at 11 o'clock at night, clothes stuck to me, hair plastered to my head and shoes squelching, I didn't really care. Having peeled off the wet layers and then put on every other item of clothing I had with me to try and generate some heat in my poor body, I hit the sack.

We woke in the morning to silence ... what?? No rain!! As we peeped out the door of the tent it quickly became obvious that two of the three other tents that had been pitched beside us the night before had disappeared. Packed up early and gone home, or simply floated down the campsite onto the Lough?? We never found out.