One Touch of Nature Makes the Whole World Kin

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,

And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;

Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,

And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,

Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;

There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,

And evening full of the linnet’s wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;

While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,

I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

The Lake Isle of Innisfree - W.B. Yeats

These are a few photos I took with my family today. I didn't really take them with the intent of sharing them, rather I like to take photos because it relaxes me, but today reminded me how much I do actually enjoy sharing my photos and writing about them. I took these on a walk around Castle Ward and some of the scenes reminded me of one of my favourite poems by Yeats that I thought I'd include.

Hope you are all well!

16

A Dose of Irish Coastline

Uh ohh... I feel like such a bad blogger not posting anything in a week now! But I guess my life has just been pretty boring as of late and on top of that I really haven't felt very inspired so I decided to wait until I had something to say. 

This week my mum and I have just been out and about in the car, trying to teach me how to drive again since I haven't driven since last summer and have lofty ambitions to save up for my own car for uni over the next few months (whether this will happen remains to be seen), in which case I'll need to eventually make the mental drive between the ferry port in Cairnryan in Scotland back down to Lancashire. At the moment, we've slowly been conquering motorway driving and I HATE motorways, the slip roads just terrify me, driving in general terrifies me but it's something I really want to overcome, just to achieve a bit more freedom and independence. I don't know whether it's because I'm a relatively new driver, but I'm constantly aware of the fact every time I get in the car and start to drive I'm basically hurtling into a dark abyss in a metal death machine... I'm hoping these feelings will pass.

I was very proud of myself yesterday as I drove the whole way to a place called Portstewart along the North Coast which is about a one and a half hour drive (or two hours for me driving at a steady speed of 45mph the entire way). It was quite scary as I didn't realise it but there are literally about a million roundabouts on the way, like literally a million and they freak me out a little bit too, as do confusing road markings and big cross-road junctions. But I got there!

Being a very small place, Northern Ireland for me has its few ups, and a lot of downs, but one thing I can't argue with is its spectacular coastline, especially along the North Coast. Portstewart Strand (above) is one of my favourite beaches on the Antrim Coast. It actually belongs to the National Trust which is why it's so well maintained, but it's basically just a long stretch of white sandy beach that goes on for miles up to the rugged cliffs where Mussenden Temple sits. I also couldn't help but notice last night how amazing the colours on the beach were, with the green sand dunes, pale sand and then the sea, a sort of teal colour against the blue grey sky, I'm so glad I had my camera with me!

You can drive your car straight on to the beach and my mum, my sister and I have spent many evenings, in both summer and winter sitting on the strand chatting and eating chips as the sun goes down. 

Well I am absolutely staaaarving, so I think I'm going to have to leave this post here and go and have some breakfast!

Much love,

21

Life - Saturday Beach Walk

I think one of the best things about living in Northern Ireland is that you're never too far from the sea, even if it is a bit chilly. These are just a few photos from a walk with my mum, sister and Heidi at the beach today...

Love finding some seaglass!!

16

Wednesday Walkies

Since I'm leaving for uni again in a couple of days time I've just been spending a little time with my family, making the most of the little time I have left at home as well as the rare appearance of some Irish sunshine! This afternoon we took a little road trip to this beautiful park for a wander and these are the resulting snaps I took:

6