Posts In The “Ireland” Category
In several days of touring around Belfast we’d seen no signs of the violence, known as “The Troubles”, that once made it among the world’s most dangerous cities. Of the 1,541 killings there, most ocurred north and west of the city and it is in West Belfast that evidence of the conflict is still prominent….
Belfast’s Titanic Quarter stands on part of the shipyard where the ill-fated vessel was built and is one of the world’s largest urban-waterfront regeneration projects. The 185-acre (75 hectare) site includes Titanic Studios, Belfast Harbour Marina, and hotel, office, education, retail and apartment complexes. The district also is home to a number of excellent nautical…
One of the reasons we’d come to Belfast was to see one of our favourite bands, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, at the renowned Limelight. We admittedly were a little nervous about the idea. Belfast was once considered one of the world’s most dangerous cities and it’s impossible not to reflect on years of violence covered…
The Harland and Wolff twin shipbuilding gantry cranes dominate the Belfast skyline and are a notable landmarks on entering Belfast Harbour. Harland and Wolff are a shipbuilding and offshore construction company founded in Belfast in 1861 who built most of the ships for the White Star Line, including the Titanic and its sister ships Olympic…
Rathlin Island is Northern Ireland’s only inhabited island and also is home to one of the largest seabird colonies in the UK. The West Light Seabird Centre is perched on a clifftop above the lighthouse at the western end of the island where visitors can take in the spectacular scenery, watch the thousands of seabirds…
Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland consists of over 40,000 hexagonal basalt stones that lead from a cliff foot into the sea. The dramatic site inspired legends of giants building the causeway to reach Scotland across the sea. Led Zeppelin fans might recognize the above scene from the Houses of the Holy cover. We had sorely…
Our stop at Arranmore Island was as much to avoid an upcoming weather system as it was to tour the island. But it ended up being an incredible stop. We really enjoyed our bike tour of the island and a dinghy trip to Burtonport on the mainland, met many of the locals, and really had…
The area around Donegal Bay has some of the most spectacular seascapes in Ireland, including the dramatic Doonbristy sea stack off Downpatrick Head and the soaring cliffs of Slieve League. Many people feel the Slieve League cliffs are more dramatic than the better-known Cliffs of Moher. They certainly are higher at 1,952ft (595m) compared to…
The two-day run from the Aran Islands around Erris Head had an unusual diversity of sightings. Natural features included waterfalls, dolphins, plenty of dramatic seascape, and Ireland’s highest sea cliffs, the 2,168ft (661m) the Cliffs of Croaghaun. On the man-made side, we saw a ruined Cromwellian fort, an abandoned village and whaling station, three major…
Inishmore Island, in the Aran Islands near Galway, Ireland, has several attractions. By far the most visited is Dun Aonghasa, a dramatic semi-circular fort built right to the edge of 300-foot cliffs with sweeping coastal views. And a popular way to tour the island is by bicycle. We saw literally hundreds of bicycles for rent…
The spectacular Cliffs of Moher are one of Ireland’s most well-known features and popular tourist destinations. The cliffs extend for five miles, rising over 600ft from the water surface at their highest point. More than a million people visit the cliffs each year, but relatively few have an opportunity to view them from the water….
In 1866, the first transatlantic telegraph cable was completed between Newfoundland and Valentia Island. Prior to the cable, messages between Europe and North America were sent by sea and took two weeks, or more, to reach their destination. Valentia Island also is known for it’s slate quarry that produced slate for the Paris Opera House,…
16th-century Ballycarbery Castle is a modern structure compared to two other fortifications near Cahersiveen: the ring forts of Leacanabuile and Cahergal. Ring forts are difficult to date, but archeologists believe these were built in the 9th and 10th centuries. We visited all three on a bicycle tour of the area, and also took in the…
Skellig Michael is one of the most remarkable places we’ve ever visited. Sometime in the 6th-8th centuries, Christian monks landed on this rugged and remote island off the southwest coast of Ireland. Over the centuries they built a monastery with beehive huts and a chapel high atop the island’s peaks, and extensive steps to reach…
Our day trip from Crookhaven Harbour to Ballinskelligs Bay took us past some dramatic coastal scenery and impressive feats of engineering, including The Bull, where a lighthouse perches atop a fantastic tunnel-pierced rock, and the well-preserved monastic ruins on UNESCO World Hertiage site Skellig Michael. Trip highlights from June 19th, 2017 follow. Click any image…
Crookhaven Harbour is among the nicest anchorages in southwestern Ireland. We spent three nights there and visited Brow Head, Mizen Head, and of course stopped at the famous O’Sullivans to enjoy “The most southerly pint in Ireland”. The video below shows aerial footage of Dirona and the harbour, and trip highlights from June 17th through…
The Mizen Head Signal Station was built in 1909 to sound a fog signal warning ships away from the dangerous headland at the southwest tip of Ireland. The signal station sits on the tip of the peninsula (far left on the photo above), cutoff from the mainland by a deep chasm, with a bridge spanning…
During the Napoleonic-era, a signal tower was built at Brow Head near Crookhaven, Ireland. A century later, the Marconi Wireless Telegraph company installed telegraphic equipment on Fastnet Rock and a station on Brow Head. Passing ships signaled the Fastnet Lighthouse and the keepers relayed the message wirelessly to Brow Head for transmission to the final…