A trip to Scrabo Tower, Northern Ireland
Thursday, March 18, 2010
As part of my goals for 2010 I wanted to get out and see more places in Northern Ireland. So Sir and I set off a little while back on a nice crisp Winter's day to visit Scrabo Tower. I've been to the base of the tower before but have never climbed it....does that mean I can or can't count that towards achieving my goal??!!! Anyway, for those who aren't familiar to Scrabo Tower, here is what good ol' Wikipedia has to say about it:
The landmark, which is visible from most of north Down, was built on a volcanic plug above the town in 1857 as a memorial to Charles Stewart, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry who was one of the Duke of Wellington's generals during the Napoleonic Wars. The 3rd Marquis, or "Warring Charlie" as he was also known, inherited the title and family seat of Mount Stewart after his brother, the 2nd Marquis, committed suicide. The 2nd Marquis is better known as Viscount Castlereagh who served a term as Britain's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The tower was built to designs attributed to Charles Lanyon and WH Lynn, and now stands in a country park. The park has several woodland walks and parkland through Killynether Wood. The view from the hill and the summit of the tower extends across Strangford Lough, scattered with its many islands, to the Mountains of Mourne and the Scottish coast. The tower houses two floors of displays and a climb of 122 steps takes the visitor to the open viewing level.
View out of one of the windows
View up to the top of the tower (if you flip this it looks like your looking down into a bottomless hole....makes me feel queasy!)
View North from the top
View South-East from the top....excuse the ugger pic of me! Love the view of Strangford Lough from here though...beautiful, especially on such a lovely day.
xxx
1 comments
Ah, Ireland...gotta love the history and the beauty, eh? Thanks for sharing these Superior Snaps. SITS sent me by, and I'm glad they did. Happy Friday!
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