Ramblers Trip 2013 to the Mountains of Mourne - Day 6 - Strangford/Portaferry Mount Stewart Home

Saturday the 25th of May 2013

It's our last day in the Mountains of Mourne.

Some of us have Mairead's Irish breakfast and some look after themselves.

We settle our bills (I think you're supposed to settle them at the beginning of your stay, but we all missed the notice). We've had a great week. Thanks for everything Mairead.

Once all the cars are packed and the passengers accounted for we agree that we'll all meet in the National Trust's Mount Stewart cafe. Scoop the only one who's previously visited Mount Stewart and she remembers it as a good visit.

My passenger is the teacher and we've planned the route to Strangford for the short ferry crossing.

We head north towards Hilltown before taking the Castlewellan/Clough road.

A rather scenic hamlet has something painted on the rocks that catches our eyes.

I'd guess it's a cleverly worded encouragement to the local sports teams

We make a stop in Downpatrick and find the Railway Museum closed and workmen busy to get it ready for the coming bank holiday.

We're taking the ferry from Strangford to Portaferry it'll save us a round trip.

Amazingly three of the four cars are on the same ferry.

It's an eight minute crossing. Apparently the round trip by road is 75 kilometers and takes a car an hour and a half. It's a lovely day.

I told these guys I'd be publishing this picture. They did tell me who they were (localish) but I've forgotten. They come over to Scotland quite often.

We follow the coast up Strangford Loch passing through Kirkcubbin and Grey Abbey before reaching the gates of Mount Stewart

I zoom in to the wee hill we climbed yesterday

Unusually there appears to be no parking charges for the car park.

Most of us are card carrying members of the National Trust however and that's required to get into the House and gardens. 

The Musician and the Sloan Ranger are a little late in arriving 

Here's Scoop awaiting her coachman to fetch the horse.

Refreshments are taken in the cafe.We'll be having a guided tour around the house later.

Me and the Teacher begin a walk around the grounds

Here's the Wikipedia page

It seems the foliage and greenery is further on than in South West Scotland

There's a lot of colour and it being a sunny day adds to it.

Who's this wandering around ?

This is the Sunk Garden.

I got a 360 degree panorama and you can see it in glorious colour on Panogio

Even better, click the full screen logo bottom right.  

This is the Shamrock Garden with some excellent topiary.

Originally 30 topiary figures crowned the top of the shamrock hedge. Today there are eight, reinstated in the 1990s in Irish yew.

Now it's time for our guided tour. We're permitted to take pictures without flash.

There are paintings galore........................

............................................this Stubbs original is the pick of them. I wonder what it's valued at ?

A story of a providential escape.

It's a house full of magnificent treasures.

Here's Ireland's Eye's take on the contents.

I can't remember what was said about these, but if they're antlers they're the biggest I've ever seen.

They're believed to have been found in the grounds of Mount Stewart.

After the tour, myself and the teacher head off for a quick look at Donaghadee, the shortest crossing between Ireland and the South West of Scotland. 

We get a ten second delay picture.

Here's a link to my 2008 post of the annual Ribraid from here

Up in the air a Pioneer 200-M manufactured by Alpi Aviation passes overhead. I fully zoom to get a fine boat. There's a fine lifeboat in the harbour and there's a memorial to the Princess Victoria.

Time to make our way into Belfast after a visit to the Newtownards branch of Lidl. I got the horn at a funny junction where I should have given way.

Just time for a beer at the Portside Inn before heading for the ferry.

The other three cars haven't been as adventurous as we have and they're already in the queue.

On board and on our way home I get a few more pictures from the boat as we leave Belfast Lough.

After a while surfing I'm no nearer finding the name of this big house. Can someone knowledgeable give me a clue. 

So concludes our little trip to the Mountains of Mourne.

I hope all my fellow rambling friends enjoyed it as much as I did.

Ramblers Trip 2013 to the Mountains of Mourne - Day 4 - Lough Shannagh and Warrenpoint

It's Thursday already.

We were going to climb Slieve Donard today, but it's too windy. The forecast is for showers.

Instead we'll take a walk up to Lough Shannagh and see how it looks from there. Maybe we'll climb Doan ? 

These information boards are very good. The walk start is by the Gamekeepers Lodge Equestrian Centre. 

It's roughly a 4 mile walk in to Lough Shannagh. Up to now all twelve of us have kept together for the walks, but the climb down to the Ben Crom reservoir yesterday took it's toll on a few knees.

There are some grand looking horses at the stables, but there seems to be quite a lot running free in the mountains. I wonder whether they are just horses put out to grass towards the end of their lives, or are they genuine wild or part wild ones?

It's the windiest day yet and the clouds are flying past. Over to the north west it looks ominous.

Reaching the Mourne wall we're reduced to ten, the 'Weaver's struggling and A.O'K will walk back with her.

We get a view of the Ben Crom reservoir dam. Did we really descend that slope yesterday ?

This is the Miner's Hole river and someone's investigating.

Most of the bridges and walls in the Mournes are fairly solid. 

I guess they have to be, Northern Ireland gets more than it's fair share of stormy weather.

Here's a bit of self promotion. We're heading for that thar hill ! Thanks again to my other photographic contributors.

It's tough going against the wind, we've had a little bit of a snow/sleet shower.

There's a shelter on the map. This is it.

While some huddle in the shelter........

Some of us brave it outside as a storm heads our way.

The sleet is almost horizontal.

After the storm passes over, we take a vote whether to climb Doan or not. It was eight to two against. I think Shorty and myself have to be grateful to the other eight for their sense. On the walk back another snow/sleet/rain/hail storm blew up, and looking at my fellow walkers being buffeted from side to side we looked as though we'd been on a two day bender ! 

Amazingly though, we were soon blow dried with the wind and the sun made an appearance.

A sheltered moment behind the Mourne Wall

Slievenaglogh

It's posing time

It seems further back than it was coming up.

The back of Shorty's hat gives an indication of the wind strength

Look at the size of that, and isn't the wall high too !

Here's a couple of the steeds at the Gamekeepers Lodge Equestrian Centre.

Back at the Mourne Lodge we've time to relax before heading out to Warrenpoint for our dinner. Nine of us are eating out tonight, three are cooking for themselves but will catch up with us later.

No minibus tonight, we take the cars.

This is where we'll dine. It's Restaurant 23 at the Balmoral. On entering we found that we were an hour early. Mairead has been in touch and had booked us in at 8.O'clock.

We were however soon seated and being looked after by Fiachre, our maître d, who just happened to be Mairead's nephew. The restaurant has a Michelin Star and three AA Rosettes and is listed as being in the top three restaurants in Northern Ireland. Suffice to say it was a gourmet treat. Great service, thank you Fiachre.  

After dinner we drove round to a car park closer to the town centre looking for where the music was. Warrenpoint hosts an annual festival called Blues on the Bay

We almost did a circuit back to the Balmoral before we learned that the Whistledown Hotel was where we needed to be. It was packed to the heavens, but the 'Teacher', who'd come with the other self caterers a little earlier had acquired us a corner and some seats. Radio Ulster with Ralph McLean were in attendance recording the show, and Sandi Thom (I wish I was a punk rocker)  was singing as we settled down.

It was a loud but brilliant show.

I'd forgotten to bring my camera with me, but Scoop got pictures of the artistes.

They were all good but one artiste I guess I should mention is Carvin Jones THE CARVINATOR

He was totally amazing. Brought back memories of Jimi Hendrix.

After the show, a few of us moved to another venue where we ended up dancing in the foyer before making our way back to Atticall. I got a couple of shrieks from my passengers for taking a twisty bridge too fast (I didn't think so, but never mind) so my apologies ladies.

So ended another great day in the Mournes.

What are we doin tomorrow ?

Ramblers Trip 2013 to the Mountains of Mourne - Day 3 - Blue Lough and the Silent Valley

What a great night we had last night. I forgot to mention that before leaving the Corner House, we linked arms with the musicians and other folk and sang 'Auld Lang Syne'

Brilliant !

Getting back last night wasn't as late as it might have been, but we'd arranged a later start anyway.

Shorty and A.O'K have sorted a moderate walk out for us today.

We leave one car outside the Silent Valley entrance, and park the other cars in a car park a couple of  miles to the east.

We get acquainted with the Mourne Sense code.

A very slight incline gets us on the move via Carrick Little and Carrick Big. It's not a bad day weatherwise.

Our route takes us along the track just to the east of  Slieve Binnian, the third largest of the Mournes

To the North and East I take this panorama

A couple of miles in and we reach Blue Lough. It's a rugged and stony terrain up here. 

Time for a sweetie break. 

Back on the move this is the view ahead of us................

......................while behind us

Just beyond Buzzard's Roost we're looking down on Ben Crom reservoir.

It's a precipitous descent. Parts of it just about involved rock climbing. However there are white bags with path making materials here, and the lower slopes have already been worked on.

We have lunch overlooking the mighty reservoir. After lunch a walk across the dam is in order.............

.................however, some of us haven't quite finished eating !

We think that these are surveying pillars in the pictures.

From the pillar top left, I took the other three pictures.

A 'comfort stop' moment caused a spontaneous outburst of laughter when the walk resumed. (Sorry, no details) 

This robin was almost eating out of my hands.

Roughly 260 steps take us down below the dam

The 'Weaver' loved the patterns coming over the dam. I wonder if she's going to try to recreate them on her looms ?

It's time for a rake of photographs

Britain was once the world's industrial leader. Why can't we get people off the dole and start being 'Great' again. Rant over !

There are some pictures of the building of the reservoir on this link.

Your place and mine. 

Slievenaglogh towers over the Silent Valley

A few points of interest along the way. Whether it was just the wind or maybe there's some other explanation, but (bottom right) there were equidistant parallel lines on the water.Any reservoir experts out there.

  

The cone peak in the middle is Doan. I was going to climb it Last August

Will I get another chance?

Here's the 'Teacher' with a trio of lovely ladies. Must be the 'Buff' on top of his head that attracts them.

Scoop's quite light so I lifted her onto this dais to get a decent picture.

Most of the picture is OK, but part of it is rubbish. LOL That lassie has such an infectious smile.

 There wasn't enough water in the reservoir for the overflow so here's a link to it last August.

Silent Valley Overflow 

Is this an impression of Neville Chamberlain ?

Next came a visit to the cafe in the Silent Valley where we enjoyed very tasty scones and drinks. 

I now have to take the drivers back to their cars while the other walkers can take their time to stroll to the entrance gates.

A poignant reminder of fatalities. 

We pass the duckpond on the way to the exit. There are quite a number of cygnets around.

This was a very enjoyable walk today.

Later that day we were surprised to see another minibus pull up to take us back to the Harbour Inn at Annalong 

Maybe it was the singing that put Brian off.

Anyway our driver tonight was Mervyn of East Coast Promotions. We saw him being interviewed the next night on BBC Radio Ulster (more on the next post).

As well as driving a minibus, Mervyn is also the base guitarist with the group Idle Hands.

Isn't it amazing what you can find on the internet.

The Harbour Inn  have a £10 meal deal Tuesday till Thursday, and it was fabulous.

Another great day here in the Mountains of Mourne.