#county down

[myfairynuffstuff]

Daniel O'Neill (1920 - 1974) - Landscape County Down c.1950's. Oil on board.

[petermorwood]

What's your favourite part of Ireland?

(also, unrelated question: any particular small plants - like cherry tomatoes - that can grow relatively easily in flats in this climate?)

Have a great day!

I'm fond of Co. Wicklow, where @dduane and I have lived in various places for almost 40 years.

For other reasons, I'd vote for Co. Down near Newcastle, where I spent many happy summer holidays when I was a lot younger than I am now.

I still remember the long curve of beach below the dunes, and the mountains in the distance, and the green expanse of Tollymore Forest Park in the shadow of those mountains.

It didn't take much imagination, and I've always had plenty, for the Mournes to become Misty, and Tollymore Forest to become Old, Fangorn or Mirkwood...

...and - many years later - that sweep of beach, or a fantasy version of it, was where the ships slid to shore as my novel "Greylady" began.

Also this, because some special memories have their own special time and place. :->

*****

Unrelated answer - we once grew a fine crop of Habanero chillis on seed-trays in the kitchen window, though that seems to have been a fluke because we haven't managed to repeat the trick since.

[triflingthing]

To be a quiet sheep grazing in the Mourne Mountains (Ireland)

[thedepressedpelican]

"Murlough Beach"

[mothmiso]

Castlewellan Park (2) by matt303uk

[catdotjpeg]

Six months on, the people of Belfast still say, "Free Palestine."

-- Gerry Carroll, 6 Apr 2024

[midwestaesthetics]

Mourne Mountains, County Down, Northern Ireland...

[sonyaheaneyauthor]

Sunset. Portaferry, County Down, Northern Ireland. June 1985.

[theirishaesthete]

Unspoilt

Sitting in a graveyard on the edge of Strangford Lough, his little Roman Catholic church at Ardkeen on the Ards Peninsula, County Down dates from 1777, as legislation against dissenters from the Established Church was beginning to be revoked. It was erected by general subscription overseen by a local priest, Fr Daniel O’Dorman and initially served the entire peninsula but in the 19th century, as…

[scholarofgloom]

[victusinveritas]

An abandoned boreen near the Mourne mountains in County Down. Photo by Mark Doherty

[thedepressedpelican]

"Home"

[hldky]

Resting after a job well done? by National Library of Ireland on The Commons Via Flickr: When you can fill a gap in one fell swoop, why not take the opportunity? Mr. Sampson of Downpatrick, while building a drystone wall, pulled this rock out of the ground and filled a great big gap, saving him a whole lot of digging and lifting!! Well, he probably built the wall up on either side of the rock and used it in situ, but now he can rest after his labours! Photographer: Robert French Collection: Lawrence Photograph Collection Date: Circa 1865 - 1914 NLI Ref: L_CAB_05093 You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie

[mothmiso]

Kilbroney (2) (3) by Mairéad Ni Rodaigh

[westeroswisdom]

The GOT Studio Tour has won the UKInbound Sustainable Tourism Provider of the Year award.

While the sets and items on display are themselves impressive, the Earth-friendly HVAC systems for the location are what earned them the award.

Recognised at the tourism industry group’s recent annual convention, Game of Thrones Studio Tour was hailed as a ‘world-class ultra-low carbon visitor attraction’. Located at the principal film studios for Game of Thrones – Linen Mill Studios in Banbridge, Co Down – the immersive tourist destination invites fans of TV and film to go behind the scenes and discover the artistry that went into making the TV phenomenon. [ ... ] The Studio Tour’s priceless original film sets and assets are protected within the 110,000 sq. ft visitor experience by an HVAC system with close temperature and humidity control, sensible and latent heat recovery, free cooling and a modular zero-carbon heating system with energy storage. The UKInbound judging panel were already impressed by many aspects of the Sustainable Management plan at Game of Thrones Studio Tour and the scope of future aspiration. UKinbound CEO, Joss Croft, said: “A key part of our new sustainability strategy, is to showcase our member businesses who are doing great work to reduce energy usage and protect and regenerate the environment. In the future, we will use the practices and initiatives used by Game of Thrones Studio Tour to inspire our other members to take similar action in their businesses.”

In the near future I hope that ultra-low carbon systems such as this will be the norm rather than the exception.

[scrapblring]

Castlewellan Country Park, UK (by K. Mitch Hodge)