Image taken after crossing bridge. Walking across this bridge is very interesting. Even with the constant changes done to the rope bridge, it is still very wobbly, and believe me, you had better not look down. It physically sway back and forth.
Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge is a famous rope bridge near Ballintoy in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The bridge links the mainland to the tiny island of Carrickarede meaning "rock of the casting"). It spans 20 metres (66 ft) and is 30 metres (98 ft) above the rocks below. The bridge is mainly a tourist attraction and is owned and maintained by the National Trust. In 2009 it had 247,000 visitors. The bridge is open all year round (subject to weather) and people may cross it for a fee.
It is thought salmon fishermen have been building bridges to the island for over 350 years. It has taken many forms over the years. In the 1970s it had only one handrail and large gaps between the slats. A new bridge, tested up to ten tons, was built with the help of local climbers and abseilers in 2000. Another was built in 2004 and offered visitors and fishermen alike a much safer passage to the island. The current wire rope and Douglas fir bridge was made by Heyn Construction in Belfast and raised early in 2008. Although no one has fallen off the bridge, there have been many instances where visitors, unable to face the walk back across the bridge, have had to be taken off the island by boat.
Tags: Ireland 2013 2
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This beautiful avenue of beech trees was planted by the Stuart family in the eighteenth century. It was intended as a compelling landscape feature to impress visitors as they approached the entrance to their home, Gracehill House. Two centuries later, the trees remain a magnificent sight and have become known as the Dark Hedges.
The Dark Hedges is one of the most photographed natural phenomena in Northern Ireland and a popular attraction for tourists from across the world. It has been painted by hundreds of visiting artists and is a favourite location for wedding photographs.
Tags: IrelandJune2013
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Poulnabrone is probably one of the most photographed ancient monuments in Ireland. It rises prominently above the limestone pavement of clints (blocks) and grykes (crevices) resulting from eons of water erosion through the limestone.
It is located in County Clare just outside of the town Coroffin - Population 689 in 2011 .
The burial chamber was 25 cm deep. The dolmen, which is also called a portal tomb, is made up of a large single capstone that rests on two portal stones, two more orthostats, and an end stone. The portal stones are each 1.8 m tall. The entrance of the dolmen faces to the North. A sill stone crosses the front of the entrance, and might have extended all the way up to the cap stone, thus sealing the tomb. The capstone is 12 ft by 7 ft and angles from the portals down to the rear. The chamber was 8 ft by 4 ft in size. The dolmen was always a prominent feature above the limestone bedrock. A portico was formed in front of the tomb by three upright limestone stones. The portico was then backfilled with loose dirt and gravel. The tomb lies in the center of the cairn. The cairn is in the shape of an oval. The cairn is made up of large limestone slabs extending about 3m from the tomb and laid against the side of the chamber. The cairn has been stripped down from its original depth, but it has been theorized that it was only 55 cm deep at the time Poulnabrone was built. The cairn, even though it was not very tall, helped prop up the side stones.
The remains of at least 30 people have been found in the tomb.
Tags: IrelandJune2013 SuperShot
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What would Ireland be if it did not have sheep? There are three sheep for each person in Ireland. The colors on the backs of the sheep and the type of the markings indicate ownership.
Featured on the blog for The Sunshine Group 1/1/14.
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The Giant's Causeway (known as Clochán an Aifir or Clochán na bhFomhórach in Irish is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the northeast coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (4.8 km) northeast of the town of Bushmills. The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. Most of the columns are hexagonal, although there are also some with four, five, seven or eight sides. The tallest are about 12 metres (39 ft) high, and the solidified lava in the cliffs is 28 metres thick in places. The Giant's Causeway is today owned and managed by the National Trust and it is the most popular tourist attraction in Northern Ireland.
Some 50 to 60 million years ago during the Paleogene period, Antrim was subject to intense volcanic activity, when highly fluid molten basalt intruded through chalk beds to form an extensive lava plateau.
The formation of Giant’s Causeway is drenched in Irish folklore. According to one of the most well-known legends, Giant’s Causeway was formed by Finn MacCool, an Irish giant. One day Finn MacCool was enraged by the ranting of the Scottish giant named Finn Gall from across the Channel. So, Finn MacCool tore large pieces of rock from the cliff and pushed them into the ocean floor making a land bridge across the Channel. However, when he was finished, he was too exhausted to fight Finn Gall. He built a large crib, disguised himself like a child, crawled in and fell asleep. Seeing the completed causeway, Finn Gall crossed the Channel to fight. When he found MacCool’s house, he walked in and saw the crib. Looking into the crib, Finn Gall saw a massive “child.” Thinking that this was Finn MacCool’s child, he quickly reasoned that MacCool must be massive and fully capable of handily whipping him. So, Finn Gall turned and retreated to Scotland, breaking up the causeway behind him as he went. The sheer cliffs and honeycomb-shaped columns are not the result of feuding giants; they are the result of two major forces—volcanic activity and water.
Tags: IrelandJune2013
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