We’ve been thinking about having a holiday in Northern Ireland. We’d take Breezy with us, obviously, and getting us all there will almost certainly involve a ferry. She’s never been on one, so we thought we’d give it a try in the name of research and training. We had a fun day out last year when we headed to the Isle of Wight by hovercraft, so this time we tried the ferry. We went over as foot passengers, and decided to come back from Ryde on the FastCat so she got a different method of transport under her paws.

Breezy, a black and white terrier, sitting beneath a Wightlink sign reading Foot Passengers Wait Here

Breezy standing on the blue ferry deck, peering between white railings at the sunlit sea

We sat outside on the sun deck for much of the 45 minute ferry crossing, before heading into the lounge for the last 10 or 15 minutes to see how she did. It was noisier inside, and there were quite a few doggies, some making their presence known. She didn’t react and just sat down by our sides as she would in a cafe. A good start.

A low tide beach with seaweed strewn across the sand, trees on the left and the Solent stretching away under a blue sky

Once off the ferry we walked along the coastal path towards Ryde.

The red brick tower of Quarr Abbey rising above a young apple orchard

Quarr Abbey's stepped gables and tall brick tower against a deep blue sky, seen over a garden wall and greenhouse

We stopped off at Quarr Abbey, which was surprisingly busy. A truly impressive building. The cafe was even busier, with a 30 to 45 minute delay on hot food. Breezy isn’t allowed in the tea room (only assistance dogs), but dogs on leads are welcome in the tea garden, so we sat outside. We didn’t want to sit around that long in the sunshine, so we opted for cheese scones. The food was fine, nothing special, but convenient.

The ruins of the original Quarr Abbey across a meadow, framed by hawthorn branches with the sea beyond

A little further along the coastal path are the remains of the original abbey. The walk to Ryde didn’t take very long at all and we were there several hours before our booked crossing. After a wander around the town and picking up a few odds and ends from cute shops on Union Street, we had a tea and treat at Chocolate Apothecary before heading down the pier to board an earlier FastCat.

Calm blue sea from the FastCat window, with the Portsmouth skyline and Spinnaker Tower on the horizon

This time we stayed inside. We could feel a lot more movement from the water, even though it was a pretty still day, but Breezy seemed unfazed.

Breezy curled up asleep in her purple harness on a patchwork bone-print mat on the FastCat floor

She just lay down on her mat and slept.

Based on this outing a longer ferry journey might well be an option. Time to do more research!