Kirkwall, Orkney Islands.

Orkney Islands, Scotland.

Our first stop on Orkney was Maes Howe which is an ancient chamber tomb dating back to 2700BC. It was very low to get in and unfortunately as I get claustrophobic, after the first two or three feet, I had to reverse back out and let Ivor go in on his own.

He said once you had gone through the low and narrow passage it opened into a large chamber with some natural light.

As no photos were allowed inside I kept the camera and took a photo of some local inhabitants while I waited.

The scenery was lovely too, but it was very cold and windy there.

Next were the four Standing Stones o' Stenness thought to date from 3100BC and the oldest standing stones in Britain. You can read more about them here.

They stand up to 19 feet high.

On the short trip from Stenness we passed this swan sitting on her nest.

Next was the Ring of Brodgar which has many more standing stones but not as big as the previous ones we saw. You can read more about it here.

I took so many photos on Orkney that our next stop at Skara Brae will have to come in the next post.

Dublin and Belfast.

Dublin.

Trinity College Dublin.

Trinity College.
Dublin City Hall.

A typical Dublin pub.

Statue of 2 shoppers taking a rest. Popularly known as The Hags with the Bags."

Statue of Molly Malone.

Belfast.
The new Titanic museum.


Belfast City Hall.

City Hall.

Memorial at City Hall.

The Titanic remembrance garden.

Titanic memorial.

A typical Belfast pub.

The Opera House was the most bombed building in Belfast during The Troubles.

Murals in Belfast.


Stormont, home of the Northern Island Assembly.

North Wales Pt.2

After leaving Snowdonia we headed for the town of Betwsycoed.

The train station had been converted to cafes and shops so we stopped and had a coffee before moving on to Conwy Castle.

As soon as you get to Conwy it is impossible to miss the imposing castle.


Looking out over Conwy from the castle walls.






Conwy also has the smallest house in Great Britain which has not been lived in since 1900 but still belongs to descendants of the original family.

After leaving Conwy, our last stop in Wales has the longest place name in Europe and is third longest in the world after Thailand and New Zealand.

It is commonly known as Llanfair PG.

Our taxi driver tried unsuccessfully to teach us to pronounce it!
After leaving Wales we boarded our ship and headed towards Dublin in Ireland

British Isles Cruise 2012, N. Wales Pt.1.

First port of call was Guernsey which was a tender port. The sea was rough so we had to miss it and instead carried on towards Holyhead on Anglesey.
We took a tour from Anglesey to Carnaervon and Conwy castles, Snowdonia and some of the towns.

Approaching Anglesey 16th May.


Carnaervon Castle.



Statue of Lloyd George in Carnaervon.


Snowdonia National Park.






The "Ugly House" at Capel Curig.
During the 15th and 16th century Snowdonia was wild, lawless and sparsely populated. The crude houses with turf roofs and earthen floors provided little more than basic shelter for the inhabitants. According to legend "Ty Hyll", the "Ugly House", was built in 1475 by two outlaw brothers. It was a "Ty Un Nos" or "House of the Night". It was said that he who could build a rough house overnight and have smoke coming from the chimney by dawn could claim the land freehold. The boundary of his little estate could be further extended by the distance that he could throw his axe from the four corners of his new dwelling. A lonely secluded spot would be chosen, all materials assembled, friends summoned to help and at sunset the work commenced. It is suspected that some poetic licence was allowed and it was sufficient if the walls were roughly built and smoke was coming out of a hastily improvised chimney.