Old fishing boats were upended and cut in half (in cross-section), a wall and door built across the cut-off section, then covered with roll roofing. I like the similarity of uplifts far and near in this 3-shot panorama.
***
News flash: it’s a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon and I’m sitting at the window of a small hotel in Harrogate, looking out the window into a pretty little garden, working on my MacBook.. There are black wrought iron fire escape stairs coming down the building into the garden. About a half hour ago a guy came walking up the fire escape to the top level and in a few minutes came down with a Haveahart type animal trap and inside it was scurrying a little squirrel. I started talking to him through the window since I have three of these type traps and use them not infrequently for the various critters that roam our Northern California homestead. I told him about the country song, “Why would anybody eat beef when they can have squirrel?” Being civilized, he was going to take the squirrel and release him out in the countryside. (After which he’ll navigate his way through hill and dale right back here.)
After two days in Edinburgh, we picked up a rental car and headed for the East Coast of Scotland and England—destination Lindisfarne. Lindesfarne is a tidal island off the north-east coast of England also known as Holy Island, and I wanted to see the upside-down boats used as storage sheds, as well as the Lindisfarne Castle. The village is known not only for the Lindisfarne Gospels, but for being the first site of a Viking raid in England in 793 A.D..
You have to drive across a narrow paved road through tidelands, only during low tide. Many a tourist who has ignored the tides has ended up with a car buried halfway in saltwater, and some have been rescued by helicopters. Lindisfarne is now a village of about 200 people, and we wandered around early in the morning in a light drizzle.
Even with all the tourists and tourist-trappings, there’s a magical feel to the place. The castle, long ago abandoned as a strategic military outpost, was purchased in the early 1900s by Sir Edward Hudson, the owner of Country Life magazine. Hudson’s buddy, noted Arts and Crafts designer Edwin Lutyens, did the interiors and designed the furniture. It’s been lovingly restored, and the rooms feel cozy and quite unlike dank, cold castles. I could curl up for a nap here on a rainy, cold day!
The remains of the priory, much of it in red stone quarried 10 miles away, are magnificent.
To tell you the truth, I’m having a bit of a hard time blogging on this trip, because we’re seeing so much, learning so much, and I’m shooting so many blasted pictures (over 1000 so far). I’ll keep trying to post, when time allows, not necessarily in chronological order.
Edinburgh in a way reminds me of Chicago. It’s populated with real people, it’s not Disneyland. There are tourists but they’re not calling all the shots as they are in many of the exquisite places of the world. The city is tough and ancient and deep. There’s a distinctive culture. The real thing.
Godfrey Stephens has roamed all over the globe, armed only with a sketchbook and carving tools. He was in Europe in the beatnik years. When he heard I was in Ireland a few days ago, he e-mailed me a typically rambling message that contained the following (edited):
“Yeah Ireland! Man, I walked across to Galway from Cork, drank Guinness so thick a spoon would take 5 min to fall against the side.…was in a bar in Galway , and drew a Portrait of a famous Poet named Brendan Behan, who gave me all the money he had in his pockets for it then invited us to Ballsbridge to visit, what a guy what a drinker…”
-From Edinburgh on a sunny afternoon
Edinburgh: we wandered around for several hours this afternoon, parka-clad, in the afternoon drizzle, went to the hilltop castle, walked through the old town, finally found a good-vibes pub called Whisky. I had a hot toddy (damp and rainy, you know), then meal of lamb, new potatoes, local vegetables. Plus a pint of Caledonian 80 draft Scottish beer. Edinburgh is a very fine town.
Another view of the Gallarus Oratory in Ireland (see below).
Yesterday we took a train across Ireland, from Gallway to Dublin. Then caught an early morning flight across the Irish Sea to Edinburgh, and here we are. We lucked out, as pretty much throughout this trip, by finding a nice B&B. It’s an old Victorian building with a big park out in front, and right now I’m looking out the window into a quiet cul-de-sac. We’re going to spend two or three days here and then head south in a rental car.
I haven’t really had time to write about this trip yet. The last two weeks have seemed like half a lifetime of adventure. Coming back to Ireland for the first time in 35 years, I found the country much changed in standard of life, but still the same in spirit and beauty. 35 years ago, in a pub, I saw a twinkling light in an old Irishman’s eyes. I realized that leprechauns are not really flesh and blood humans, but mischievous spirits that reside in many of the Irish.
I’ll try writing about the trip sometime in the next few weeks.
Slabs of stone about 3 x 5′ as roofing. Near Doolin, County Clare, west coast of Ireland
