Hello there Beastie friends! And welcome to February… Spring is now juuuust around the corner, right? And with days lengthening and daffodils and snowdrops starting to poke their way through the earth, is it possible that the lockdown is thawing out a bit too?
Paddy certainly thinks so.
“Camera, car keys, a box of travel sweeties – I think the humans are going somewhere!”
But Plunkett isn’t so sure. He suggests they check the news before they start making travel plans.
Ah. Oh dear.
“Sorry, Paddy. Lockdown continues… It looks like we’re staying home for the time being.”
But Paddy, as we know, is an optimistic creature. And lockdown or no lockdown, he’s still happy to tuck into the humans’ travel sweets. Except…
“Gaaaah! Plunkett! WHAT ARE THESE? They don’t look like sweeties!”
Isn’t it lucky that tech-savvy Plunkett is on hand?
“It’s a memory stick, Paddy.”
“Huh?”
“Come on, I’ll show you. It’ll help us put in the time until lunch.”
He selects a nice bright green one, to match his lovely mossy complexion, and…
“Pop it in the side of the computer here… We’re on our way! Look at all those photos.”
“So, where would you like to go, Paddy?”
“Oooh… How about those ones there?”
“Carlingford? Good choice!”
He’s right! It looks beautiful there.
Let’s swing in for a closer look.
I don’t know about you, but this is EXACTLY the kind of view I needed to see today! And the boys’ tour isn’t finished yet… Now they’re off to Carlingford town.
“Oh cool, a castle!”
“Yes, Paddy! Carlingford Castle was built by King John of England, and has been here on the shores of the Lough since the 12th century.”
And it’s not the only castle in town, either.
There’s a medieval church too. Plunkett is in raptures over all that lovely stonework.
“I’ll just zoom in here, for a closer look…”
“Do you see any leprechauns, Plunkett?”
“Noooo… Why would I?”
“Carlingford is the leprechaun capital of Ireland, of course!”
It really is, you know. Paddy pulled up this website to prove it! And if you want to capture your very own leprechaun, you can join the annual Leprechaun Hunt. It takes place in the Cooley Mountains, up behind the town.
I can think of worse places to spend a day looking for the “little people”! The Mourne mountains are also nearby.
“And there are some incredible beaches, too.”
“I’d love to go there sometime, Plunkett!”
“Well, with a little technical wizardry…”
“… We can!”
“Cool! Hey, if we travel like this, just imagine the places we could go!”
Good thinking, Paddy. So, is there anywhere you’d like Paddy and Plunkett to virtually visit over the coming months? Be sure to let us know in the comments!
Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of opportunities to walk this off later.
Glengesh Pass is pretty spectacular at any time of the year. The last time we were there it was late summer – look at those rolling green hills! It’s also on the way to Glencolmcille, where a Beastie can dip his paws in the Atlantic if the mood takes him.
Mind you, it’s not all sunshine and sand dunes here. Sometimes it can be a bit on the breezy side…
… And the traffic is terrible.
All this would really give you an appetite. Lunchtime! Conveniently enough, we’re just passing through Ardara… Nancy’s Bar here does a cracking lunch, and a very tasty homemade cider.
Alright, time to head north! And because we’re travelling by blog, we can enjoy two sunsets at two different locations. First, Fanad Head, where there’s a beautiful lighthouse to admire…
… And rocks to scramble over.
Next, we can journey to the northernmost point of the island of Ireland – Malin Head.
Then we can cruise by the wide sandy beach at Five Finger Strand…
… Before catching the last of the daylight on our way home.
Don’t forget to leave a rock monster behind to show we were here!
And once we get home, we can warm up by the fire and swap adventuring stories.
Aaaaah! Toasty.
Looks good, lads… But check out the size of that portion! Where do they put it all?!
“Oh Plunkett, can we have a go?”
“… It really does!”
But once they’d untangled themselves from these coiled ship’s ropes, Paddy demanded more shoreline sightseeing.
In certain places along the north Antrim coast, the sea has created a number of large rock pools… Perfect for a cooling dip away from the currents and waves. There’s this one, above…
“Who’s Peggy, Plunkett?”
And then, to wrap up today’s coastal sightseeing tour, let’s swing by what might be one of the most beautiful beaches anywhere – Whitepark Bay.
On a bright day, the sands on this beach gleam white in the sunshine. But even when it’s a bit overcast, it’s a lovely spot to stroll and look for fossils. As Plunkett contemplates the wilder side of the beach…
“Look how big this beach is, Plunkett! Those people look Beastie-sized from up here!”
This fearsome-looking beast is the Massereene Wolfhound, and he was a handy pooch to have around back in the days when wolves still roamed free on the island of Ireland. In life, the hound saved Lady Marion Clotworthy when she was cornered by a pack of wolves on the shores of Antrim Bay. And having got a taste for heroics, he subsequently alerted the castle’s residents to an advancing party of human attackers, allowing them to mount defences and save themselves and their home.
“Aaaah, lovely. Welcome to Bushmills, Beastie friends!”
That’d be the River Bush, supposedly one of the best salmon fishing rivers in Ireland.
It’s one of over 80 listed buildings in the town, although I reckon the boys’ interests are more gastronomic than architectural. They tell me it does a very good Sunday carvery lunch, and then there’s that very tempting garden.
The 
Fortunately, they didn’t consume too many free samples, and they were able to round off their day with a nice stroll along Castlerock Beach. Just as well, because this is a big beach! You can’t tell as you approach it over the dunes…
… But it’s really huge!
Antrim’s north coast is famous for its beautiful sandy beaches, and like Downhill Beach…
… Humans can bring their cars right down onto the sand.
And that unusual little building on the headland? That’s Mussenden Temple, a private library built by the 4th Earl of Bristol in memory of his cousin. Am I the only one would would LOVE a private library with a view like this?
Night night, lads!
… This time it’s up to Paddy to choose what they get up to.
… They hop aboard the next departing car and make for the coast.
“Aaaaaah! I can smell the sea air already!”
I think this is exactly what Paddy had in mind! This is Mullaghmore Beach, a crescent of perfect sandy shoreline that stretches for 2 miles along the Sligo coastline. Paddy can’t wait to feel the sand under his paws!
But on the beach… Look out, Paddy! HERE BE MONSTERS!
Eeeek, look at the size of these jellyfish! Paddy doesn’t seem to be afraid of them, but maybe we’ll skip the dip in the Atlantic Ocean for today, and seek further adventures inland.
Better go and have a closer look.
“Whose legs are these, Plunkett?”
That’s more like it!
Then there’s juuuuuust time for a little refreshment before they head for home!
Have you had any adventures on your own doorstep recently? Be sure to tell us all about it in the comments!
But her fishy tail…
… And aquatic-themed accessories…
… Made me realise that it’s a veeeery long time since I was last at the seaside. So, as well as a timely reminder that Beasties are found under the sea as well as on land, I thought I’d take a trip to the coast through some of my old photos.
And while he was living it up overseas, 
That said, not all of their seaside visits have gone so smoothly. In 
How about you lot? Are any of you still able to get to the beach, or are you longing to feel sand between your toes again? Let us know in the comments!
“Hey, what’s that weird-looking building in among the rocks?”
Sold! As we know, 
Let’s go inside!
Aha! Nice one, Plunkett… You’ve found the fish pond!
What did he want a pool for? Well, in the dark days before the fridge-freezer, a “fish larder” like this one meant that the family could keep sea fish handy and fresh all year round!
“Smugglers! It has to be smugglers!”
In here, fish are raised from teeny fry to adult size… Then they can move to the main pool.
Wow, they’re friendly! They must love the camera… Or could it be that they know when John the guide is coming around with his bucket of fish food?
Is it the perfect Beastie-sized house? Not quite.
Luckily, the days of segregated sea bathing here are long gone, and Paddy can enjoy a view of the shallow pool without outraging anyone’s delicate sensibilities. He almost looks like he’d like to go for a dip himself!
Look! There’s even a fireplace inside, so getting dried off afterwards wouldn’t be a problem!
Plunkett likes it too, despite his initial reservations.
“Maybe we should stay here for the winter. I reckon they’d like a pair of resident Beasties!”
This boutique distillery is proud of its small size, and the owners are eager to keep as much of their production in-house as possible. That means using locally-grown grain as the base for their gin, whiskey, vodka and poitÃn, distilling and bottling everything in that cool-looking building in the photo above… And even designing their own specialised equipment to help the process along!
Those apple trees are pretty special – they’re descendants of a variety created for the original owners of the land where the distillery stands! They’ve a bit of growing to do yet, but I’m sure the Echlinville folks are already dreaming up fun things to make from those apples.
Hey there, Garcia Beastie! Loyal BeastieBlog readers may remember this fuzzy little guy as one of my very early commissions. The post where I introduce him is still knocking about 
Too late. I suppose it’s for the best that Garcia Beastie left his skis at home today!
Then the sun kept on shining all day… And Easter Monday too! Time to catch some rays.
Of course, you can’t count on the sun to stick around in these parts. So when we went to the beach on Tuesday…
“Hey, where did the good weather go?”
… But we had more fun looking for curious things on the tideline. And where could that mysterious gate lead?
Next, a little break to sit and watch the world (and some of the local bird life) go by. A perfect end to a relaxing holiday!
So, did any of you get away for a spring break? Be sure to tell us all about your adventures in the comments!
