We feel small and humbled

Yep, we were right - the view from our bedroom this morning is just lovely. We are up fairly early as we know that Bill and Greta have a funeral to attend this morning. Bill is in to the full cooked breakfast for us. Mind you, they might do this sometimes on a weekend, but put a visitor in their home at any time and out come all the trimmings!
Sausage, bacon, white pudding, grilled tomato, mushrooms, scrambled eggs and great toast as well as the obligatory orange juice followed by cups of tea. I make the comment that with a breakfast like this we forgo lunch to which Bill replied that this was the plan!
Luke is champing at the bit to get to school - how unusual. He goes to arrive about 9am although classes don't start until 9:20am. He is full of energy (bit like Bud!)

Bill and Greta are so accommodating and generous. Plug the computer in so you can book accommodation, stay another night if you would like to - do you want to do a load of washing? Life is definitely better for knowing them. Thanks ever so much guys for making us so welcome. Please call in home sometime you are in Oz so we can return the hospitality.

We get away just before 10:30 am and get to Limerick when Michael realises that he has left his hat in the lounge. So around we turn and head back to Cratloe to collect it. Heaven help it that he might lose it!!!!!!! How on earth would we all recognise him?

Back on the road we head straight through Limerick. We had planned to have a quick stop at King John's Castle but now that we have lost 20 minutes, we just give it a passing glance as we drive on by.

A number of people have told us about this amazing megalithic cemetery near Dublin and today we are in search of Newgrange and Knowth. The two hour trip from Limerick up to and through the outskirts of Dublin to Slane was pretty uneventful other than constant roadworks - there is so much being done over here at the moment.

We follow the directions to the Visitor Centre at Newgrange / Knowth. You park your car here and then travel by shuttle bus to the two monument sites - a clever way of controlling numbers and minimising the potential damage to the sites. All of the sites had been restored and consolidated to the glorification of an enigmatic age.

These monuments are truly sights of sites, as our first visit is to the Great Mound of Knowth (Cnobha) passage cairn. We are greeted by Darra, our guide, who provides a historic preamble before we venture into the mound. During the initial dissertation, we all become aware that the mounds were constructed with ingenuity augmented with a knowledge of engineering, architecture, artistry and an understanding of astronomy and all thousands of years ago.

What is perhaps most amazing is that these tombs and chambers have not been dug into the hillside - they have been constructed from flat ground!!! The sheer overall weight of the materials used to construct the mound and the construction itself is almost imperceptible. In our arrogance we are inconsiderate as to the ingenuity, and the technological prowess which was possessed by these remarkable engineers enabling them to build this edifice about 5000 years ago. This predates Stonehenge by a thousand years and the Pyramids of Giza by 500 years! The mounds are surrounded by large border stones that have been sourced from a coastal area 40 kms from the site. Through wooded forest. Across streams. And they weigh between 1.5 and 10 tonnes. You thinking yet? Amazed yet? These border stones have rock art all over them and they are beautiful. In fact, almost all the rock on the site has been collected from far flung areas with quartz and granite also not native to the local landscape. This means that there was a very deliberate plan to build this sacred place. And a construction period of about 50 years when the average lifespan was 20 - 25 years. Wow, wow, and even more wow. Makes you feel very small and insignificant.

For 4,000 years they stood, forgotten in time, subsumed into the landscape and safely overgrown. They were only discovered in the mid 20th Century and archaeologists from the University College Cork spent 40 excavating, preserving, dating and interpreting before re-creating the exterior of the tombs. However, the inside chambers had not been distrubed and are just as they were built millenia ago! Probably the most fascinating bit of information for me was that the huge bowl stone 1.2m long x 0.3 m high had to have been placed before any of the construction of inner chambers or mound began as there was no way to place it inside when the chambers measured at their widest is 0.7m x 0.2m. Gives you goosebumps doesn't it!

At Knowth you can't go into the chamber, but go into an room created within the entry area where there is an interpretation of some of the major elements including the construction of layers, an enlarged photo of the bowl stone and an intricately carved stone mace head found in front of it. Now, that bowl stone is still where it was placed more than 5000 years ago. Maybe our neolithic ancestors understood human nature far more than we gave them credit for previously! This really is mind-blowing stuff. There are two chambers within the large mound, 40 odd smaller mounds surrounding the large one and ceremonial activity areas all round. The main purpose appears to have been for ceremonial internment of cremated human remains - there appear to have been placed into that large bowl stone for some time before being moved into the smaller mounds. All the reconstructed areas are based on legitimate archaeological information and represent exactly what was on the site.

Now, most people who come to the site visit Newgrange first. I think there are a couple of reasons - firstly, the mound itself is higher and secondly, with the amazing quartz and granite facade is so visually impacting. What it actually looked like is all guesswork, but there is no doubt that there was an entry facade constructed of these exact materials on this site and the remaining small low pieces indicated that it was something like this. All the materials used in the reconstruction are from the base of the mound - and like Knowth just a few kms away, they are not native to the area.

We were lucky though because arriving as late as we did (3pm) it meant that we could only do it in the order we did on the last tour of the day. And actually, visiting Knowth first gave us a greater understanding of the role of the area and how is was developed all those thousands of years ago. This was important because we were not overwhelmed by the actual visual impression and were able to concentrate more on the intricacies of this site that includes not only an amazing rock (lintel style large rocks) lined passageway with lots of carvings but also a roof box that at the winter solstice throws light through that passageway into the inner chamber. And we could go into that chamber!

Now, there were only twelve of us in the group plus the guide making thirteen people standing shoulder to shoulder. Normally they take up to 24 people. But with the smaller number, we could all see down that passageway - which was important. The guide explains the construction of the chamber and tells us that although there has been some securing of the lower small packing stones (to prevent stealing or 'souveniring') that everything above head height is exactly as it was found when opened! There are huge stones, layered upon layer, over hanging and balanced with smaller packing stones ensuring that they do not fall. And these have been accurately dated in place to 5200 years ago! So, with no modern engineering or construction techniques, this constructed place has stood for more than 5000 years. It is almost impossible to comprehend.

Then it was time for something really special - a simulation of the winter solstice. So shoulder to shoulder we stand. Jean, our guide, turns out the few lights and switches off her torch. We are now standing in total blackness (I would hate to be claustrophobic or nyctophobic) in a deep and mostly secret place. Jean then activates a lighting system that simulates what happens over a period of 17 minutes on 5 days a year only (if there is not cloud cover). I can tell you, my heart was in my mouth. It is such an amazing and humbling experience. The light, entering through the roof box chamber, crawls slowly up that passageway until it reaches that inner chamber and slowly fills it with light - right into the three recesses. And creeps away back down the passageway. You just have to experience it - it really is impossible to describe in a way that would allow you to feel what we felt. And there was more than just me wiping away a tear or two when the lights cam back up. They only allow 10 people on each of the five days to be there on the summer solstice and everyone has an equal chance of being one of the chosen few through a international lottery.

Unfortunately we can't take photos but then even if we could, it could never convey the specialness of the experience. But if you click here then you can get an impression of the 2007 event right at the entrance to the passageway. Now this is just totally mind blowing but let me add a few more facts for you to ponder - as you enter the chamber you are walking up an incline so that inside the chamber you are 6 feet higher than the entry and you are now in direct line with the roof box; and that roof box is perfectly aligned with the horizon at the hills opposite.
So where do we now think that Fred Flinstone sits in all this now?

BLOODY AMAZING. As we walk back to the Visitor Centre from the bus stop, we pass a little Robin Red Breast singing the praises of the site! We had lots to think about and talk about on the 30 minute drive back into Dublin. Called in to see the site of the Battle of the Boyne River - but the site was closed (well, it was now 6:30 pm!).

Tonight we are booked in to the Bewleys Newlands Cross Hotel, about 15 minutes out of the city centre. Interestingly, it is another in the DeVere venues chain (remember we stay in Barony Castle). A large complex that caters to businesspeople as well as travellers. Dinner in The Brasserie tonight - we are too tired to go any further. Choices - we shared a garlic bread and a breaded brie with the yummiest tomato relish for entree and for our main we both chose pan fried lemon sole on muchroom and bacon risotto with a red pepper sauce. Personally, the capsicum overpowered it. But the fish was superb!

Michael and his mates

Well, I'm not sure what we have done to p*** off what deity, but we have truly hit the first bad weather of our trip here on the west coast of Ireland. The day broke sunny enough but still with plenty of clouds in Enniscrone, but the wind was the subject on everyone's lips. Seems that this gale has been watched coming across the Altantic for the last couple of days and now that it is here, it is almost the only topic of local conversation. Even the birds have a battle to stay in the air! We are going back into Sligo this morning, but before we leave the area, spy the wild waves being thrust on to the coast. The tide is coming in and the wind running across the top of the waves creating stunning water sprays.

As we get nearer to Sligo, the weather deteriorates and so by the time we have gone just a litle further north to Drumcliffe to see a couple of memorials it is raining again. The most famous is the grave of the Poet William Butler Yeats who penned his own epitaph before he went off and was killed in WWII in France - the last paragraph of which is inscribed on his headstone:

Under bare Ben Bulben's head
In Drumcliff churchyard Yeats is laid.
An ancestor was rector there
Long years ago, a church stands near,
By the road an ancient cross.

No marble, no conventional phrase;
On limestone quarried near the spot
By his command these words are cut:

Cast a cold eye
On life, on death.
Horseman, pass by!

The rector he refers to was his great grandfather, and this church is on the site of a much earlier one (as is often the case here) with an ancient Celtic Cross in the graveyard and a round tower that is all that remains of a monastery dating back to the 10th century on the other side of the modern highway. All this is in the shadow of Ben Bullen Mountain. But this area has more than Yeats (who only ever visited here and never lived here) as its claim to fame.

Nearby Rathcormac was home to Countess Markievcz who abandoned her life of privilege to take up arms against the then British government to fight for an Irish Republic in the 1916 Revolution spent some time in Sligo and with WB Yeats formed the Arts Club in Sublin and later formed the Irish Boy Scouts. An intriguing memorial presents images of her struggle to relieve poverty and social oppression. An ardent suffragette, she was also the first woman ever elected to British Parliament at Westminster, as well as being the world’s first ever female cabinet minister!

NEDDY SEAGOON: Tell me - why are you wearing that size 10 boot on your head?
ECCLES: Why? Why? Because it fits...that's why!

From here we travel back south to Sligo to see another memorial to one of Michael's mates. Spike Milligan that famous 'The Goons' creator, writer and member (who provided the voices for Eccles, Jim Spriggs and others) was born in Sligo. Kind of fitting that an unusual named town was his birthplace! ("I always supsected there was something nasty in the woodshed?") It is also where Bram Stoker's mother is buried - although we could find no mention of him. There is also another Yeats sculpture 'Wrapt in his words' (photo above). One last quick stop to have a look at the Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Like the church we saw yesterday, this is painted in strong colours - something we do not see often in a catholic church. The French made stained glass windows are spectacular - albeit not very old!

The whole region we are in has a long history. Long before christianity came to Ireland with St Patrick, tribes worshipped and erected memorials. On the coast to the west of Sligo, but visible for many many miles is the cairn and burial mound of Queen Maeve of Connaught who lived around 1 BC. This in turn is on top of Knocknarea - one of the highest local peaks, so you can literally see it for about 30 miles in any direction - and it looks impressive.

We have also learned that there is a megalithic cemetery nearby at Carrowmore. This is the largest concentration of duns, circles, passage cairns and dolmens within Ireland. It is also considered to be the oldest Stone Age necropolis within Western Europe. This is truly an amazing site providing an illuminating experience for silent contemplation, as it is literally - awesome; and the timeline for this remarkable landmark reaches back 6200 years! The weather may have been inclement, pendulous and blowing a gale, but - the whispers of ages past caressed the soul, causing one to look back toward Queen Maeve. The wanderings of a furtive mind, you may ask? Should you ever come to Ireland dear reader, seek out Carrowmore....

Time was getting on, so it was time to leave Carrowmore and drive towards Galway. After a wet and at times a protracted journey, we decided to contact our landlord Sean Treacy, and advise him where we were at present. Upon advising Sean we were 22 kms north of Galway, he states we were still had 1-1.5 hours left to travel! Well folks, it did take us 1.25 hours to arrive at the Arus Apartments, Galway; as we hadn't considered the traffic (peak hour) and a minor disorientation! We reached our rendezvous with Sean who was most welcoming and hospitable by showing us around the apartment and pointing out to us reputable restaurants and cafes.

The car unloaded, neither of us could be bothered with cooking dinner tonight...so it was fish and chips from 'McDonagh's Seafood House', and the food was just delicious:
Grilled salmon with chips (Maria)
Battered cod (which was suing for peace) with chips (Michael)
No photo's...couldn't be bothered but the meal was delcious and helps to explain the incredible queue for service.

En Garda!

Today is the most miserable one yet. Not only has heavy rain set in, it is being driven by gale force winds. At breakfast we are talking with an Englishman over here on business who re-affirms how spectacular the Au Grainan Fort is and that the views are really worth seeing them (if only the day was clear).So after a slightly emotional goodbye to Margaret, with a promise to keep in touch we went up to pack and be on our way.

I was uploading the last of the photos before I posted yesterday’s blog entry when Gen came on line. I had to tell her that she had just caught us about to leave. At which point she told us that we are always leaving. So here is a tip for all you people back home – we are usually online late at night our time – with Skype open as well. You are presently 9 hours ahead of us in time, so it would be early morning your time. If that doesn’t suit, try between 4 and 5 pm – we might just turn on the computer when we wake to check email!

It was uncomfortable packing the bits and bobs in the car in the wet. We have got it pretty well down pat now and rarely take the full suitcase in for short stays. We have a couple of packs that hold our smalls, our toilet bag, the laptop and the camera are the essentials plus whatever clothes we want for the next day. Much much easier when we are going up flights of stairs!

So all packed we head off. Once out on Groarty Road we can see the fort high on the hill behind the B&B. So there it was – in plain sight all the time! The road up is narrow, twisting and very uneven. Surprisingly (given the weather) we pass a number of cars on the way up. Once there, the rain is not so strong, but the wind is. I wait in the car again while Michael takes a sprint up to have a look. Our friend this morning was correct – on a clear day the view from the fort would be absolutely stupendous. Even today, in the bleak weather with its grey skies and misting rain, the view is amazing across Loughs Swilly and Foyle and across Londonderry and Bucrana.

The fort is quite enormous and although its history is not definitely known, it is accepted that it was the royal (clan) citadel in Northern Ireland from the 8th century. It is believed to have been built around the time of the birth of Christ on the site of an older monument. Although they are inaccessible now, Margaret told us how a friend could crawl through a labyrinth of passages under the walls when he was a child. When you see such archaeological sites in weather such as what we are experiencing today, you cannot help but wonder how they have stood such ravages for so long.

From here we are off to see if we can find St Patrick’s Cross out beyond Buncrana where we visited the other day. BUT, first we have to get away from Au Grianan. As we come down off the hill, we are confronted by cars parked both sides of the narrow road and then 100% blocked by attendees at a funeral in the church here. There were very literally thousands of them. Some in military uniform, others from the National Guard but mostly just normal people in raincoats and/or under umbrellas. We were in a bit of a dilemma as the hearse was parked in the centre of the road in front of us, thronged by people. After about 5 minutes waiting I eased forward and thankfully the people parted allowing us and the traffic behind us to pass. We only get about another 100 metres when we get to the T-intersection with the main road where traffic is crawling past cars that are parked along both verges sometimes 3 deep. This traffic is being directed by Garda (Police) Officers. Those cars extended for more than a mile on both sides of the road! We don’t know for whom the bell is tolling, but the crowd is phenomenal.

Further down the road we are stopped by more Garda Officers who ask to see my licence – a random check (or maybe not so random when they are stopping every car). The officer was pleasant enough though busy. We did not know it then, but today the Queen and Prince Phillip visited Londonderry – so we now understand the heightened presence of the police.

So off again we head – eventually arriving at Carndonagh and finding St Patrick’s Cross very easily – it is on the side of the main street into town under a constructed shelter. This area is known to have been founded by St Patrick and although the exact origin of the tall cross is not known, it is believed to be linked closely to the saint as it has an image of Christ on one side. Coming in to town, we see a church with a striking dome on the highest point in town. So cross visited, we brave the terrible traffic jam that seems to plague these small towns to go and have a look. The Sacred Heart Church is absolutely amazing – a very open and bright space with surprising colour. The cornerstone was dated 1942, but the interior has had a facelift since then. The honey coloured timber pews have not even been discoloured by the touch of years of hands. Take a look at the photo – who says that lemon and red are not perfectly at home in a Catholic Church!

It is now after 12 noon and we need to be heading south. Tonight we are headed for Enniscrone on the coast out from Sligo and on the border between County Sligo and County Mayo. But in order to head south, we need to go past the funeral site again. No longer at the church, the massed throng has moved two miles down the road to the cemetery. And the cars still restrict easy movement. And the no doubt by now frustrated Garda are still on point duty. It takes us 20 minutes to get clear of the funeral, still none the wiser as for whom it was.

So down to Sligo we come. We are almost there when I see a sign that I thought was for a roman site, so off I turn to try to find it. Right down to the beach we travel, not seeing anything. On the return journey we spot what the sign was pointing to – a memorial to the Spanish Armada of 1588. How on earth Sir Francis Drake ended up here on the west coast of Ireland is anyone’s guess – my guess is that one of these storms was blowing and they were disoriented or even blown ashore! However it was too wet to get out to further investigate. We then passed the grave of the Poet Yeats in a churchyard in Sligo – if the weather is kinder tomorrow we might just double back to have a look.

From Sligo we turn towards the beach to get to Enniscrone and the Diamond Coast Hotel where we are staying tonight. Only opened in December 2006 it is a huge modern complex in an area where there is an incredible amount of new development happening. Guess that everyone want to live by the beach! Our room is large with a rural view. We have booked a dinner, bed and breakfast deal although we are advised on arrival that the restaurant is closed tonight and we will need to eat (from the same menu) in the bar. So what.

The menu is nicely developed if not very large. But there is a good choice with something for every palate. We select:
Entrees:
Atlantic Coast Seafood Chowder (both of us)
Mains:
Panfried fillet of Seabass served with Basil Mash and Tomato Coulis (Michael)
Poached fillet of Salmon served with Lemon and Herb Butter (Maria)
Desserts:
Profiteroles with mint ice cream (Michael)
Apple crumble with ice cream in a wafer basket and fresh cream (Maria)
The food was delicious. That seafood chowder was thick with a whole selection of seafood – but not too heavy. It was served with a selection of breads – gosh it is going to be hard to go back to Australian bread. We were served by a very efficient, friendly and pleasant waitress Sabina who is originally from Ostrava in the Czech Republic and she is kind enough to point us to a tourist website on her city once we tell her we are going to the Czech Republic. She was very busy tonight but did everything with a smile! Good on you Sabina!!

No internet access in the rooms, so we are uploading in the bar. We won’t be online much tonight at all – not a bad thing! See you all again tomorrow!!!

Horatio Nelson!

Well the rain predicted by Margaret last night has hit. After breakfast we gave Stuart some little Australian gifts to recognise his birthday which, although is officially tomorrow, they are celebrating today as there is no school. Chat a bit more with John and Margaret and then head into Derry City to take a look around.

As the weather is damp and getting damper we thought that it might be an idea to buy a 24 hour ticket on the Hop On Hop Off red bus and maybe do one or two of the tourist sites. Nice idea, but not only are the schools closed, we are informed that everything else is as well! Where are we? Maryborough??! Oh well, I can certainly understand people wanting a day off - no matter what the industry they are working in.

So armed with a map from the Visitor Centre, we head off in search of the Derry Murals. Like the Belfast murals, many of these are found in residential areas and tell the story of the religious and political conflicts that have plagued Northern Ireland. But the areas in which they are located are much better kept and there are wreaths at the memorials that seems to suggest that there is a higher level of pride here. The murals themselves are mostly professionally done and therefore present a unified face - albeit with less of the emotion than in Belfast.

Back in town we see more murals of a commercial advertising nature - all are good though. We take a drive through the walled part of the city - yep, another walled city and get to The Diamond - right in the centre. Although it is raining lightly, Michael decides to take a bit of a walk - me? I'd rather stay dry so I wait for him in the car. Of course, while he is out on foot the rain gets heavier and so he gets back soaked.

The Diamond is a cenotaph to Derry's fallen, and it is from here I decide to start my trek to mount the city walls. It is from the Ferryquay Gate where I climb the stairs to the gates mount, and it is apparent that Derry was indeed a garrisoned city. The walls' walkways are quite wide, at least with a width of 30'. This is unusual as with the walls of the other cities we have see, the width of the raised parapet is 6-8'. The anomoly is soon answered as I walk along the wall I come to the New Gate bastion with three 20lb muzzle-loading cannons.

This feature is repeated at various vantage points around the city walls, bastions and barbicans, which can only confirm Derry's troubled past. However, the walls' significance has drastically changed from offensive to providing the visitor with an uninterrupted panoramic platform. The views from Derry's walls are spectacular, yes and even in the rain. As with the walls in York, one has the opportunity to leave the wall and investigate an apparent landmark.

Such was the case where the cathedral of St Columba loomed ahead. As with most of Derry's' businesses, the Cathedral was closed as well! This of course did not hinder my curiosity to explore the grounds, at least! Like most Medieval and post-Reformation structures, the architecture is quite spectacular. Completed in 1633 in the Planter's Gothic, the cathedral became the Mother Church of the Church of Ireland. It is now the repository of many original documents dated from the Siege of Derry (1688-89), original portraits of William of Orange and the original keys to the old city of Derry. However, what is interesting is the inscription above the cathedrals' porch: "If stones could speake then London's prayse should sound Who built this church and cittie from the grounde". It was time to leave the cathedral and continue my promenade along the walls, before the falling rain became heavier.

I came across the O'Doherty Tower (now the Tower Museum), which was originally a lookout, is situated outside the city walls. Regrettably, this museum was closed as well, so with the rain increasing I decided it was prudent to return to the car and continue this exploration some other day....maybe.

With little else happening we think that the movies might be in order - the new X-Men Origins: Wolverine is out now. Park the car in the council (paid) car park and walk through the shopping centre (which is open) only to find the movie theatre closed - can you believe that?? A captured audience day and they are shut!

So that plan thwarted we go for a drive out to Buncrana on Lough Swilly which means crossing into the Republic of Ireland and driving in kilometres rather than miles for the first time in months. Still raining, but it is starting to ease now. This is the second largest town in County Donegal and has a population of 5,500 - so now we are starting to feel like we are home in regional Australia. Nothing open so back we head. On the way out, we had passed a graveyard that advertised a named cross, so we pull in to Fahan to have a look. The cross is carved in a slab much like some of the others we have seen recently in Wales and Scotland. Given the movement of people between the two lands, this is to be expected. BUT what wasn't expected was to come across the grave of HORATIO NELSON! No, not that one, but another with the same name, born in the same Norfolk town as that General and died in the same year - spooky isnt it.

By now it is almost 3 pm and we are hungry. Just this side of the border we see Harry's Bar & Restaurant - on the highway almost in the middle of nowhere. Did I say border? What border? Most Irish consider it all one country and recently voted against a bill put by the government of the Republic of Ireland to introduce border controls between the two. Anyway we pull into Harrys for a meal. And are very pleasantly surprised by what we see when we open the door. Very tastefully decorated and much bigger than we realised from outside. Our waiter shows us to a table and leaves menus printed on paper before rushing away to take one order and deliver another - they are busy and I guess with nothing else much open, they are getting plenty of business.

The menu again is surprising. And modern. Noted on the top of the menu is the citation Bridgestone's Top 100 Restaurant 2009. We make our choices and place our order for:
Entrees:
We each had Baked Local Garlic Mushrooms, Glebe Brethan Rarebit, Tomato & Onion Chutney
Mains:
Slow Cooked Local Lamb Shoulder, Mediterranean Style (Michael) Baked Pollock, Prawn, pea and fennel hollandaise (Maria)
served with sides of creamed potato (soooo smooth and creamy), cauliflower, brocolli and cheese baked rosemary potato.
Dessert:
I could not manage one but had a mouthful or two of Michael's fabulous Chocolate Orange Cheesecake.

The food was sublime - to put it quite inadequately! Our waiter turned out to be one of the owners, Donal, and he was most helpful. We had to ask what pollock was - a white but strong flavoured fish often used as Cod or Haddock. It was delicious. And Michael told Donal that the lamb was "climbing the charts". Turns out that this is the first year that they have been named in the Top 100 Irish restaurants - a fact that Donal is rightly proud of. So, well sated we headed back into Derry.

A drive past the theatre one last time shows us that YAY it is open and there are hundreds of people milling around. So back into the car park and down to the theatre just in time to get tickets and find a seat in the packed auditorium to see the movie. Very good if a little predictable - but well worth seeing.

So we are now back at Groarty House/Manor. Stuart's birthday party was in full swing when we got back - so nice to hear young ones enjoying themselves. We look out our window and one minute you can hardly see anything for th rain, and the next minute it is clear - hope tomorrow dawns brighter - we are heading back to the Giant's Causeway! Right now at 9:30 pm twilight is falling and the city lights are bright. Go figure.

In search of the little green man

No, I am not referring to Absinthe!
And I am not referring to that carry over from pagan times that can be discovered in most of the churches in the form of foliage infested carvings of the male head.
I am of course, referrring to that lucky Irish being - the Leprechaun!!

Despite trying not to re-trace our steps, today we headed north into Scotland again (told you we were having trouble leaving!) in order to get the shortest ferry across to Belfast from Stranraer - all of a 1 hour journey. From York we got on the A1(M) and headed back across the beautiful countryside that is the southern edge of The Lakes District and in fact went through the edge of Penrith, making us only about 8 miles from Skirwith where we spent a lovely week in March. There are fields and fields of bright yellow with the rapeseed in full bloom. It provides such a beautiful contrast to the various greens of the fodder crops.

En-route we made two stops. The first was at Brough Castle which we had previously passed once. It was a bit of a surprise. First of all, there was heaps of traffic turning off to Brough. Turns out there was a funeral in town - complete with 'Parking for today's funeral' and an attendant in a field near the church - and the field was full! And parked only two spots where we are in the castle carpark (the parking extrended right throughout the village), there was a Goggo-mobile! The driver looked just like the fellow in the advert, complete with a suit that obviously is not worn too often! Never did find out who the funeral was for - obviously someone that was well loved locally.

Michael set off up the footpath to the castle ruins. The remains of Brough Castle include a round corner tower and two obvious floors of a formerly four storied square keep. The original castle dated from 1090s with all but the base of the keep destroyed by William the Lion, a Scottish king. The current remains date from 1180. You can get some sort of idea of the scale of the castle from the photos here - it was H U G E.

Back out on the motorway, we pass a truck with an unusal question posed on its tailgate - and no answer provided - there was absolutely nothing else written on the truck. Of course with Michael's fixation with many things anal, he had to have a photo!

We are travelling further west now. On the map there is a notation for the Ruthwell Cross. We saw an example of a cross in the museum in York the other day and wonder whether this might be one in a real life setting. So off the motorway we go in search for it. And find it we did - though not quite as how we expected. Indeed, the cross - all 18 feet of it now sits inside the church after being found lying in the grounds. It is impressive not only for its size, but also for its carvings. Not all are original as it was partially destroyed, but as a whole, even with its repairs, it is a sight to behold.

The weather has closed in now and we are travelling with quite a few trucks in the rain. So, no more stops - we are headed for Stranraer to check out where we go to get the ferry tomorrow and to our B&B in Cairnryan just up the road a bit further.

Tonight we have a room at Cairnryan House B&B overlooking the waters of Loch Ryan and the ferries going to and coming from Northern Ireland. Kay welcomes us and shows us to our room with a view. She explains that they don't do dinners at this time of the year, but just a few hundred yards down the road we can get a meal at The Merchants House, a Licensed Restaurant, Coffee shop and B&B. So off we go in search of a meal. Proprietor Tom, Dick, Harry - oh gosh no, I remember it eventually ALAN! greets us warmly and shows us into a nice and cosy (and warm) restaurant room. The menu is surprisingly well developed for a small town and we eventually make the following choices:
Entree:
Soup of the day (Tomato and Tarragon) served with crusty bread - Michael
Homemade fishcakes served with dip (homemade [egg] mayonnaise with curry) Maria
Mains:
Steak and Kidney Pie (served with mashed potato and fresh vegetables) Michael
Lamb Tagine with Rice - Maria
Desserts:
Treacle sponge with ice cream - Michael
You have got to be kidding - I was so full I could hardly move let alone eat dessert!

The food was fabulous. Home cooked, hearty and with huge servings. Fiona (Alan's wife) does the cooking and it is easy to see she enjoys it as there is a well balanced variety on a menu of food that takes someone passionate to prepare well. Alan on the other hand is an excellent host and wait person. He is full of local knowledge and took it quite well when I ballsed up his name initially!

Funnily enough, we see two couples come in for a drink and hear conversation re Australians. So I am thinking to myself that there are either some fellow countrymen in the house, or some locals taking the mickey out of us when the restaurant door opens and in comes one of the ladies who it turns out is from Brisbane and has been over to celebrate a grandmother's 90th birthday. Sure as heck is a small world when you are travelling! Turns out they are staying at the same B&B as well!! Yep, a small world and getting smaller.