Dutchie on walkabout

Slieve Gullion First hill of the year in NI was a rather easy...

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 23:07:00 +0100

Slieve Gullion

First hill of the year in NI was a rather easy hike up up with some great views, you could see Sugar Loaf to the south of Dublin all the way up to the Mournes with the sea in between. There was a large bronze age cairn at the top. Afterwards we stumbled upon a shrine to St Bridget whic apparently is the female version of St Patrick to the Irish. Then went on to a beach in Carlingford overlooking the Mourne mountains

Arizona - Grand Canyon back to Phoenix Just some impressions...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 16:57:06 +0000

Arizona - Grand Canyon back to Phoenix

Just some impressions from the road back. Amazing how many types of desert there are in one state. Stopped at the Navajo reservation which was a bit depressing, basically the scenery of the below two pics with a trailer here and there.

Arizona - Grand Canyon The helicopter ride was one of the...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 16:52:48 +0000

Arizona - Grand Canyon

The helicopter ride was one of the coolest things I ever did. Seeing the canyon from the ground is impressive but from the helicopter it became awesome It felt like flying over Mars it felt so alien.

Arizona - Road from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon The day after we...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 16:43:52 +0000

Arizona - Road from Phoenix to the Grand Canyon

The day after we booked a tour to the Grand Canyon wit a helicopter ride through it. Just some picks of the road in.

Arizona - Appache trail Was in Phoenix for a conference last...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 16:37:37 +0000

Arizona - Appache trail

Was in Phoenix for a conference last week and went a day early and came home a day late. First day drove the appache trail. Started of in Goldfield a little western re-enactment village and then through the Superstition Mountains to Roosevelt dam ending at Tonto memorial.

Westport to Achill island part 1 And the last few pics taken in...

Sun, 23 Sep 2012 13:21:54 +0100

Westport to Achill island part 1

And the last few pics taken in a little bay near Keel. Great views of the cliffs, a beautiful sandy beach and the mountains behind you.

Westport to Achill island part 2 Croagh Patrick dominates the...

Sun, 23 Sep 2012 13:08:46 +0100

Croagh Patrick

Clare Island

Achill Island

Westport to Achill island part 2

Croagh Patrick dominates the bay between Westport and Newport. It is were St Patrick did a stint being a hermit. There is still a little building on the top, don’t know whether that is the original one though. Definately have to climb that one day.

The bay and Achill island are a beautiful mixture between impressive cliffs and mountains and lush little islands, the best of both worlds.

Westport to Achill island part 1 Friday we went west again and...

Sun, 23 Sep 2012 11:45:00 +0100

Westport to Achill island part 1

Friday we went west again and picked up were we left of in Westport some time ago. There was so much to see that I feel it deserves multiple posts. The first is about the houses and buildings we saw. The tower was owned by the pirate queen Grace and is just north of Newport

Cushendall to Whitehead - Northern Ireland Another day and...

Thu, 20 Sep 2012 19:21:00 +0100

Ardclinis church

Ardclinis fairy tree

Ballygally

Carnlough

Portaferry

Portmuck

Portmuck

Portmuck

Portmuck

Cushendall to Whitehead - Northern Ireland

Another day and another day trip, we picked up were we left off last tine in NI and drove south. A very beautiful drive along the coast with some beautiful cliffs and nice little harbours. We closed the day of in Portaferry.

Portstewart to Cushendal - Northern Ireland Roadtrip to Northern...

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 20:02:37 +0100

Dunluce castle

Giant's causeway....meh

The iideal bay

The ideal bay

Portstewart to Cushendal - Northern Ireland

Roadtrip to Northern Ireland starting in Portstewart. There was an airshow in Portrush so we could see the planes doing loopings in formation, unfortunately this also meant it was quite busy in the area. Then onto Dunluce castle which is well worth a visit, it stands on the edge of a cliff and apparently the kitchen dropped down into the sea when it was still in use.

The Giant’s causeway was a bit disappointing as it was very busy. The rope bridge island we skipped as well for the same reason. We visited some lovely little harbours afterward and ended the day at a beautiful valley at the bottom of a cliff.

Dungarvan to Roche Point Another day trip to the south of...

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 20:27:00 +0100

Roche point light house

Ardmore

Ballycotton island

Brook

Cliffs near Dungarvan

Roche point

Youghal

Youghal

Shed at Curraghmore upper

Dungarvan to Roche Point

Another day trip to the south of Ireland, we went from Dungarvan where we had left of to Roche Point which is close to Cork. It was a beautiful day and it was very quiet everywhere now that the holidays are over. Some great beaches, ports and towns. Ireland at it’s best (so far)

Nameless peaks in between Tonelagee and Mullaghcleevaun I went...

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 21:43:00 +0100

The two peaks with the smaller one in front

The summit

Also the summit

View of Tonelagee

Sheep skull on the slopes

River view

Brook

There are two deer in here somewhere

Just some heather

View of Lough Dan

Nameless peaks in between Tonelagee and Mullaghcleevaun

I went hiking again today in the middle of the Wicklows. I did two nameless hills in between Tonelagee and Mullaghcleevaun. The hike was about 7 km’s climbing from 400 mtrs to 780 mtrs high. Great weather and a nice hike.

Various in Dublin Today was buy my kayaking stuff day. We...

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 22:01:15 +0100

Various in Dublin

Today was buy my kayaking stuff day. We started of at the Grand Canal Dock to buy a wet suit. We then decided to go to the pier that shields the harbor at the Liffey river. It is very long with great views from Howth down to Dalkey and some beautiful lighthouses. (I am always a sucker for those) Then we had a nice Thai lunch outside in Dun Laoghaire. We picked up the rest of the gear including a sit on top kayak. Then quickly to Loughshinny for a quick paddle before darkness. The best first trip ever……..I found a group of about twenty seals lounging on the rocks with the low water.

Wexford to Hook Head Another road trip today. Beautiful weather...

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 23:22:07 +0100

Kilmore Quay

Arthurstown

Ballynack

boat corpse

Carne

Lady Island

Templar church

Wellingtonbridge

Wexford to Hook Head

Another road trip today. Beautiful weather throughout which is a nice change after all the rain this summer. We started out the day by an unexpected pilgrimage, we spotted an old building and decided to have a look at it. It turned out to be an ancient and still going place of pilgrimage.

Then we followed the coast down to Hook Head and up the estuary to Waterford while stopping at as many beaches and harbors as usual. This area is on the south of Ireland and felt a lot greener and lusher, also the villages and buildings were more traditional Irish. (loads of thatch cottages)

Kayaking in Howth I have been thinking about buying a kayak and...

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 08:56:00 +0100

Kayaking in Howth

I have been thinking about buying a kayak and to test whether I would like it I went on a 2,5 hrs beginners course in Howth Harbor last night. After some basics and trying things out we went across to Ireland’s Eye which is an island in the bay there. We landed there and then headed back passing a group of seals (one of them came up right in front of my kayak) On return to the harbor we did some rescue exercises in the harbor. Best 55 euro’s ever spent with Shearwater kayaking. Going again next week for a follow up course.

(for obvious reasons I didn’t have my camera so I ‘borrowed’ the pics from other sites)

Slieve Foye next to Carlingford Finally went hiking again, I...

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 21:16:00 +0100

Carlingford from Slieve Foye summit

The summit of Slieve Foye

The summit from the inland side

The summit from the Carlingford side

the view on the Mournes mountains

there were horses on the lower slopes

and sheep everywhere

Slieve Foye next to Carlingford

Finally went hiking again, I thought I would start easy and picked Slieve Foye which is about 540 mts high on the Northern Ireland border next to the lovely old village of Carlingford. It wasn’t as easy as I thought with quite a few steep areas and very rocky compared to the Wicklows. I got back down again completely nackered after 5,5 hrs. Very beautiful though and one of my favorites with great views: the Mournes mountains across the Lough in Northern Ireland, Carlingford and the Lough, and views all the way down to Dublin.

Northern Ireland - Ardglass to Bangor Yesterday we went to...

Sun, 22 Jul 2012 16:37:00 +0100

Strangford

Ardglass

Portaferry

Portaferry

Nendrum monastery - Mahee Island

Northern Ireland - Ardglass to Bangor

Yesterday we went to Northern Ireland again picking up where we left off after our last trip in county Down. We started in the harbour of Ardglass and then tracked the coast up to Bangor and drove down again along the Strangford Lough.

Great trip though the northern part of the coast gets progressively less interesting as you near Bangor. We took the ferry between Strangford and Portaferry where we found bags full of seaglass and pottery shards.

On the way back we drove down the Lough where we went to the ruins of a 6th century monastery on the top of a hill on an island.

Balbriggan We took advantage of the first sunny day in weeks to...

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 19:05:31 +0100

Balbriggan

We took advantage of the first sunny day in weeks to go up the coast a bit. We started of in Balbriggan which has a nice little harbor but not much else. We had a beer overlooking the harbor and the big bridge and then went to dinner in Skerries where there was a motorcycle meet.

Brought the flu back from Berlin. J and I took the only...

Sun, 24 Jun 2012 21:37:00 +0100

Brought the flu back from Berlin. J and I took the only beautiful weather in the last weeks as an opportunity to clear my head on the beach.

Pieces of the Berlin wall on the Potzdamer Platz

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 18:26:22 +0100

Pieces of the Berlin wall on the Potzdamer Platz