Wednesday, June 19, 2024

Heart of Stone

In Ireland, there are lumps of stone everywhere.  The north country's fields are divided up by stone walls into smaller, more irregular shaped parcels of land than in England, making for a really charming patchwork effect.  These traditional dry stone walls are an iconic sight around the Mourne Mountains.  Never mind "stones", these were more like boulders!




The section above was captured from the window of the "Flying Fiesta" ST-Line (3 cylinder 1.0 litre turbo with a 48 Kw boost motor).  Gareth took a real shine to this car and was quite keen to demonstrate its nippy credentials, making for some interesting - scratch that  - creative, motion blur.


But these stones paled into insignificance compared to the ancient  ones dotted around the area.

First up, the ruin of Dundrum Castle, a short drive along the coast and free to enter.  On our two visits here, we didn't see another soul.


The castle was believed to have been built in or around 1177 by Anglo-Norman knight, John de Courcy, as part of his coastal defence after his invasion of Ulster.


Belonging to a family which took its name from Courcy (Normandy), John de Courcy came to Ireland around the year 1171 as part of the Norman invading forces, brought in as mercenaries working for Diarmaid Mac Murchadha, the ousted King of Leinster, to help him regain his position as king.

De Courcy's exact parentage is unknown.  The man thought to be his great grandfather, Richard de Courcy, is named in the Domesday Book.  De Courcy's grandfather, William de Courcy I, married Emma de Falaise.  His father, William de Courcy II married Avice de Rumilly an died before 1130, leaving the family estates in Somerset and elsewhere in England to his son, William de Courcy III, John's possible brother.

John was very ambitious and wanted lands for himself.  He decided to invade the north of Ireland which was controlled by Irish dynasties.  In early January 1177, he assembled a small army of 22 knights and 300 foot soldiers and marched north, at the rate of 30 miles a day.  They skirted the back of the Mourne Mountains and took the town of Downpatrick by surprise.  After two fierce battles, in February and June 1177, de Courcy defeated the last King of Ulaid (Ulster).

De Courcy's original castle may have had defences of earth and timber, but the stone curtain wall of the upper ward was probably built at the beginning of the 13th century.


The gabled L shape manor house in the south west corner of the outer bailey, was built by the family of Sir Francis Blundell, circa 1660.




The views out towards the mountains and over Dundrum Bay clearly made it an attractive proposition for a fortress.






Dundrum Castle is an amazing place with no litter or drunken teens to be seen on our visits.  We returned on our last night to soak up the atmosphere in the dying light.  Oh and to prove that I wasn't dressed like a bag lady for our entire stay (I'd prioritised warmth over style), here's a grainy mobile pic taken by Gareth.


On pretty much every excursion, we would spot a tell tale tourist brown sign indicating something of significance.  However, it seems that the Irish don't like to shout about everything they have to offer, which enables tourists like us to feel like we are the first non-natives to discover these quasi-secret places.  The information is definitely out there, but as many of these sites are free of charge, they aren't accompanied by the same fanfare as some of England's attractions and don't even crop up in the Tourist Board's TV campaigns.  The first example of this was Ballynoe Stone Circle.

If you've ever travelled around Ireland (more so in the Republic), you will be aware that the signage is "playful."  By "playful" I mean that typically there will be a sign indicating that a certain town is, say, 5 km away.  After following said signage and driving for a long 15 minutes, it's not unusual to spot another sign suggesting that the same town is now 8 km away.  

On our mystery road trip to Ballynoe Stone Circle, the road signs welcomed us to the village of Ballynoe, but then left us hanging.  Er, the stone circle?  Anyone?  In our frustration, we wound down the window to some school children spilling out of school and asked if they could direct us to the circle.  One boy did so without hesitation, gesturing down the road, but there was literally nowhere to park.  We were forced to tuck our car out of the way in a roadside pull-in in front of a farm gate and instinctively headed for this green gate.


Beyond the gate, was an enchanting tree covered and well trodden old sunken lane.


Maybe derivative of Irish folklore, visitors appear to attribute some kind of fairy kingdom energy to the area.  Many of the trees lining the approach are adorned with trinkets and fairy offerings.







Within a few magical moments, we emerged in a field - totally alone - and took in the view of this late Neolithic/early Bronze Age stone circle.


Inside the large circle, comprising over 50 stones up to 1.8 metres high (though many smaller) is a long, low, partly kerbed mound lying east-west.  It originally held two burial cists (small coffin-like boxes for holding the dead) with cremated human remains, one at each end of the mound.  

The mound was most likely added in a later building phase.  Three pairs of stones are positioned outside the circle and four stones on the western edge of the circle form an entrance, 2.1 m, wide to the circle.  The entrance is perfectly lined up with the setting sun, on March 21st each year, which is the half way point between midwinter and midsummer.
 



Despite the cool breeze and unseasonably low temperature we experienced that day, the stones were not as cold to the touch as I expected.  Without getting all hippy dippy about it, I really did experience some kind of energy.

The bush at the edge of the circle was also decorated with offerings; messages, ribbons and a collection of money at its base.



Ireland's not affectionately referred to as "craggy" for nothing.  Another day, another stony silence, as, alone again, we located and entered a subterranean 9th century shelter - Finnis Souterrain - known locally as Binder's Cove.  The site is a scheduled monument, being one of only a few souterrains open to the public.  

Not for the claustrophobic

The stony silence came when we entered - on our haunches - and despite the warning, Gareth managed to nearly knock himself out on the low lintel before the spotlights within illuminated our path.  There was a sharp intake of breath; Gareth due to the impact, and me, anticipating a trip to A&E.  Mercifully, his cap absorbed some of the impact and after he regained his footing, we continued.

The purpose of this souterrain has been debated over time, but the consensus is that it was built to provide shelter from invading Vikings and also used as storage for religious artefacts and possibly food.

Despite approximately 30 thigh-busting steps in a hunched over squat position, the cavernous space soon opened up into numerous chambers off the main walkway.  In places, it was almost possible to stand up.


For the briefest of moments, I felt a little bit like Lara Croft, but even though I'm not particularly claustrophobic, the realisation that we had no phone signal and the thought of inadvertently triggering some kind of booby trap, causing a large stone boulder to roll in front of the narrow entry point, made me begin to retrace my steps.  Outside, blinking like moles in daylight, we bumped into a young couple who had seen us arrive and approached us for a chat.  They asked us where we were from and admitted to having fallen foul of that stone lintel more than once, when using it as a drinking den in their teenage years.

Our final monument; this time a megalithic monster, was Legananny Dolmen.  This one was really off the beaten path and denoted by this farm gate.  The only available parking was a layby with room for no more than a couple of cars.



And here it is in all of its glory, nestled between a farmer's stone wall and a back lane....5,000 years old if a day!  This tripod dolmen has a capstone over 3m long and 1.8m from the ground.  Such portal tombs were funerary sites for the disposal of the dead in Neolithic society.  The stones would have been dragged some distance before being set in place.  Some urns were discovered underneath the three supporting stones.  Isn't it amazing?




On our return to the cottage, I did pause to ask the bull in our field his thoughts on all of this ancient history on his doorstep.  (Incidentally, there were also the remains of a cashel (stone fort) at the top of the hill behind our holiday cottage, kindly pointed out by Sean on our first night).  Bully Boy just snorted at me and strongly advised Gareth not to look at his missus.


Contrary to the opinion you might be forming, our trip to Ireland wasn't all about standing stones and quaffing Guinness.  We did venture into the two capital cities, Belfast and Dublin, but I'll save that for the final chapter.





Friday, June 14, 2024

North Country Girl

Life moves at pace...but not in Ireland.  After a lengthy hiatus, I'm very relieved to report that the Emerald Isle hasn't changed that much.  I should point out that this was our first ever visit north of the border and I did wonder whether our memories of the Republic would be matched by our experiences in Northern Ireland.  Ultimately, the divisions highlighted by "The Troubles" on the surface at least, appear to have dissipated and we took comfort in the fact that no borders - physical or otherwise - can contain the beauty of Ireland and the warmth of its people.  In magic, charm, hospitality and pursuit of "the craic" Ireland will always be united.  

To avoid tarnishing these still fresh memories, I'm going to gloss over the stresses of our journey there, other than to say we will never again fly with easyJet or hire a car through Avis, a subsidiary of Budget Car Rental.

Instead, I'm going to largely let the photos do the talking...adding a little textual colour here and there.  In this post, we'll explore our immediate surroundings, Tollymore Forest and the closest town, Newcastle, situated on a stunning stretch of coastline.


Approach to Cottage Farm

Cottage Farm - Mourne Mountains - Cottages for Rent in Newry, Mourne and Down, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom - Airbnb

The link above will take you to our home for the week.  I can't recommend this place enough.  Sean, the owner, turned up one evening  for a pre-arranged visit and took us for a walk up the hill behind the cottage on his private farmland, giving us numerous tips on the places to visit.  I therefore have Sean to thank for my subsequent dusk encounter with a Pine Marten.  For once, I decided not to jeopardise the encounter by pulling out my camera and instead, allowed myself to be fully present in the moment.  We eyed each other for a couple of magical minutes, before he disappeared behind a stone wall.






Lowing cattle, sheep, swooping swallows, bats and a shy, solitary black cat were our only companions here, in the shade of the Mourne mountains in County Down.








It's impossible to avoid the black stuff over here.  (It really does taste better in Ireland).  This property had its very own Guinness post box.


Tollymore Forest, covering an area of 630 hectares, was just down the road.  This place is ethereal and littered with garden follies, including the gothic style gate arches, all showcasing the influence of designer Thomas Wright of Durham (1711-1786), who was a friend of Lord Clanbrassil, owner of Tollymore at that time.



A walk along the Shimna river is marked by many curiosities, natural and artificial - rocky outcrops, bridges, grottos (including "The Hermitage" below) and caves.






God's influence is never a million miles away in Ireland, as evidenced by this chalk scrawled message inside a tiny woodland shelter.



The obligatory cabin the woods.  Spooky when the light is fading fast and you haven't a clue where you are!


I picked up this heavy woollen jumper by Barbour in a charity shop in Chester last year.  As warm as it was on the first couple of days of our trip, the temperature soon plummeted and it served me well on our evening walks in the forest.


Newcastle was full of old school charm, with its big wheel, fairground, caravan park and numerous ice cream parlours.  But with those mountains dominating the skyline and a population of around 8,000, there was a real community spirit.  People took the time to chat, the town looked well cared for and the two bars we frequented during our stay really delivered on warm Irish hospitality.


A wander through the grave yard.



Architectural periods and details rubbing along together...


...and just a hint of Wes Anderson courtesy of this outdoor leisure pool complex.


The entire wall of this sweet shop was adorned with Love Heart sweets featuring common Irish phrases.





Oh and how often do we see shop signage like this today in the UK - without it being a ghost sign or no longer relevant; a relic above a boarded up shop front?  Locally, Beatties, the much loved Wolverhampton Department store, closed for good in 2018 after 146 years of trading.  Even Jenners, the swish Princes Street, Edinburgh department store we used to visit on our annual trips to the Fringe Festival, closed its doors in 2020.




Well Wadsworth of Newcastle is still going strong!

Another day, another forest park.  This time, Castlewellan Forest Park, the entrance dominated by this rather splendid Victorian castle.  The castle itself is not generally open to the plebs/public, but we were keen to explore in the sunshine.



Still, it warrants a potted history.  The original estate, which is situated north of the foothills of the Mourne Mountains, dates back to medieval times.  The Annesleys, who bought the Manor of Castlewllan in 1741, can apparently date their line back to a nobleman who came to England at the time of the Norman Conquest.  However, the Irish branch of the family seems to have begun with Sir Francis Annesley, employed in Ireland by James I, who acquired land there in various counties by both Royal Grant and purchase.  Over the generations, the Annesleys improved the estate and, in 1750, laid out the nearby town of Castlewellan, as well as the formal park.

In the early 1800s, the second Earl built himself a summer villa known as The Cottage on the north shore of the Castlewellan lake (demolished in 1861) and around this time the surrounding parkland was transformed into the more naturalistic landscape we see today.  It's thought that this was undertaken by John Sutherland (c. 1745-1826), the most celebrated Irish landscape architect of the time.  However, the Annesley family lived elsewhere rather than at Castlewellan and it wasn't until a generation later when the 4th Earl, Hugh's elder brother William (1838-1874), built the Scottish baronial style castle on the shores of the lake (between 1856-1858), that the family moved there.

Itching to explore, we completed a circuit of the lake...





...before entering the Peace Maze, planted in 2000 and representing the path to a peaceful future in Northern Ireland.  The maze is one of the largest permanent hedge mazes in the world, comprising 6000 Yew trees and forming around 2 miles of winding pathways.



We immediately went our separate ways in a race to the centre.  Gareth, who in real life, has no sense of direction, was first.  Obviously his whole counter intuitive way of thinking works wonders in a fantasy maze setting.  I'm not bitter!

On the way home, we passed one of many derelict buildings from yesteryear.  Many are in a much worse state than this, but are rarely touched, partly due to the costs of renovation, but also as the Irish value them as important examples of the island's social history.  



Just look at that patina!  

I'll sign off now, but I'll return very soon with scenic roads, St Patrick's trail, and Titanic tales!






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