Ten hour trip turns into two-day trial

THE organiser of the Exmouth Festival faced a gruelling two-day journey home - which should have taken 10 hours - after snow caused travel chaos.

Chris Wood finally made it home on Tuesday after his week-long holiday in Lurgan, Northern Ireland, with his girlfriend Michelle Ferris (31) turned into a nightmare.

His journey home began on Monday at about 10am when the couple started the approximately 350km drive in their Mazda Bongo campervan to catch a ferry at the Rosslare Port back to the UK.

The 26-year-old said: “It took us from 10am on Monday to 12pm on Tuesday.

“We set off ridiculously early as we didn’t want to miss the ferry, but I didn’t expect it to take quite so long.”

“We just found that the traffic moved so slowly and you just had to be really careful.”

Travelling at speeds of between 30 and 40 miles an hour ensured their journey was prolonged, which was made worse by the icy road conditions.

Chris added: “The motorways were not too bad really and in Ireland it was just the small roads and hills, which were bad as they were really icy.

“On some of the small roads we did end up skidding but everyone was being super-cautious.”

“It just took four times as long to get anywhere. It was quite tiring.

“But, we didn’t get stuck anywhere for hours and hours.”

Chris told the Exmouth Journal that the snow in Ireland was quite thick compared to Devon.

The couple had a plentiful supply of food to keep them going on their long journey including lots of sandwiches and tinned foods.

He said: “We were lucky the campervan was stocked up so we were alright.

“We were well stocked up with sandwiches and lots of bread and stuff in tins in the camper van.”

However, their journey was far from over when the couple arrived into the ferry port in Pembroke, Wales, as they ended up stopping the car and sleeping overnight on the side of the road before making the 207 mile drive to Exmouth.

They finally arrived home at around 12pm at around 12pm after battling icy driving conditions.

Chris added: “We weren’t expecting it to take quite as long but when you are sat there for so long it feels like that anyway.”

Despite the problems Chris admits that it has not put him off travelling to Northern Ireland in the future.

He said: “I certainly did enjoy the holiday. It was worth it.

“My girlfriend’s family live out there so I couldn’t be put off.”