Down in County Down

Today's photo is a map. Click here to see a map of the route I was driven through County Down, the particulars of which I will describe forthwith.

All my mornings in NI were started reasonably late, as I generally slept in due to the abundance of wine, good conversation, whiskey, etc. that had been consumed the previous night. Truly, the Irish are the most hospitable people in the world, and the most friendly. They are constantly bantering with strangers they meet through the day; always cheerful and humorous. I was surrounded by smiles the whole time I was there, it was wonderful.

E and E graciously drove me all over the countryside every day, which I'm sure was far more interesting for me than it was for them. On Monday we did a tour of County Down, driving first south beside the lough, and stopping in Killyleagh, where at the top of the hill in town there is a tremendous castle, about which I have very little information, other than it looked really really cool. It's apparently privately owned, by someone obviously hugely rich. It is supposed to be the official residence of the Duke of York, who is also Lord Killyleagh.

Obviously we couldn't go in, so we hopped back into the car and went to Downpatrick. In the old gaol there, they have made a very nice little museum, charting the history of the area from the dinosaur age all the way through to the Irish Troubles. They have some lovely artefacts and very well put together displays, as well as some extremely creepy mannequins in the old gaol cells. As usual, we stopped in at the cafe to give Ena her tea fix for the hour, then went up the road to Downpatrick cathedral. The particular claim to fame of this cathedral is in the attached graveyard; the final resting place of St. Patrick. He died in the 5th century, of course, but in the 12th century John de Courcy disinterred him and brought him here. There is a bloody great slab of granite on top with the original inscription still visible. We hadn't brought any green beer with us, alas, but we sat on the headstone and had our photo taken - the sun came out for the only time that day just for the one minute we were on the grave; make of that what you will. Nothing, probably.

Fleeing Downpatrick, our next stop was Dundrum Castle, overlooking Dundrum bay and much else besides. This was my highlight, I think. It was begun in 1177, and finished by John de Courcy a little later. Busy bee, wasn't he? It's a wonderful castle; a huge round tower on the top of a hill, with 360 degree views and a steep approach. The tower is within a curtain wall, and itself has walls 2 metres thick of solid stone. I have a bit of a thing for old ruined castles (this one, by the way, was ruined only a hundred years or so later, though there was nothing to tell you how or why), and I spent a fruitful half an hour pretending to shoot out of arrow-slits and pour boiling oil onto filthy peasants. Wonderful.

Yes, there is a Newcastle in Norther Ireland as well, and we went there next. It is at the foot of the Mourne Mountains, where they "sweep down to the sea", and is a bit of a seaside resort; lots of amusement arcades and the like, very quaint. We promenaded along the promenade, and had an icecream despite the weather, followed by a lovely trip home through Ballynahinch, Saintfield and Ballygowan, over rolling hill and dale, through green fields and whatnot. Truly gorgeous countryside.

So that was that. The next day I was taken to see my great-aunt Jean, then I was able to visit and put flowers on my grandad's grave in Dundonald cemetery before the flight home to London. I had a wonderful few days, and really can't wait to go back.