Using Google Maps and Street View, I stupidly revisited the seaside town my family and I used to go to every summer with our caravan.
I say stupidly, because I made myself sad reminiscing about all the places we went to and many of the things we did.

The place was Newcastle in County Down, here in Northern Ireland. For as long as I could remember, we would take our caravan to our usual site at Tollymore Forest Park which was a short drive away from the town. Street View allows you to go along the main road through the site and out the exit. 
To enter, you pass under the Barbican Gate, and travel along an avenue of deodar cedars before emerging at a junction which has a road going left to the Scouts campsite and tent campsite. On the right is a field for playing in and beyond is part of the caravan area. with a path leading to the site's facilities that consist of mens' and womens' showers and restrooms, and laundry room. Behind that is the hill atop which grow a group of beech trees, then the road goes straight ahead to another junction which has roads that lead to different parts of the park including a restaurant and tiny shop. On the right of this main road after the beech trees is another field, a fence, then the top caravan area. On the left is a gently sloping hill atop which stands a monument. And beyond that is the forest itself. 

I remember we used to set up our caravan at the first area I mentioned, but my favourite spot was directly underneath a huge horse chestnut tree (which, after many years, was fenced off to preserve it). Eventually, we moved to the first area right at the fence. The view was spectacular, even on rainy days: you could see the field, monument hill, forest and the Mourne Mountains beyond. 

As I clicked my way along the cedar avenue, I recalled how I used to get out of the car just outside the Barbican Gate, with my dog, and we would either leisurely make our way along then find the family, or would disappear into the forest for a while. Before I got my dog, I remember my sister and I would eagerly peer out the car windows in the hopes of seeing red squirrels. Over time, the squirrels were replaced by wild rabbits which would graze unconcernedly as our car and 'van passed by. We used to do the same every time we arrived back at the park after visiting the town.

On warm summer evenings, I loved to stroll around the site, listening to the children playing and adults sitting by their 'vans chatting, eating and drinking. 

On dry days, my dog and I would fuck off into the forest for hours, then return for lunch or dinner. So many trails to follow from short easy ones to a long hike which I did a couple of times. The Shimna River runs through the forest and I loved to walk by it and stop on bridges and by deep pools and watch the fish. And there's a lake that's home to ducks and fish. 
When the weather was wet, my mum, dad, sister and I would sit and entertain ourselves by knitting or sewing (mum), reading Christian books (both parents), reading the paper (dad) and colouring, reading or playing with Legos (my sister and I). The dog would lie and sleep on the floor. When the rain stopped and the sun came out, my sister and I were "booted" out to go find entertainment elsewhere. I remember, too, my brothers going off on fishing trips with my dad, and bringing home a fish or two for my parents to eat (blech!); or they would go off to Newcastle to play tennis.

Newcastle itself is a great place to spend a day. It has loads of shops, eating places, bars and amusements. It also has a heated outdoor pool sited by its Tourist Centre. My favourite shops were the 50p shop, Tip Top sweet shop, and The Bonbon newsagents. All but the 50p shop are still there. The amusement arcades are still there and still have the same name, but we never went into them. We did frequently visit part of the Shimna which had huge rocks to clamber over, and my sister and I would get our little fishing nets and try to catch the tiny fish. 
The Tourist Centre used to have a cinema and a restaurant downstairs as well as a side entrance to the outdoor pool. The cinema was where I saw 'E.T.'! I'm pretty sure we saw other movies, but I don't remember which ones.

One of our favourite treats was to go to K.F.C., which was essential on birthdays. We would get our food and snacks, then drive back to the caravan to eat.

As I made my way along the main road through Newcastle, I couldn't help but feel sad at the memories. I wish so much I could relive those days (including the day we were walking along a side street from where we'd parked the car, and because I wasn't looking where I was going, walked into a street sign and banged my head. The sign is still there!) with my parents and sister. If it were possible to travel back in time, that's when I would go to. 

*reaches for Kleenex* Oh, how I miss those days and those places.