NORTHERN IRELAND

 This was the lovely view from our little house in Northern Ireland  in the little village of Ballintoy on the Causeway Coast.

That's it just right of the fence - a three bedroomed cottage. Very comfortable for our two week stay.

That's the village of Ballintoy , the bigger white buildings further right - two good pubs, no shops and a small cluster of houses.

When we arrived the field behind our house had just been ploughed and planted (with potatoes I think) but it was all  green with new growth by the time we left.

It was so lovely for these two city dwellers to look out towards the sea every day and soak in this lovely vista.

Below that church was the little Ballintoy harbour reached by a pleasant walk along the clifftops or alternatively through the village and down the lane. 

This was the view looking back the other way as you walked along the clifftop path.

The road past the church zigzagged down to the harbour past a couple of cottages with glorious views back towards Mull (I think ?) and a few other islands layered behind one another .

There were always a few tourists about but not too many at this time of year

The coast line about here is dotted with these little harbours though they are not used much these days I think. The sea is littered with rocks and safe passage would not be easy.

Our walk home back towards the village took us past a lovely tea shop called the Red Door just down a little farm lane where this delightful purple flower grew out of the rock wall.

The Red Door is the only tea shop for miles and hidden in a quite obscure position. ( a sign on the main road points it out - a RED door is a very good idea in the circumstances !)

Needless to say we became regular visitors and the friendly owner- operators soon became new friends and gave us all sorts of good tips on places to go as well as some interesting insights into how the "Troubles" had impacted their lives.

Cheers.