Pretty thatch cottages from County Donegal, as you may have noticed I love cottages and have to photograph them. These ones are at Malin Head, County Donegal.

I haven't visited very much of Spain, having concentrated my holidays in France, Italy and along the Adriatic coast over the past few weeks. Two years ago I visited Barcelona and loved it. I hadn't gone abroad this year and was in need of some heat and sunshine so booked a last minute trip to the Costa del Sol. I was pleasantly surprised with this part of Spain. Transport was so easy and inexpensive. We spent a day exploring the beautiful city of Malaga and Muelle Uno with splendid views of the port. The sun shone every day and the heat did me the world of good. I love the heat so this holiday suited me with temperatures ranging from 23-26 degrees compared to 11 degrees here at home in Ireland. We also visited Gibraltar for a day and spent the rest of the time relaxing and exploring the coastline between Benalmadena to Torremolinos. In total we spent 5 nights away and it was just perfect!

As you may have noticed from my blog and Instagram I love built heritage and architecture. On my travels in August I visited Bantry House and Gardens and was not disappointed-it is spectacular! The owners live in the house and you can visit some of the rooms in another part of the house. The setting is stunning overlooking Bantry Bay on the Wild Atlantic Way. The photographs below are all of the back of the house with the back gardens... just imagine if all our back gardens looked this good. There are 100 steps leading up the back garden and the views are incredible down over the house to Bantry Bay beyond. If you are in West Cork you will have to visit as it well worth it and the entrance fee is going towards the continued renovations and restoration of the house and gardens.

More photographs from the Ulster American Folk Park. This time its the Irish streetscape with traditional shopfronts. Not much has changed over the years and lots of towns look like this today, however the interiors have modernised a lot over the years . Love the old bottles and jars in these shops. To see more photographs see Traditional Irish Cottages at Ulster American Folk Park

This weekend we visited the Ulster American Folk Park near Omagh in County Tyrone. I hadn't visited since I was a child and had vague memories of it. It is a really enjoyable day out for all ages. The weather stayed dry for us and it wasn't too busy-just the way I like it! You can explore the various homesteads easier when it isn't crowded. It follows the journey of Irish emigrants from their homes in Ireland, across the Atlantic to their new lives in America. It is fascinating to learn about all those brave people who left our shores to begin a new life in America. In total there are over 40 buildings to explore including traditional Irish thatched cottages to large American log cabins. Along the way you can explore the buildings, meet the costumed characters who tell interesting stories and demonstrate crafts. We particularly enjoyed the lady spinning yarn in the Weaver's Cottage. Below are some images of the Irish thatch cottages. They range from a weaver's cottage, to a small farm cottage, vestry and large homestead. I will post more photographs of the traditional american homesteads in another post. If you haven't visited the Park, you must visit over the Summer months... We had a really enjoyable day... 

 

Hope everyone had a nice week. In my last post I shared some photographs of my walk at the Farnham Estate in Cavan. Here are a few photographs of the interiors of the hotel which includes the original estate house. It has beautiful woodland walks which we really enjoyed. Following our walk we had tea and scones. I have also heard great reviews of their spa and infinity swimming pool. If you would like to find out more visit Farnham Estate Golf & Spa Resort website.