Island Hill

One breezy Sunday George and I took a trip to Island Hill, the last time we were there it was a lovely sunny day but unfortunately the tide was right in so we didn't actually get to go out to the island.  Determined not to make the same mistake twice, this time I actually checked the tide tables to make sure the tide would be out and it certainly was....

The place looks so different when the tide is out.

There was some beautiful blossom in the hedgerows.

This is the path out to the island.

I spotted these walls and steps and wondered if maybe there had been a house on the island at some stage?

The view towards Scrabo tower.

The branches of the hedges had all this moss growing over it, very magical looking

There is a small airport in Newtownards and there were lots of small planes tootling about in the sky.

I loved the mustard yellow of this rock, it reminded me of this coat!

Island Hill is off the dual carriage way between Comber and Newtownards in County Down.  It is free to visit, there is a car park and the walk is pretty accessible apart from the bit from the main path across the lough to the island path which is a pebbly beach.  There are picnic tables near the car park and it would definitely be a good spot for a picnic or even a fish supper ;-)

Picnic at Mount Stewart

As a birthday treat George and I went out to Mount Stewart for a picnic with our friends Kerry and Felix. It was a gorgeous sunny day, the first proper day here you could sit outside in short sleeves.  It was even quite warm in the shade.

We went for a bit of a walk after eating lots of lovely food.. My favourite thing about our buggy is that I can fit my wicker picnic basket underneath it!

and were accosted by some very loud and nosey ducks!

They got really close!  I suspect they maybe wanted some of our picnic!

The National Trust have recently bought more land around the estate and have open up some bits that I hadn't been in before.  This was the dairy which leads of a walled garden.

There were some beautiful tiles on the walls.

I think this was a rather ornate old fridge.

This is the walled garden, it is pretty derelict at the moment, I'm not sure if they have plans to reinstate it.

I loved this cheerful, if slightly grubby door!

My first sighting of a bluebell this year!

Views of the lake.

We managed to get a quick peek round the downstairs of the house which has been newly renovated but we didn't get a look upstairs so I will have to go back another day.

Blossom at Rowallane

On a sunny Tuesday, after a trip to the dentist, me and George along with my mum and her friend Lorna headed to Rowallane to have a walk round.  Mum, George and I had been there back in March to look around the Spring Ground there but when we were there then spring hadn't really sprung and there wasn't much out in bloom.  A month definitely makes a big difference!  The place was full of blossom this time!

Gorgeous apple trees.

I thought this was some sort of big snowdrop but it's actually called summer snowflake.

After watching Gardener's world feature on magnolias the other week I really fancy getting one for our garden, although I'd say it's take a good few years before it was this big!

The branches and blooms made a lovely pattern against the blue skies.

Masses of forget me nots.

Rowallane is well known for its masses of Rhododendrons.  I particularly liked this one, it looks quite like the one in our garden, although our one is no where near blooming yet. 

I think these are woodland anemones.

The courtyard was looking very nice in the sunshine...

So one of us stopped to have a bit of a picnic!

It was a lovely day out although be warned, at this time of the year the cafe isn't open on a Tuesday and for some reason they have closed the shop :-(

Delamont

A couple of Sundays ago we took our first day trip of the year in the camper van, down to Delamont near Killyleagh for a bit of a walk before lunch.  It was a bit cloudy and windy but when the sun did come out of hiding it was actually pretty warm.  I hadn't been to Delamont in years.  It's run by Down Council and it costs £4 per car to get in.  We just had a bit of a walk around but there is a little railway for kids and there was a place selling coffee which is always nice on a Sunday morning!

Nice view of the Mournes.

This is the Millenium stone, it was put up by lots of scouts in 1999.

Getting wrapped up... it was pretty breezy at the top of this hill.

It was the start of the spring series yacht races that day, here they all are milling around before the start of the race.

Lovely daffodils.

As you go around Delamont there are bits of green gym equipment to use.  You can get a season ticket for £25 so you can go as many times as you like, definitely much cheaper than a regular gym, but maybe a bit miserable if it's raining!

There were lots of freshly ploughed fields, I wonder what they're going to plant here?  Will have to go back later in the summer to find out I suppose!.

The walk around takes you down close to the shore of Strangford Lough and there are a few pebbly beaches you can get out on to.

There were lots of cute lambs about but as soon as I got the camera out they made a run for it!

Finally we spotted this old walled garden, it's all over grown which is a pity.  There is even an old glass house hidden in there.  It would be great if they could get someone to take this on and run it to grow veggies to sell or use in a local cafe or something.

Anyway, Delamont is well worth a visit, I'm very tempted to invest in a season ticket as I think we might become regular visitors!

Summer holiday...

It seems like pretty much everyone in our house has been sick for all of 2015 so far, but last night things started to look up, the sniffles and coughing subsided a bit and there were even a few smiles to be seen. Plus on the weather front there was definitely a glimmer of sunshine and blue skies so I couldn't help but start dreaming of holidays and camping! It's still a bit cold for any overnights in the camper just yet but it's definitely not to early to start dreaming and planning!

Here are some pictures from our summer holiday last year to get us all in the mood!

We took the campervan up the north coast, starting in portrush for the airshow. It's on every September and well worth a visit - airwavesportrush.co.uk

The views from the walk down from the campsite into town are pretty nice.

The harbour at portrush.

Saw this lovely car parked and couldn't resist taking a pic!

Some planes...

Having some refreshments!

I love the red arrows and can't wait to see them every year. They were excellent as always!

The next day after the airshow we headed towards our next campsite which was in Bushmills and stopped off to have a look round Dunluce castle on the way.

Although we were only travelling a few miles each day we always made sure to stop for tea along the way.

We also visited Ballintoy harbour which looked lovely in the sunshine. It's very popular with Game of Thrones fans as it is the setting for the Iron Islands in the show. There is a lovely cafe here too.

The camper parked up in Ballintoy.

We then took a trip over the Carrick a Rede rope bridge which is managed by the National Trust. It was much lest rickety than I remember! 

Although it was September, the weather was amazing and the sea looked positively tropical.

All cosy in the camper.

There were many spectacular views from our various tea stops.

The next camp site we stopped at was in Cushendall and the spaces were pretty much right beside the sea, which was excellent!  This is the view during the day.

And this is the amazing scene at night, the moon was very impressive indeed.

Finally we stopped in Carrickfergus, where we had a tasty picnic lunch and had a look round the famous castle.

And of course finished off with the obligatory cup of tea and a French fancy.

All in all we were only a way for a few days but we packed so much in it felt like ages! The north coast is beautiful and there really is so much to see and do although we were very lucky with the weather.

Now to start planning some trips for 2015!