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 :-(

First camping trip as a family...

At the start of September we planned to take a camping trip around the North Coast for a few days but we thought it might be a good idea to do a trial run first.  We decided to try one night at the campsite at Castle Ward as it isn't too far from home so at least if it was a complete disaster we could just pop home without too much bother! In the end it worked out just fine. The weather was lovely although it did get a little nippy at night so definitely need to bring a heater in the future.

All packed up and ready to go.  We did need considerably more stuff having a baby with us but it did all fit, just about!

We bought George ear defenders as the Land Rover is pretty noisy when it's driving.  He absolutely loves them and pretty much falls asleep as soon as they go on!

All parked and set up.

We went down on a Tuesday so the site was pretty empty.  Castleward is really popular and I think you have to book ages in advance to get in at the weekend.

The campsite is surrounded by forrest which will be great for exploring when George is a bit bigger although he seemed pretty taken by the light fluttering through the tree canopy as it is!

A glimpse of Strangford Lough.

A pretty foxglove - all the ones in our garden are long gone by September.

A tunnel under one of the lanes on the estate.

I have been to Castleward so many times and I don't really remember seeing this tree tunnel before, it was pretty cool.

Inside the tree tunnel.

Temple water.  There is a lovely walk all around the water.

The boats in Audley's Bay.

I thought this bit of wood looked a bit like the Lough Ness monster.

We were only there for one night but we packed a lot in, we walked into Strangford and got some ice creams on the first day then headed back for a picnic dinner.  After we packed up we headed in to the Castleward estate and had a cup of tea and a scone then a lovely long walk finished off with a nice lunch, a perfect couple of days and just what we needed to get ready for a bigger camping trip.

Rathlin Adventures....

Last month we took a sailing trip to Rathlin Island.  We set off on a Sunday with the most amazing weather, which is always nice!

We were setting off from Glenarm but before we did we had a wander up into the forrest….



The light was dappled through the leaves of the trees.







There were swathes of wild garlic, the smell was quite something.




Glenarm Castle.




Some whispy cow parsley by the gate of the forrest.

Once we’d popped into the shop and got the Sunday papers and a chocpop ice lolly we started off for Rathlin.













After a few hours we had a spot of lunch and then Rathlin appeared in the distance…







The entrance to Church Bay.









I was very taken by this lovely arch.




Sunset in Church Bay




These invoices were on the wall in McCuaigs Bar.  I have a bit of an obsession with old invoices and receipts so I was very taken by these!  I’m always amazed by the incredibly decorative headers at the top of these invoices.




The next day we set off to the west lighthouse where there is an RSPB bird sanctuary.  We passed this cottage on the way, I’m a great fan of blue painted windows.




This is the church which I assume Church Bay is named after.  It is very pretty and has a number of Commonwealth War Graves in the graveyard.




After four miles or so we made it to the sanctuary and had a look for some puffins on the cliffs.




They were a long way down, but incredibly noisy!




This is the West Lighthouse which I had drawn for my Irish Lights book.




The lichen on the wall was the colour of egg yolks.




and the view was something else (sorry the horizon is a bit wonky!)




We spotted this little beach from up near the lighthouse, I think probably the only way to get to it is by boat.


Rather than walking back we hopped on the puffin bus which travels up and down to the sanctuary.  We were a bit hungry so nipped in to Emma’s Chips Ahoy for some scampi.




Then sat on the harbour wall to eat and look at these old boats.








Some California poppies (I think)




The next day wasn’t quite so sunny (wellies and raincoats all round)  But we still decided to walk out to Rue Point, another of Rathlin’s lighthouses.




We passed this building on the way which I think was used to dry and store seaweed that the locals collected to sell.




The cheerful pink sea thrift brightened up the dreary weather.













There were some interesting details to this remote house, and some rugged daisies who’d made their home there.




We made it to Rue Point, a little damp and through a barrage of screaming seagulls!




another secret cove, surrounded by no one except lots of sheep…







The smell from the gorse was amazing, so tropical and coconutty.




On our way back into church bay we spotted this stone, don’t know what it means.  Answers on a postcard please!

We were only away for a few days but we managed to pack a lot in, if you haven’t been to Rathlin before I’d definitely recommend a trip, it’s lovely in the sunshine but in the rain and mizzle it is just as windswept and interesting!  You can get there by ferry from Ballycastle and there are quite a few B&B’s in Church Bay you can stay in.  The National Trust also have accommodation in the Manor House which is open in the summer months.