county down

i set off for downpatrick this morning armed with some vague instructions and the forecast of a lovely day. the good thing about driving in ireland is that really you just need to know the town you're heading to and the ones inbetween - then follow any sign pointing in that direction. one of the fun parts of driving in northern ireland is that they use mph and my car only has kph - so i have no idea what i'm supposed to be driving. ah well. :) i had pulled over early on to take some photographs and as i was about to head on, a lady honked at me. i thought i'd done something wrong but she was wanting my help to get to kilkeel. i checked my map and gave her directions. and she was irish. :)

i think i'm going to have to give up the computer soon, so i'll be brief...i got to see the saint patrick visitor centre and the downpatrick cathedral & cemetery where saint patrick is buried. the centre was surprisingly well done. after that i visited the ruins of inch abbey and then tried to find a dolmen west of ballynahinch, but the road i needed was closed and i couldn't figure out another way, so i headed back east to newcastle. on my way i stopped a few times for sheep. there are loads of lambs and they're so adorable. if it was easier to stop along the road more, i would. newcastle is along the coast, so i walked the promenade for a bit and then treated myself to some ice cream -- blackcurrant & cream. seriously?? so good.

this evening i walked through the park again. there are some marvelous trees. i didn't take my camera w/ me b/c sometimes i like to be free. just me walking. but now i might have to wake up early and go for a short walk again so i can take pictures of some of the trees i saw. then, i sat on a hill overlooking the loch. and watching the mountains and water in the gloaming. *sigh*

so now tomorrow i'll be heading up to cushendall and after that rathlin island.