British Isles Cruise July 2013 - Co. Antrim N. Ireland

Before leaving home I had booked a private tour in Northern Ireland and we were part of a party of 18. The minibus was waiting for us at the dock and we set off towards Ballintoy.

These photos are not as clear as I would have liked as they are taken through the windscreen of the minibus as are some later photos.
We took the scenic coastal road towards the Giant's Causeway.

On the way we had a short stop to look down on the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge.

Then on to the Giant's Causeway.

You can read the entertaining legend of the giant Finn McCool here

We had seen photos of the basalt pillars before, but it was only when we saw them close up that we realised just how big they are. Some are 12 metres (almost 40 feet.)

After a good walk around and a visit to the visitor centre we reboarded the minibus to head towards the Bushmills Irish whiskey distillery and lunch which will follow in the next post.

British Isles Cruise July 2013 - Greenock Scotland

Our next stop was Greenock on the River Clyde in Scotland.

We have been there a few times before, so this time decided to take a short trip to Port Glasgow (not the same place as Glasgow) and see Newark Castle.

Built by George Maxwell in the 15th century, this still virtually intact castle was enlarged by his descendent Patrick Maxwell in the 16th century.
Patrick was infamous for murdering two of his neighbours and beating his wife of 44 years who bore him 16 children.
The oldest part of the castle is a tower built soon after 1478, with a gatehouse. The connecting range was added in 1597-1599 Patrick Maxwell.

River Clyde from the castle grounds.

Send off from the pier.

Sailing away.

Passing the long promenade which we have walked along several times.

Leaving Clydebank and heading for the next port of Belfast Northern Ireland.

British Isles Cruise July 2013 - Cork

Our next port was Cobh (pronounced Cove) and we caught the train from there into Cork. We had intended getting a bus from Cork bus station to Blarney, but when we got off the train we saw an open top bus in the station car park. It was doing a tour of some of the sites of Cork and then going on to Blarney where we could go back in 15 minutes or get the next open top bus back about 2 1/2 hours later, which we did.

St Fin Barre's Cathedral.

Statue of the Golden Angel on the Cathedral.
According to legend, the ringing of the angelic trumpets will sound to alert the people of Cork of the imminent end of the world and allow citizens to be among the first to enter heaven.

First view of Blarney Castle from the bus.

The bus took us right to the castle car park where we walked past the shops, pub and cafe and through a wooded area.

When we got to the castle we saw there was a long queue to kiss the Blarney Stone so we carried on to walk around the grounds.

The Fern Garden.

The Bog Garden.

Bog Garden.

The Horse Graveyard where the family's horses were buried.

I don't know what these flowers are but they grow abundantly along the paths within the castle grounds.
After our walk we went back to the pub by the car park and had a late lunch and Guinness whilst we waited for the bus to arrive.

When we got back on the ship we heard Irish music and looked out over the balcony and saw people in period costume from the time the Titanic sailed.

Statue of Annie Moore and her brothers.Annie was the first person admitted into the United States through the new immigration building at Ellis Island in New York City, January 1, 1892.

St Colman Cathedral from the ship as we left Cobh.

Goodbye to Ireland as we head towards Scotland.

British Isles Cruise July 2013 Guernsey

The first time we took a cruise around the British Isles was because we had never been to Ireland.We enjoyed the cruise so much that this is now the third time we have done it.
 Our first stop was Guernsey and we did what we had done the first time and caught the local bus which goes all the way around the island for £2. Much better value than the $40 or so that the ship tour costs.

 Fort Grey is a 'Martello' tower built in 1806 to defend the bay at Perelle from French attack. It now houses a museum which tells the story of the many terrible shipwrecks that have occurred on Guernsey's treacherous west coast.

 Views around the coast of Guernsey.

The harbour.

Castle Cornet has stood guard over St Peter Port harbour since the thirteenth century. It was progressively extended outwards, especially by Queen Elizabeth. During the English Civil War it was held for the King against an 8-year siege by Parliamentary forces. An explosion destroyed the medieval 'donjon' in 1672 but the castle was then extended under the Georgians. Its final military use came when German forces used it as a strong point in the second world war.

Leaving Guernsey we headed for Cobh (pronounced Cove) which was formerly known as Queenstown and was the last port of call of Titanic.We caught the train into Cork and we were going to get the HoHo bus but when we got to Cork there was a locally operated open top bus at the station, so we decided to take that one instead. It was a good choice. The guide had everyone in fits of laughter from start to finish.

The River Lee which runs through Cork.

The National Monument on the Grand Parade in Cork was unveiled on St Patrick’s Day 1906.  The monument commemorates the rebellions of 1798, 1803, 1848 and 1867.
The bus took us around some of the sights of Cork and on to Blarney Castle which will be in the next post.

Transatlantic Cruise April 2013 Dublin and Falmouth.

After several sea days we reached Dublin.

Halfpenny Bridge over the River Liffey.

O' Connell Bridge.

Samuel Beckett Bridge

Statue of  John Gogarty and James Joyce outside one of the many Dublin bars.

The Aviva football stadium.

Anyone for Guinness?
I only took a few photos in Dublin as we have been here a few times before. More photos can be seen on our British Isles cruise in 2012 here.
We should have gone to Cork next but storms made us stay overnight in Dublin. We stayed until midday the following day before heading for our final port of Falmouth Cornwall.

Falmouth is a tender port and this is Pendennis Castle taken from the ship. At this point we were actually only about 60 miles from home.

The Fal estuary.
After an enjoyable day there we headed back to Southampton and the end of another cruise.