Between Carryduff and Lisburn, with views across Belfast and the Lagan Valley lies the hamlet of Drumbo, with its historic Round Tower, now situated the graveyard of the Drumbo Presbyterian Church.
The tower is one of the oldest monastic monuments in Ireland, dating from around the early medieval period. It was around in AD1130 when records show that it was plundered by one Connor McLochlin.
Continue reading Drumbo Round Tower
Part of the Belfast and County Down Railway line from Downpatrick to Ardglass opened in 1892 and closed 16th January 1950.
Now only sheep can wait on the ghostly platform, for trains that never come.
It’s rare to have open roads in Belfast on a Saturday, but today the roads were reasonably free of traffic – with people ‘self-isolating’ and ‘social distancing.’ But there was one traffic jam, and that was caused by the closure of an important route into and out of the city, the Sydenham By-Pass. This closure caused a stand-still traffic jam on the lower section of the Newtownards Road (Ballymacarret) – Just one single snarl up in the whole city and I was stuck in it.
As it happened I had a camera right beside me on the passenger seat of the car, so while the car was stationery, with the handbrake on and the engine stopped, I made a small number of exposures. Random images, of no relevance or importance.
Glasker Old Mill is on the road between Loughbrickland and Rathfriland in Co. Down. The likelihood is that the mill was once part of the extensive Irish Linen industry which thrived in that area in the 19th and early 20th Century.
I photographed it with my ‘baby’ – the Fujifilm X-T30 camera, fitted with the 18-55mm kit lens.
Just a little further down the road is a beautiful old phone box, set against an unattractive brick wall.
Thankfully, this is not a problem…
Kilwarlin Moravian Church and Thermopylae in Co. Down!
Kilwarlin Moravian Church was founded by John Cennick (He of Gracehill, Ballymena fame) in 1755.
Click to see post about Gracehill
Kilwarlin is described on some internet sites as a ‘small village near Hillsborough, Co.Down’. The truth is that it is scarcely that, rather a ribbon development of homes along a very narrow country road, not wide enough for two vehicles to pass, and accessible only with great care.
With a couple of hours to kill in Craigavon, I decided to make a photograph of each of the Craigavon Roundabouts – but then I’d second thoughts. After all, I’d only a couple of hours, not all day! So instead, I took a drive out to Gilford and Tullylish, and on the way back to Portadown, went to look at the Moyallen Quaker Meeting House. Here’s a few images…
St Macartin’s Anglican Cathedral in Enniskillen
During a visit to Enniskillen I found the Church of Ireland Cathedral in the town open, and I wandered in to make some photographs.
On a recent visit to the North Coast (of Ireland) I visited the town of Portrush, and made some images of the local Methodist Church there. Why so? Because of its name! This church is named for the learned Bible commentator Dr Adam Clarke.
Adam Clarke was born in 1760 near Tobermore, and died of Cholera in Westminster, London in 1832. Clarke’s greatest work was his Bible Commentary, which was to be a standard theological text among Methodists for around 200 years. Continue reading Dr Adam Clarke
This ancient monument is situated off Steeple Road in Antrim. It is one of the finest examples of an Irish Round Tower remaining.
The famous ‘Frosses Trees’ (original spelling ‘Frocess’) on the road between Ballymena and Ballymoney. The road runs through boggy ground,
and the Pine trees were planted in 1840 on the instructions of Sir Charles Lanyon (architect and civil engineer) so that their roots would join under the road to provide support… Continue reading The Frocess
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