north east and west and north east and west again....travels around northern ireland

glenariff waterfalls

since leaving sunny England a week last Monday we have been enjoying the wonderful country of Northern Ireland who have been having a mini summer heatwave from the moment we arrived. it's not exactly been bikini on the beach type weather, I've never looked good in a bikini anyway (Tim), however we did buy ourselves a wee BBQ from the local Tesco's and have cooked on it every evening, we did get some looks from the local staff who were surprised that we dared to tempt the sun to disappear however we think it enjoyed our pluck and stuck around a bit longer in fact people have been asking if we might be able to stay on as they have attributed it's appearance with our arrival and are afraid it might leave with us when we fly home.

lough foyle car ferry

that said we're worried that if the sun shone here all the time the place would be a little less green and a little more crowded as the beauty of the place is truly stunning, so we think we'll take the sun with us and leave behind the rain and wind which keeps this grand place the way it is!

Northern Ireland isn't new to me as it was a place that I frequented a lot during my time working in the shopfitting (that's shopfitting not shoplifting) industry so I know the place quite well, however it's funny to return to a familiar place under a different guise, in the late 1990's and then on until we felt the call to give up our 'regular jobs', home, family and friends to set up the Village of Hope, I used to travel all through Ireland, both north and south with my work, however during those times it was a quick visit, complete the job and then return home, and although I did get to meet some great people I never had chance to stop and enjoy the view or the craic with longer chats so this last week has been absolutely amazing and it's been great to show Maz around my old haunts as well.

photo taken at 10.30pm (no enhancing)

one thing that I had forgotten were the little sayings that accompany the Northern Irish accent and its been lovely to listen again to those ditty's that are normal to those living here on this green isle, I hope to use some of those througout this post which we hope you will pick up on, this is meant as a term of endearment and not to make a joke or light of the beauty of they way individuals or even nations speak.

most northerly pub in the whole of Ireland

we've really enjoyed travelling around this wonderful country so we have, our friends Andrew and Margaret not only lent us their house but also their car so we have been able to travel far and wide, hence to title of this post, during the first week we spent three days exploring three different areas, the north coast with it's wild cliffs, including the stunning and somewhat crazy freak of nature, or God's creative hand, that of the Giants Causeway, then we travelled west towards the lakes of Fermanagh popping into visit the little town of Omagh which was hit by a huge terrorist bomb in 1998 two days after I'd left for my summer holiday that year, more of which later, on the third day we ventured east to the Mountains of Mourne which weren't quite as spectacular as we had have hoped to be sure.

panorama at malin head 

all of this travelling was usually done on the tiny back roads which were being used by the very very busy farmers who were making the most of the dry weather to cut their silage so the roads we packed with tractors and their trailers, it was incredible to see the amount of tractors working in the tiny fields, it seemed that they were all out at once which made some maneuvers of the road very challenging so it did.

showjumping at armagh show

over the weekend we joined the throngs of people, mostly families with young children or ladies on horses, with very few men who must have been busy with their tractor work, at the Armagh country show, therefore the ladies on horses weren't out of place, in fact they put on a very good display as we enjoyed watching the show jumping. we also loved the tent full of show poultry, were a little scared of the huge male pigs and fell in love, or at least Maz did, with the cute Alpacas who strutted their stuff in the show ring. we had a grand time but i can safety say that I've done my country show stint for this year.

alpaca and maz

so.......(long pause for no real reason).....

on Sunday we made the short visit to the local vineyard church here in Dungannon so we did and we greeted by a joyful congregation who seemed very pleased so see us, they meet in a local school, which isn't that surprising given the nature of the vineyard church movement who not only seem to have a monopoly on the doughnut consumption of the world but also the use of school halls for their Sunday services, however what was simply wonderful was that this school was a mixed school, meaning that unlike most state schools this accepted both catholic and protestant children and taught them in the same classes.

lake in the mountains of mourne

the topic of the mixed schooling or should we say the predominately segregated schooling that is provided throughout Northern Ireland is one of those difficult subjects to be bought up, this segregation can still be seen, mostly in the poorer areas of most towns with British or Irish flags flying in certain areas as well as curb stones and walls with red, white and blue showing off their support for one side or the other. with a nation and people who seem so friendly, open and welcoming it's still something that we're finding hard to get our heads around, we are well aware that like the issues taking place in South Africa there lays a deep and long set of problems which have led to the current state of affairs however its very hard to comprehend as an 'outsider' and having seen and lived through some of the violence that took place whilst I was working in Omagh way back in 1998 where 29 people lost their lives is something that is hard to understand.

fermanagh lakes

that said great strides seem to be been made and we welcome the steps that have been made to see this wonderful nation come together and live in harmony, it might take another generation, but as in South Africa this generation can greatly influence the past and we continue to see this happen, here, there and all over the world.

around the causeway coast

not content to stay in one place for too long we made the longer trip over the border into the Republic of Ireland where we visited the county of Donegal, famous for its west coast fishing villages and the most northerly part of the whole of Ireland, that of Malin Head. now if like me you listen (or should that be endure) the shipping forecast, which usually interrupts my enjoyment of listening to the cricket on Test Match Special, you we know that Malin Head has a weather station that provides information on the upcoming weather to ensure that the local shipping around the British Isle is kept safe. it was great to visit this promontory and to also enjoy a glass of the black stuff in the most northerly pub in Ireland.

at the giants causeway

we stayed the night in an airbnb home and were hosted by charles and his wife who made us feel very welcome, the area around their home is stunning and with the sun not setting until well after ten o'clock in the evening it was lovely to be able to venture down to the local harbour and watch some dolphins happliy playing and jumping clean out of the water.

walks around the causeway

our journey back to our hub in Dungannon was made via the vehicle ferry across the wide Lough Foyle, one side we were in Eire (or the Republic of Ireland) on the other back in Northern Ireland, where we continued our venture through the glens of Antrim stopping off in Glenariff where we enjoyed a walk up and around some waterfalls in Glenariff Forest Park.

time for another pint?

Margaret's family and friends have made us feel very very welcome with ideas of where to visit, the provision of maps and even a meals out with them on both Saturday evening and Sunday lunchtime. it must be said we will miss Ireland but hope to return soon to enjoy some more sunny weather and walks in the beautiful country side.