Welcome to Little Venice!

When in London, I try to visit a new part every time – and this time I walked along Regent’s Canal to Little Venice. They say Lord Byron coined the name, true or not, anyway it is a charming area with its moored boats and little ”gardens”.

How about joining me for a little walk?

 

Giant’s Causeway – The Loveliest Day

Soaking wet after the dog walk tonight, I desperately long for a lost summer. When in Ireland (a rainy country they say…) this May,  we had sunshine, 20 degrees C and no wind on the north coast. I just have to go back for the photos…think I will show you just How…lucky we were, and what a glorious day we had at Giant’s Causeway. Our landlord told us the weather had not been this beautiful any day this year, 2017.

The walking distance makes this trip a half day tour, but in full sun, everything is just amazing and you can walk any distance… There was even the possibility, for elderly or disabled people, of using a van.

The Giant’s Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. (Although legend has it built by the Irish Giant Fionn…)It is located in County Antrim on the north coast of Northern Ireland.

The area was declared a World heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. According to Wikipedia, there was a poll in 2005, where Radio Times’ readers voted the Giant’s Causeway as the fourth greatest natural wonder in UK.

 

 

 

The Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast World Heritage Site is today one of the most popular tourist attractions in Northern Ireland. Read about the legend of the two fighting giants from Ireland and Scotland, and the building of the Causeway, here.

Kilmacduagh

 

The stunning Kilmacduagh monastery was founded by St Colman in the 7thCentury.

I loved everything about it – the serenity, the silence, the rural beauty of the area.

The round tower is dated from the 12th Century, and the tallest one in Ireland – Kilmacduagh is 34 meters in height with the doorway set 7 meters above ground level.
The tower also has quite a visible lean to it – said to be 0.5 meter from the vertical.

The biggest church building on the site is the cathedral ( Templemore Mac Duagh). dated between the 11th and 12th Century.

The Church of St John the Baptist (Teampuill Owen) is in the field next to the cathedral.
It dates from the 10th Century which would make this church the oldest building on the site.

The cemetary is still in use, and I do not think I have ever seen a thicker stone wall than this one.

Impressive!

On leaving, we finally got a closer look at the lovely cows – and they finally got a closer look at us…

Early Morning Kilkenny

We woke up early to take a morning walk in Old Town Kilkenny before breakfast. Kilkenny is one of Ireland’s most beautiful towns, and has been of importance since the 13th century – it was even the capital of Ireland a long time ago.

Eight degrees only, but silence and sunshine. A very pleasant walk.