Northern & Northwest Ireland: Colours of the Coast
Ireland green? Who said so? After a week of walks along the coasts and cliffs of northwest Ireland, our view of the country has become remarkably colourful.
[BRITAIN.IRELANDNORTH 21.851] ‘Fin’s bridge.’ The basaltic rock columns of Giant’s Causeway are battered by the Atlantic Ocean. According to myth the Causeway was built as a bridge to Scotland by the giant Finn, who wanted to test his strength against his Scottish rival Fingal. Photo Mick Palarczyk.
[BRITAIN.IRELANDNORTH 21.869] ‘Beech cathedral.’ At Stranocum, east of Coleraine, the mysticism of Ireland is embodied by this splendid tunnel of beech branches which arch up like the vaults of a gothic cathedral. Legend tells that a supernatural ‘Grey Lady’ haunts the thin ribbon of road that winds beneath the ancient trees. She silently glides along the roadside and vanishes as she passes the last beech tree. Some say the specter is the ghost of a maid from the nearby house who died in mysterious circumstances centuries ago. Others believe that she is a lost spirit from an abandoned graveyard that is thought to lie hidden in the fields nearby. On Halloween night, the forgotten graves are said to open and the Grey Lady is joined on her walk by the tormented souls of those who were buried beside her. Photo Mick Palarczyk.
[BRITAIN.IRELANDNORTH 21.865] ‘Beech cathedral.’ At Stranocum, east of Coleraine, the mysticism of Ireland is embodied by this splendid tunnel of beech branches which arch up like the vaults of a gothic cathedral. Legend tells that a supernatural ‘Grey Lady’ haunts the thin ribbon of road that winds beneath the ancient trees. She silently glides along the roadside and vanishes as she passes the last beech tree. Some say the specter is the ghost of a maid from the nearby house who died in mysterious circumstances centuries ago. Others believe that she is a lost spirit from an abandoned graveyard that is thought to lie hidden in the fields nearby. On Halloween night, the forgotten graves are said to open and the Grey Lady is joined on her walk by the tormented souls of those who were buried beside her. Photo Mick Palarczyk.