EHOD

This weekend is European Heritage Open Days. We went to six properties today. We started with a walk along the north side of Belfast Lough--opposite Holywood/Cultra/Helen’s Bay. There was a marathon and a lot of dog walkers on the beach, but not in this shot, just David’s back.

Then we went to Abbeydene House, a B&B which is run by a man who is very much into Elvis, American jazz, juke boxes, and videos. He’s a bit eccentric, but the house has an interesting history. Internet photo:

Then to another house that was nothing but conference rooms, a bit of a mess. Then on to an old mill which has been converted into borough council offices, a museum, and a theatre. The view from the cafe:

And from the courtyard:

The museum did a very good job of explaining how flax was turned into linen, thread, and yarn, by the blood sweat and tears of countless women, girls, and men. There’s videos of them working at the giant machines--barefoot. They worked from 8am-6pm and I think had one day off.
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