Episode 9

There is a very pretty little boat harbour at Mullaghmore. This is the village where Lord Louis Mountbatten used to live and the bay is where he was murdered when his boat was blown up by the IRA in 1979. It all seems so peaceful now:

The mountains we have been skirting around are really pretty with their high bluffs, L will include some photos of them when she loads this episode, hopfully!!! W B Yeats is said to have been inspired by this landscape of his home.

A couple of waterfalls and a cave made a bit of a change from castles, abbeys, etc. Glencar waterfall isn't very impressive my humans say compared to major waterfalls of the world, however it’s quite pretty and was only a short walk up a good track. The other one I saw was just a bit of a piddle really, on the outside of a cave and we didn’t even go into the cave, it isn’t open to the public. The most impressive thing about it is its name, Pollnagollum cave, L thinks she’s got that right, I wouldn’t count on it.

The cave we did visit was Marble Arch Cave, not that there is any marble in it, it’s just that some of the first people to see it thought the stalagmites were marble not calcite. In this cave we had a long walk, 1.5k’s and a short boat ride along the river that flows through it. It’s not crowded with formations but does have some very large flow stones. L also noticed that the stalactites on the roof were mostly along the cracks. Nothing was any great size, the longest one being only 1.35m. In this cave they are very slow growing, just 1cm per 1,000 years. These caves were in Ulster, we had crossed the border without realizing it, an easy thing to do apparently. Not much changes except the currency, we are now back to using the £ until we cross back into the Republic.

In Belleek we visited a large pottery workshop where we got a tour to see how some of the items are produced. We saw how they make the moulds and each mould can only be used about 40 times then it is smashed. The mix is poured into the mould and just a short time later its poured out again leaving a thin coating around the edge that becomes the finished product after a great many more processes. We got to see the people trimming off any rough edges and smoothing over seams, shown how the glaze is applied, told that the pottery is fired at around 1200⁰C for 24 hours or so on two occasions between certain processes, then again after any painting has been done and the trade mark applied it’s fired a final time at 700⁰C for a further 7 hours. Before it gets to the final firing it is examined by quality control. The factory does not sell anything that isn’t perfect.

The basket weave products are all made by hand and all the painting is hand done too so we got to see artists doing both jobs. And best of all D and I got to smash up some of that rejected pottery, I vented all my frustrations of being a stuffed toy with that stick smashing things; gee, it felt good! 65% of what is produced in this factory goes to the USA so we were told, so it’s a good export earner for the area.

Back in the Republic we passed another beach popular for surfing on our way to Donegal town. Here we visited yet another castle. This one built in mid 1500’s too, by the O’Donnell’s and added too and altered in the early 1600’s when it was granted to Sir Basil Brooks after the O’Donnells fled to Spain. It is quite small compared to Norman castles. The Vikings had a fort here in the 9th century: The town is quite small and pretty situated as it is around a small inlet.

As we travelled west along the coast we passed the main fishing trawler base of Killybegs. There were a lot of very large trawlers moored in the port. Perhaps it’s not the right season to be out fishing. Then we came to the high cliffs and dramatic coast line of 'Slieve League’. We drove up as far as we could and on a lovely sunny afternoon we walked up along the path climbing to the top of the cliffs and got some great views. My humans enjoyed an ice-cream too as it was so lovely and warm: We have had about 3 days without rain.

Another interesting visit we made (I say ‘we’ because nearly always I am included) was to an Irish tweed factory. Tweed, for those of you who don’t know is a woollen fabric, and here they hand weave the wool on large old fashioned looms. For something that is very labour intensive we found the prices quite reasonable, not that my humans bought anything.

Sitting in the car this evening surrounded by fog after another reasonably warm day and listening to the radio we hear a warning about fires. It seems that some places have been very hot and haven’t had rain for more than a week, and it’s predicted to reach as high as 29⁰ tomorrow. We are only into our 4th day without rain. Perhaps we shall be drought declared tomorrow! Or perhaps L won’t reach for her heavy coast each time she gets out of the car, that would have to be a heat wave then:

Although the next day was quite a nice warm sunny day we had fog all around the coast in the morning and rain again in the evening. Perhaps not a drought after all: certainly not 29⁰ either:

Doe castle is another 16th Cent castle built by the MacSweeneys who came from Scotland. It sits on a small promontory so is surrounded on 3 sides by the sea and had a small moat on the landward side. It’s really very small with just a round tower and a Tower house all surrounded by a curtain wall.

Glenveagh is much more modern not having been built until 1875 it’s a castle in name only. Built for some fellow who made his money in America then came back to Ireland, bought up about 1600 hectares of land, evicted all the tenant farmers who lived here, about 60 families, then had the castle built. Many of those families emigrated to Australia.

It is quite a setting really as seen now with the mature gardens and trees surrounding it. The landscape is very harsh here with almost no trees, just the bleak hills largely covered in bog, then this lovely house and lush green surrounds halfway along the lake shore.

The interior that we saw in our visit is how it was decorated by a Harvard Professor who lived here in the 1930’s, although he was only here for a few years before being lost at sea. There was another owner after him but they didn’t alter anything or redecorate. As no photos inside were allowed L has none to post on the blog site. The gardens are a riot of colour for most of the summer and we all enjoyed a stroll around them, not that any of us know what types of flowers most of them are. We did recognize poppies. Oh, also a feature of this place is a heated swimming pool below the parapet on the lake shore. After the visit here we all enjoyed the 4 k walk back to the car park through the national park. If we did all the walks L would like to do in these parks we shall be here until this time next year, and they both might be a bit thinner than they are now.

Glebe House and gardens are lovely too, much smaller and modest than Glenveagh it was the home of renowned Irish artist Derek Hill who gave it to the Republic in 1983. The house is crammed full of paintings, prints, ceramics and object d’art collected by Hill from all around the world. Paintings include a Renoir and a Picasso etching and ceramic piece as well as many pieces by unknown locals. Although he painted famous people he also enjoyed painting his housekeeper and gardener and paintings of both share prominent positions.

I meet a couple of really nice ladies here who invited me to a ‘teddy bears picnic’ tomorrow. Sadly I had to decline the offer, though I would love to have gone and gloated about all my travels to those other poor bears who were all bundles together in a basket ready for the event. Do hope it doesn’t rain on them.

A definite change to castles was a visit to a corn mill and flax mill that are right next door to each other and were both run by the same family. Each was operated by its own waterwheel; a large 25ft diameter one for the corn mill, and a much smaller one for the flax mill. By the way, flax is a totally different plant to the one L though it might have been, she got that badly wrong.

Both the waterwheels are working and the machinery in the corn mill is working but doesn’t grind anything any more, it’s just for show. Barley, Rye and Maize were milled here until about 1953. Flax was processed in the other mill until about the same time when the demand totally evaporated. It had been in high demand during both world wars. The flax had to pass through the big rollers to break up the plant and the pectin in it that holds the fibres together. Then it’s sort of thrashed, but a different word is used for the process that L can’t remember, she’s getting quite past it I fear. Flax is still grown in Ireland and Europe however, mostly it is the seed now that is used for linseed oil and in the health food industry. It’s lovely in bread according to L.

As we drove around the Fanad and Rosguill peninsulas we saw some lovely coastal scenery. Many extensive sandy beaches and turquoise water, all very inviting looking, a few more degrees of heat for both water and air and the places would be crowded, not deserted as they seem to be except for the few dog walkers.

All this area is quite heavily populated with the countryside dotted with white houses on large lots or in rows, nearly all fairly new. Many are holiday houses and the area is also popular with retirees. It is surprising to see so many houses on large lots of land, one acre (4000 sq m) or more is common. Also considering the economic crises of the last few years it’s amazing how many new houses there seems to be, yet apparently there is a serious shortage of houses especially for lower income people.

We crossed back into Ulster near Derry but avoided the city centre because it was rush hour traffic. Travelling around the north coast we got some great views back over Lough Foyle and came across a statue that we think is meant to represent a Norse or Celtic God. My humans couldn’t quite work it out.

Then down the bottom of a hill we came to the aptly named village of Downhill. Then on the next headland along is Downhill Demesne; L isn’t sure what the work Demesne means but in this case it’s where the Bishop lived. It was built in the 1700’s and used right up until 1944 at which time it was a barracks in the war, but since then it was abandoned and just fell into ruin so that now all that exists is the outside shell along with the Mussenden temple right on the cliff edge that the Bishop used as his library. At the time it was built a horse and cart could be driven up to it from the beach below, now it sits overhanging the cliff and work has been done to stabilize the cliff so the lot doesn’t fall into the sea, but we expect that it will at some point.

Next we came to the Giants causeway where the basalt pillars make stepping stones on the shore, however the tide was well in so not as many were exposed as my humans remember from their last visit here 20 years ago. They remember being far more impressed than they were this time. Probably there wasn’t nearly as many tourists about either as it was November that time. I got to sit on the Giants shoe while D took a photo and also on a pillar beside the gate. Another formation is called the camel and a complicated story goes with that, L can’t remember it: D was in charge of the camera so didn’t get any photo’s to show how these columns look end on, they can have 5, 6 or 7 sides and they are formed as the molten lava cools. My humans had seen vast amounts of these in Iceland some years ago, BM (before me).

Tucked safely in L’s coat, we crossed the rope bridge at Carrick-a-Rede. Of course it may not have been such a doddle if the original rope bridge has still been in use, that, apparently was much more of a challenge to this modern, much more stable structure that ‘health and safety’ insist upon. Only one group at a time are allowed onto it, goodness only knows how long the wait to cross is during the busy summer months, as we had a short wait on a weekday afternoon with not so many people about.

Hezlett House is a traditional thatched dower house that dates from 1691, though the bit that is open to tourists actually is about 80 years later. It is constructed without foundations, a post on either side of the house that has an A frame at the top for the roof is the support system. These A frames are spaced every few feet along the house and the walls are filled in between the posts. The roof has a layer of the moss and thin peat from the top of the bog that goes onto the rafters, then the thatch is laid over the top of that. Keeping the damp at bay is a continuing problem, it must have been a nightmare when the only heating was from the fireplace.

We kept on around the coast getting some good views of Rathlin Island and the Mull of Kintyre from Tor Head. The weather remained fairly pleasant with some hot sunny patches though in the shade it was always chilly, L never went anywhere without her coat. I can’t say it didn’t rain, we did get the odd light shower now and again.

In Glenriff forest part we took a lovely walk along a small stream and saw two nice waterfalls, I was under strict instructions not to fall into the water, I would be binned!. Although we found the waterfalls we never did find the forest, apart from the trees along the stream it seemed to be mostly open farmland.

On a pleasant and quiet Sunday morning we came into Belfast and found the place to be almost deserted expect for the police, they apparently maintain a fairly high profile there at all times. It wasn’t until almost 11am before anything much seem to happen and for things to open. By 1pm the place was buzzing but several of the attractions such as the Opera House and City Hall don’t open for tours on a Sunday so we wouldn’t get to see them.

It was between morning services that we popped into St Anne’s Cathedral, Church of Ireland. This is a fairly modern cathedral not having been started until the early 1900’s and not completed until the 1950’s. Like much of Belfast it sits on very wet land, mostly reclaimed marshes and has foundation problems. The clock tower some distance from it has the same problem and has a distinct lean, it’s referred to as Belfast’s leaning tower.

There are some lovely buildings in the city though most are not especially old. The Crown Pub is one and has a lovely interior of little alcoves with carved wood surrounds, stained glass windows and panels, a beautiful ceiling and some painted mirrors. Across the street is the Hotel Europa, this hotel has the distinction of being the most bombed hotel in Europe, some 40 times. The Opera house is just across the road from the hotel so it too, like the pub, has suffered the residual effect of so many explosions. The 3 building form a sort of triangle:

Along the Falls road and Shankill road area and adjacent vicinity there are a great many murals with the general theme being peace, however a wide range of issues are covered and even one that has been raised only in the last few weeks, the 800 or so missing babies. No matter what your view on the subject there has been a great deal of work put into each piece. The two streets sort of run parallel to each other with 200 to 300m between them, dividing them is a high steel fence with big gates where it crosses each street. Presumably this is to help control riots and such if the need arises.

After many hours of exploring the city we retired to the car exhausted and drove out. My humans would have liked to have seen one of two things outside the city centre but the tourist info doesn’t have a map showing them and couldn’t give very precise instructions, and the sat-nav didn’t rate them at all with the result in the heavy traffic of a Sunday afternoon (the place had really livened up) we didn’t get to find them.

Along the shore of Strangford Lough we came to Mount Stewart House and Garden Once the home of the Earls of Londonderry it is still in the family who run it in conjunction with the National Trust. However, at present it is undergoing renovations so there isn’t really anything to see in the house. There is some info on the family and some about the renovations that are being done that’s about it. The gardens though are a very popular recreation spot. They cover many acres and there are open parkland with huge mature trees and small ornamental gardens. In one place very near the house are 7 massive gum trees, the smell of the eucalypts was strong. L did a quick check to see if she had been ‘beamed’ home.

Something that surprises L is that people were paying £6.60 ea just for the pleasure of spending a few hours in the garden, and they were there in large numbers.

© Lynette Regan June 22nd 2014