Well I hope everyone had a brilliant weekend. We were blessed with gorgeous sunshine and high temperatures so it was just lovely.
I thought I would share the most amazing story about me and the Dark Hedges (N.I.) that happened to me recently. I have posted about them before here, but I'll tell you the background about them again.
Back in 2007 I went to see the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition in the Natural History Museum in London and out of all the photos one really took me back. My first reaction was "where in the world is that?". After closer inspection I actually laughed out loud when I discovered that this eerie scene was actually a place in Northern Ireland! So ever since then I have always wanted to take the trip to find the "Dark Hedges"
Original shot taken by Bob McCallion (source)
I must have been driving my friends nuts talking about this picture, as for my birthday last year I was treated to a photograph of the Dark Hedges taken by a friend who lives near them:
AND Sir bought me a framed print of the original shot taken by Bob McCallion:
So that weekend after my birthday we decided to take a day trip up to find these elusive hedges so that I could see them for myself. I tell you, they certainly are elusive...we had to ask several people for directions to find them. But it was worth it, and here is MY version:
This is a little country road that you would never even know about if you weren't looking for them. Ironically, even though it was 'in the middle of nowhere', there was another guy there at the same time as us taking his own pics...and I thought to myself "oh dear, I bet he's really annoyed at us because we are getting in the way of his shot".
Here's the AMAZING part of this story: earlier on this year I got a comment on my blog, followed by an e-mail...from the photographer Bob McCallion, who took the original version! I was honoured that he had found my blog and found my version on the dark hedges. But to make things even MORE amazing, he had a picture in his possesion which he thought I was IN!!!! In his e-mail he attached this:
And there I am, with Sir....IN BOB McCALLIONS PHOTO!!!!!!! Aparently he has been 'searching' for the girl in the pink ski jacket for ages, tormenting his wife trying to find the couple in his photo...and lo and behold...he found us! I just couldn't believe it. And last week I recieved a signed print of the very photo to have as my own. I love it - it is just gorgeous, and I love it even more than the original shot - the lighting is so fresh and vivid. Who would have thought that back in 2007 when I first saw that photo I would have ended up with my own personal version taken by the very same photographer!
xxx
P.S. Sorry for all the 'sample's on the last pic, but it'd not mine to share so I thought I'd better do something to 'protect' it!
On a rare sunny Sunday Sir and I jumped in the car and headed in search of more 'new' places in N.I. to visit. Cue Killyleagh. Not new to Sir, but very new to me. And I can't believe it has taken me so long to discover such a gorgeous little village so close to me!.
The main thing that hits you as you drive into the village is the very impressive Killyleagh Castle. On gettting out to take some shots I discovered this is actually an inhabited castle! How amazing! Four hundred years ago Gawn Rowan Hamilton's ancestor James Hamilton arrived in Co Down and settled in Killyleagh Castle (if you are interested in reading about the family and the history check out this link). I also discovered that the towers of the castle have been converted into self-catering appartments - now that would be an impressive place to stay!
This is as close as I could get without trespassing!
Apparently the top of the towers are used as patios.
Apart from the gorgeous castle, the main street of Killyleagh is so quaint, with all the buildings painted different pastel shades and dotted with lovely looking cafe's and pubs. Unfortunately as it was early on Sunday none of the spots were open, but Sir did inform me that the cafe there is very good. I think I may be back!
View of the castle at the end of the main street
A short amble finds you at the shores of Strangford Lough and a new delevlopment of houses over looking the water. Well...Sir was in love! I've never seen him so exited about a place. His dream would be to have a house with access to water so that he could get up in the morning and fling his kayak in and go off for a day long padle. I have to say I wouldn't complain with that kind of set-up either! It really was gorgeous, helped a lot no doubt by the gloriously sunny day. Sir is wanting to sell his house in ther next year or so, and I have a feeling he may be looking for his new one near here! The only issue is the commute to work.
We spent the rest of the day in a nearby country park called Delamont Country Park (including compulsory picnic and then Mr Softy icecream of course!). Unfort I didnt take any photos here - sorry guys!! But it was a lovely place so I'm sure I'll be back.
xxx
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
One of my goals for this year was to visit at least 4 new places within Northern Ireland. I believe there is a lot for me to discover about this country and I'm looking forward to exploring!
So I can tick off one out of 4 as Sir and I had a wee trip to the very sweet seaside town of Strangford, which is found one side of the narrow inlet to Strangford Lough. It's a very quaint little town with nice old cottages and interesting shops. It also has a ferry crossing point over to Portaferry, although we didnt go on it.
Here are some photos of the area:
So I can tick off one out of 4 as Sir and I had a wee trip to the very sweet seaside town of Strangford, which is found one side of the narrow inlet to Strangford Lough. It's a very quaint little town with nice old cottages and interesting shops. It also has a ferry crossing point over to Portaferry, although we didnt go on it.
Here are some photos of the area:
I really like this little village. It would be a very nice place to live...but the commute to Belfast would be too much to hack every day for me!
xxx
...I mean 'Happy New Year!'
I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and New Years break. We were lucky enough to have a White Christmas...so I thought I'd share some of my pics:
Brrrrr! And after all those cold photos here's a nice cosy one to warm us up!
Well it's back to the ol' grind stone....
xxx
I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and New Years break. We were lucky enough to have a White Christmas...so I thought I'd share some of my pics:
Coke can frozen in the lake!
Ahhhhh - toasty!
xxx
This is a really magical country road in the back of beyond. I stumbled across the exsistence of this place when I was at the Natural History Museum in London at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition in 2007. The photograph really took me aback, and even more so when I discovered that this place was on my doorstep (well in Northern Ireland anyway!). Here is a link to the original photograph: The Dark Hedges
My boyfriend actually surprised me with an framed print of the original photograh this year for my birthday - I was so touched.
And then that weekend we decided to go and find the 'hedges' for ourselves and the photo on this post is my version. It was a great wee day out although we had to ask quite a few people for directions as you would never find it on your own!
xxx
The sun managed to break through the heavy grey clouds, the rain gave us a day off and we were greeted by the most glorious day last Sunday! What better way to spend a sunny November afternoon than go for a walk in the Mournes (our wee, but stunning, mountain range in Northern Ireland). My wonderful boyfriend even made us a picnic including much appreciated steaming hot coffee - bliss! Definitely a great view for lunch. I was blown away by the gorgeous array of Autumnal colours - it was on a par with the scenes we are more used to seeing from the likes of Canada.
The rain promptly returned with full vigour the next day, but it was great to make the most of our one dry day. I hope we get at least a few more days even remotely like this one as there are so many beautiful places in Northern Ireland that I have yet to explore! N.I. really is a stunning country....when the rain finally clears away!!
xxx
P.S. Please click on the last photo to see it in proper panoramic view!
