Lots and lots of photos
Anyone who has stuck with this blog and read a lot of drivel will now be rewarded with lots of photos. Rob & Beth were treated to a proper Ulster fry by David (standing) and Stuart. Rob is in front of the shot and Beth to his left.
David and Stuart are endlessly curious about America, so it was great to have fresh people for the inquisition.
Then we went to MountStewart on Strangford Lough.
Then we took the ferry from Portaferry:
to Strangford, which you can see in the background.
We went to Castle Ward:
Which has lovely views of the lough.
R&B toured Castle Ward while I had a late lunch. Beth said the lady of the house was batshit crazy (my term, not hers, not the tour guide's). The house is "schizophrenic" in that it reflects the husband's taste on the west side and the wife's on the east. Wiki sez: "The most interesting aspect of Castle Ward is that of its dual architecture, reflecting the differing tastes of Lord Bangor and his wife, Lady Ann Bligh. While the entrance side of the building is done in a classical Palladian style with columns supporting a triangular pediment, the opposite side is Georgian Gothic with pointed windows, battlements and finials. The differences in style continue throughout the interior of the house with the divide down the centre."
Lady Ann Bligh didn't like Northern Ireland and left her husband with eight children and went to Bath. One of the sons was insane and the son who inherited Castle Ward cleared it out, leaving cattle and sheep to wander its empty halls. Where was reality TV when you needed it? I explained to R&B my well-researched insights into British culture. Whereas Jane Austen made you think women were desperately chasing around to find a man with money, the opposite was the case in Northern Ireland. Lord Bangor and the Marquess of Londonderry (at MountStewart) had wonderful titles but no money. So they married wealthy English women who came to Ulster and either hated it (Lady Ann) or loved it (Lady Edith Londonderry, who created gardens at MountStewart to rival any in the world).
The important thing is R&B had a good day. They wanted to take the sea safari trip on Strangford Lough, to see the seals that are unique to Strangford and other unique marine ecosystems. However, the wind was so high the boats weren't running. Anyone following the Irish Open knows what I'm talking about. Strangford isn't far from Newcastle.
5-31