Photographers – Think Differently..
This weeks photograph come from County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It was one of the Photo points (No.6) on the Irish photo rally 2020. (Link below) The idea is to ride and photograph your motorcycle at each of the given locations. You get to see parts of Ireland you would never dream for going to.
Picture info: Nikon D7200 camera, Sigma 17 – 70mm lens: 1/20sec @ f11 22mm and ISO 126
Irish Photo Rally 2020 info here: http://www.irishphotorally.ie/map
Thank you for visiting.
George.
This is the first post in a short series on my motorcycle tour of North Wales. I include a couple of links on the history of Portmeirion and the filming of the Prisoner, a cult 1960’s television series filmed there.
My Photo essay a walk through Portmeirion.
Parking the motorcycle in the car park and entering a place I recall from television. It was a little overcast but warm has I start my photo essay.
Lets enter, notice the painted ceiling in the archway.
One of the bikers I was travelling with.
Tides out, the following photos off a young blackbird are taken at the railings on top of the round platform in the photograph.
Moving on.
Up into the village.
Through the archway and into the gardens.
I liked the scale this child gives to the chest pieces.
A short climb back up into the village.
A short stop to play my respects to the Buddha.
He had a great view across the gardens from his lofty perch.
some little teasers of the garden has I make my way around the village.
The garden from another view.
It ‘s down hill from here, with a steep decline to the shore.
Things aren’t always what they seem.
With the last shot looking at the climb back up to the motorcycle, but not before a coffee and a short chat with other visitors.
Thank you for company on the walk around Portmeirion, Hope you enjoyed it and I’ll spare you the walk back up that hill. There are some longer walk in the grounds around Portmeirion, but walking in motorcycle gear is not recommended. Well that’s my excuse…
Feel free to comment, good or bad let me know, have a good weekend.
George.
For those that don’t know the Photo rally points are, they are from The Irish Photo Rally 2018. Info about the photo rally and a map with the photo points on it are HERE .
So my route for my first photo today take me across Ireland toward the west coast. It’s number 21 on the map and it’s in county Sligo. It was a foggy start to the morning but traffic was light and after 30 mile the sun had broke through. It was going to be warm, my first stop for a coffee and fuel was in Enniskillen . Jacket air vents opened it was southwest to the village of Belcoo
Lough MaCnean
then Manorhamiton. A few miles pass Manorhamilton I turn onto the R826 , pass the shore of Lough Gill and on to the town of Drumahair. I followed small single track roads till i was south of Sligo Town. Back roads around to the Beach Bar and follow the coast through Easky where another coffee had my name on it. Continuing on the R297 till i was south of Enniscrone at the Photo rally point ‘ The Black pig’
The Black Pig.
With the photo taken another motorcyclist arrived and a few minutes chatting about the rally points and where I was going next. Well my next point was number 23 on the map, County Rosscommon . Put the coordinates into the Sat-nav and set it of winding roads. Love doing this for it takes all the small roads that winds through the country side. I stopped a service area to get a bite to eat and refuel the bike. Sitting outside in the sun this Blacksmiths workshop was across the road.
I looked the internet and found he is an artist/blacksmith. a link to some of his WORK.
One of my problems while riding is I enjoy it so much, I forget to stop and take photos. I keep saying I will but ….. so not a lot to show on this next leg of my trip. My next point was the Albert Lock.
The lock on the left with Lough Nanoge in the background. The lough os part of the river Shannon network.
The Lock keeper’s cottage.
A chat with the lock keeper and the chance to see a boat using it it was time for a long ride home. That ride would see me cover another six counties. Near 12 hours on the road that day, it was a tired body that walked into the house.
Thank you for visiting and joining me on my trips.
George.
On the road again and another few Irish photo rally photography’s in the bag.
Rally Map link : Irish photo rally map
Set off around 7.30 am on a bright dry but still cool Sunday morning from my home on the NE side of Ireland in County down. My first rally point was in county Longford. My satnav tells me its just under 3 hours away. I head west before turning south through County Cavan and into Co. Longford. Number 7 on the map and its an aqueductjust north of the village of Abbeyshrule.
On the photo rally site they call this the Whitworth Aqueduct but the sign says..
Maybe its got two names????
Has happens when doing the rally points the locals stop for a chat, wondering why motorcycles are turning up and photographs taken. most welcome the interest in their home area. Then it was down to the town of Athlone where I was meeting some friends for a coffee and a chat. Been a few months since we got together, a few of us will be going over to Wales in the UK for a few days later in the year. Another post.
The next stop was in the county of Kildare, number 9 on the map. Another canal, this time the Grand canal 3km north from the town of Monasterevin.
MacCartney’s Lock and bridge over the Grand Canal in County Kildare. I was here I met a local man, 92 years young. A fresh looking man for his years who spent some time telling me about the lock and the near by mill. A story about a canal barge worker that was killed when a barrel of beer fell while unloading, senting the injured man into the canal where he drowned. I love the people i meet while travelling.
Thatched cottages beside the lock.
Lock gates holding the water back. For anyone not sure what a lock is, its where the water level differ due to a difference in land levels. There are gates at each end so if a Canal boat was going for the higher level to the lower, the gates at the lower end were closed and the upper slowly open which lets the lock fill up. The canal boat comes into the lock and the upper gates close. then the lower gates open and the water level drops and the canal boat is now at the lower level and sails out of the lock.
Turning north and my next stop was to stop in the town of Edenderry in Co.Offaly. Time to catch up over another coffee with a couple of friends before doing my last photo for the day. It was now raining hard, a wet ride a short distance north to the Hill of Down post office in County Meath.
The hill of Down post office and shop and pub. Has you can see it’s still raining. I only got one photo here and has I was packing up another bike pulled in. So has I was to discover his name was Terry from the town of Ardee in County Louth. We sat talking bikes, motorcycle racing and traveling and the rain just got heavier. Saying goodbye and around 30 miles later the rain stopped. The next few hours was in dry and a fuel stop and a warm coffee, well it was getting cool and i like coffee. With both fuelled it was a relaxing ride north.
Thank you for visiting.
George.
Another Sunday morning and I’m off for another day on the road. Going to do numbers 4,5,6 and 22 on the rally Map but not in that order. With a bright morning it was of to County Armagh and the Benburb Heritage Centre. Link here Benburb centre.
Not sure if this centre is still open, it was closed the day I was there. Below is a detail built into a wall of some gear wheels at the start of a cycle trail.
Next up was number 6 on the rally map, Coolbuck Church of Ireland in the county “Fermanagh/Tyrone” region. This is the smallest church in Ireland that is still used on a weekly bases.
Across the border (UK/ ROI) to number 5 on the map on the county Cavan border.
It was the old Bawnboy Workhouse, more info here workhouse
Cloud cover was building up and I decided to try of one more before the rain started. So we jump to number 22 on the map. Which saw me heading to county Leitrim and my next rally point Jimmy’s Hall. Has you will see in the photos there is no hall but a monument to the man. His name was James Gralton the only Irish man that was ever deported from his home country. A flim was made about his life and some history can be found here. about the flim James Gralton history
With the weather catching up with me it was time to turn north and the three hour ride home. Got caught in a few rain showers but overall it was a grand day on the road.
Thank you for visiting, take care.
George.
Hello my friend’s , it’s been a few weeks since my last post. Has I stated a short while back I was unable to walk due to an injury. I had a bit for a relapse so was back out of action. But I’m back on form and out on the roads around Ireland. This years photo rally points are out and I have started to do a few.
Here is a link to the map and site of the Photo rally: Irish Photo rally 2018
There is no order in which these points have to be done, so for my first day out I decided to do number one on the map. This is in County Donegal and was the stone map at Glencolumbkille folk Village. Any Photographs that include my motorcycle are the rally entries.
Glencolumbkille folk Village, and the beach beside it.
My second stop on my trip took me up and across Donegal and into Northern Ireland. I crossed the Sperrin mountains and dropped over to the Glenshane Pass where my next photo point was. Ireland highest Pub/bar. The Ponderosa Bar.
Even with the sun shining this is not a warm day with temperatures getting to 8 degrees centigrade/ 46 Fahrenheit. So a coffee was in order before my final point for the day. This was a short ride to the town of Portglenone in County Antrim where the Piper and dancer was waiting.
This was a hard one to get a good shot, with the tree and cars in the background. With the temperatures dropping and rain moving in it was time for the final leg home. My day covered around 260+ mile over some beautiful landscape and with a hot shower plus a bite to eat I had my first three photos for the photo rally.
Thank you for visiting
take care.
George
So on leaving Tongue I continued west across the north coast with the rain closing in fast. not much chance of any photos this morning. Had the roads to myself except for the sheep. Following the road around through Hope and around the shore of Loch Eriboll a small window in the rain. With the sun showing it’s face I got a couple of shots.
The dry spell didn’t last long and it was back to the liquid sunshine. The road around the loch brings me to Durness. Its from this point I turn more to the south west and leave the north coast behind, hid from view in the low cloud and rain. Following the roads through the Highlands was pure joy even in the wet. pulling into a small parking spot overlooking a valley with a fast flowing river. I sat and watched the river slow has it widen in the valley floor. With the rain and wind I was looking at what helped shape the landscape around me. Sitting there the weather felt just right. It was part of this landscape. I realised I was looking at the real highlands and they are beautiful.
Continuing on south to Unapool I turned of onto a small single track road that follows the coast around to Lochinver. It was along this stretch the weather showed signs of improvement. Getting into Lochinver it had dried up and a much needed coffee was enjoyed. The bike topped up with fuel, time for a few more miles. Again sticking to the single track roads around the coast and dry roads for a change, the camera came out from hiding. Here’s a few more shots not in any order from this leg.
Then it was down into Ullapool and a B&B. Bags unloaded and it was into town for a meal. It was when I had parked up and about to get off the bike a voice to my left asked it I was part of the BMW club that was meeting there. I replied I wasn’t . The voice belong to a female from the Shetland Islands. Sorry I can’t remember your name for it was a German name. We chatted for a while and then she left to find the BMW club riders and has normal we exchanged email address in case her and hubby are every in Ireland or me in the Shetlands. A hot shower and it’s where I leave you on this leg of the trip for a comfy bed and a night sleep. Catch you on the next leg.
Thank you for visiting and have a lovely weekend.
ATB George
With the rain has my travelling company I continued north , With a stop for coffee in Aberdeen and a little sunshine starting to show I was on my way. It was just after Newburgh that I pull into a road side parking to get a photo while the sun was shining. Looking around I spotted and world war two pillar box.
With grass and shrub trees growing around it it was hard to get a good photograph of it. Would have had a look inside only it was full of rubbish. Sitting on the River Ythan it had a good view of anything moving on the river.
Has you can see for this photo the sky way just hanging on to the next shower of rain and I didn’t have to wait long. I follow the coast through small town and villages. They are all worth a photo but when on a motorcycle with all the wet gear on plus your camera in a tank bag inside its own waterproof bag. It’s not just a quick stop and grab a shot. So my next stop was the city of Elgin where I grabbed a soon food for to cook for my evening meal. with the tent up and the sound of waves breaking I started cooking has the rain drummed on the tent. There’s something very relaxing about the sound of rain on a tent. Yea I know weird guy. Well it relax’s me. Yes next morning the rain is still drumming only this time it’s got bigger drum sticks. Now packing up camp is no fun in the wet. but I’m getting to be an expert.
One of my stop overs.
It’s of to Inverness and over the new Firth bridge. Road works and heavy traffic make for slow progress. The next bridge was over the Cromarty Firth and more roadworks to make me stop and admire the view.
These were taken after I crossed the bridge. Seals basking in the foreground and traffic hold ups in the background.
And looking the other way oil or gas platforms being worked at.
And at this point I will thank you for visiting and part 3 will follow soon.
A beautiful morning greeted me on awaking, sun lighting up the bedroom and birds singing. Shower and dressed I was ready for the road. Open vents in my jacket and sort light weight gloves, fire up the bike and I’m off. Four mile up the road and I’m riding in thick fog, forty miles later and I’m still in it. My first point today is on the north coast of Ireland, its number 2 on the rally map . Portstewart harbour and the Jimmy Kennedy memorial. The Fishing boat.
Has you can see it was a gray day here, in fact its rain lightly. Jimmy kennedy was a song writer born in Northern Ireland, wrote songs sung by Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and other great singers. Jimmy Kennedy There’s an art gallery and cafe across the road so a cup of coffee and its time to go. Head across the north coast towards the east coast and follow it south. A short ride over to Portrush take me along part of the North West 200 road race. The track is along public roads which they close while the motorcycle races are taking place. Speeds in access of 200 mph / 321kph are hit on parts of the circuit. Heres a link to a You Tube clip of the racing. NW 200 .
Leaving Portrush for the coast road running down the east side of the country the rain is falling but the sky is clear ahead. The first town I come to is Bushmills. For any whisky drinkers out there this is where the famous Bushmills whisky is distilled. Bushmills . Okay for those that opened the link, I thought you might enjoy the it. Turning left in the centre of town and continue along the coastal route. Today I give the town of Dunseverick a miss and turn off for Ballintoy harbour. Down pass the small white church and follow the narrow winding road down to the harbour.
Just before you turn down into harbour you pass ‘Bendhu’, this house was built by a artist from Cornwall in the south of England. Another link Bendhu . Please visit this link to see and learn about this piece of art.
A coffee and a chat with a couple from Hungary touring on a motorcycle and its time to continue south. Has you climb out of Ballintoy village you pass the Carrick-na-reed rope bridge.
The next town on route it Ballycastle. Every year they have Irelands oldest fair here in August, The Auld Lammas Fair is held over two days. Six miles off the coast is the island of Rathlin. A beautiful island where you can walk on roads and never see any traffic. There are three lighthouses on the island with one being a bird sanctuary where sea bird come to breed every year. Getting across is on a small ferry, foot passage only.
Out of town and I go down a small road that splits the golf course in two, and pull over to look across at Rathlin and the Scottish hills. Rarhlin was just showing through the sea mist and Scotland could not be seen.
This is Ballycastle beach looking back towards the town. Has the photo shows it was still cloudy but warm and dry. The hills in the background is north and the road I traveled down follows them. South and I take the Tor head road that hugs the rugged coast with fantastic views across the Irish sea into Scotland. will there would be if this sea mist clears. Next stop is Murlough, a viewing point with great sea views.
This shot see’s the mist clearing and the sun has dropped in to say hello. That is one of Rathlin Islands lighthouse’s in the mid ground and Scotland in the background. Scotland is only 13 mile across from Ireland at this point. From here its follow the road around around to Cushendun where there is a grand little tea room beside the harbour. No luck this time for it is full so needing fuel I head on to Cushendall. While stopped for fuel my sister and hubby stopped. Never know who you meet…. great to see them. My next point is inland a few miles from Ballygally, another small seaside town. This time its up into the hills and another view point and my rally point. A plaque To Judge Richard Campbell (1870-1935) link It was non stop down the coast road to Larne. If you ride a motorcycle this ranks has one of the great motorcyclist road in the world. Sandwiched between rock face and just a stone wall with the sea lapping on the other side it makes some riders nervous and others love the thrill of riding this fast. From Larne I follow the coast around through Carrickfergus. There is a Norman castle here worth a visit if you happen to be passing this way. Castle.
From Carrick has we call it here in the north it was onto Belfast and Stop for a coffee. From Belfast it over to Comber on the shore of Strangford lough and follow the lough shore around to Mahee Island. These small isles are connected with man made causeways. And this time it Mahee/Hendrum castle is the rally photo. The temperature has climbed and now when I stop the jacket has to come off.
With the sky clear and the sun high its not great for photography. But its the last for this trip, I strap the jacket to the bike and its tee shirt and sunshine for the trip back home.
A few hundred metre’s from here is Nendrum Monastic site, with some great views and the remains of an old Monastery dating back to the 5th century. But that will be another trip and post.
Thank you all for visiting.
Coyles cottage, number six on the map. In my last post on the rally I said I done one more rally point on the way home. Well this is it. Coyles cottages, the last remaining fishermans cottage on the shores of Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland.
Got here late in the evening has the sun was starting to drop but the flies were multiplying. So it was a quick photo stop before heading the last 70 miles home.
Here’s a link to a little history of the cottage: Coyle’s Cottage
Hope to do another 3 rally points numbers 2,3 and four tomorrow. Enjoy whats left of the weekend, have fun.
Thank you for visiting,
George
George McNeill Photography 
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