As usual, plenty of pictures....
Jr is getting into the cycling lark in a big way, so what better place to stop on the way up but one of the 7stanes centres in the Ae forest....
....one of eight such centres in the south of Scotland.
Well-equipped, with a shop, repair centre, showers & cafe etc....
....ideal to try out various grades of trail.
....and with a power washer as well....
....the bike hasn’t been this clean since it was new
Onward & upward through the Galloway Forest Park
....past the ruin of Dalquharran castle in South Ayrshire....
....to stock up on local produce for the week. Haggis pizza
Our base for the week – it’s small but so is a Bongo
Day two and off to the Galloway Forest....
....to the Glentrool centre. We’ll pick him up later
Water of Minnoch – there’s been a spot of rain lately
Wild goats in the forest
The dam at Clatteringshaws Loch
Salmon ladder at Allangibbon Bridge, at the foot of Earlstoun Loch, Dumfries & Galloway
Brockloch Tower Dumfries & Galloway
According to the blurb, Loch Doon castle was built in the early 14th century....
....on an island in the loch.
In 1935, when the water level was to be raised for a hydro-electric scheme....
....the castle was dismantled and re-erected on the side of the loch.
Wall cores and later buildings were left on the partly submerged island.
Still drifting around the Galloway Forest
Blairquhan castle, South Ayrshire
Oh yes, nearly forgot, better pick Jr up
58km later on the Glentrool Big Country trail
On his way round, there was the Giant’s axe-head stane (stone)....
....with runic text, making as much sense as Gaelic to us
Is there a better way to relax than watching France lose the rugby World Cup final
Wouldn’t be a Muz Tour without ferries....
....first of which is the Caledonian MacBrayne MV Argyle....
....from Wemyss Bay to the Isle of Bute
Rothesay castle, Isle of Bute
Rothesay castle
Rothesay castle
Back to the mainland on the CalMac MV Bute
Poetry in motion – Argyle & Bute
Day four began at half-past-midnight to catch the 3.30am Stena Caledonia from Stranraer
Kids surprisingly alert considering the time
Needless to say, it was dark when we got to Belfast
Several hours later, the City Hall looked like this
But – where to get breakfast at 7am? – Isibèals in downtown Belfast
....for a proper Ulster Fry – basically a full English with fried soda bread and potato bread
Off on the tour bus to do the proper sightseeing thing, none of us have been to Northern Ireland before.
Harland & Wolff, a lot of Titanic history here
Parliament Buildings, Stormont
Parliament Buildings, Stormont
Parliament Buildings, Stormont
On to one of the ‘peace walls’ built to keep the catholics & protestants apart, or was it the loyalists & republicans....
....and to prevent them hurling abuse, rocks & petrol bombs at each other
Shankhill Road, some of the wall murals with dignity like this WW1 memorial....
....others less so
....and some remembering innocent victims of ‘the troubles’
The international wall on the Falls Road
Maze hunger-strikers mural, Falls Road
Bobby Sands mural
Queen’s University
A muppet
A supplier of tin whistles, vital for all those delinquents begging in Manchester city centre
Albert Memorial clock, apparently leaning about a metre off vertical at the top
Grand Staircase, Belfast City Hall
Rotunda, Belfast City Hall
Belfast City Hall
Council Chamber, Belfast City Hall
Council Chamber, Belfast City Hall
Where else would they allow you to take photos inside a place like this....
....and even sit in the Lord Mayor’s chair?
Tesco, Belfast
St. Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast
The largest Celtic cross in the land, the WW1 memorial
St. Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast
St. Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast
You can’t leave without having some of these can you
Back home and guess what – it’s dark again – a proper 24-hour tour
Maybole castle, South Ayrshire
Cloncaird castle, South Ayrshire
More trails, just to the south of Dumfries
Sweetheart Abbey, Dumfries & Galloway
Ah, trails in Dalbeattie
The Heart Cleft stane cut from a large piece of granite
Some of the trail sections, like ‘the slab’ which were tricky in the wet....
....’log on, log off’....
....a boardwalk section to stop you getting wet
Cardoness castle, Dumfries & Galloway
Yet more trails at Kirroughtree to the south of Newton Stewart
Home through the Galloway Forest
Not sure whether this was on low-level practice, approaching a secret landing site that Google Maps has cloned out, or about to crash
When we went to Culzean castle last year they wouldn’t allow photography inside
They wouldn’t this year either
....but an armoury display like this needs to be shown off
Culzean castle
Culzean castle
A Bongo is an ideal support bus for last minute adjustments in the rain
....at the Newcastleton bike trails in the Borders,
Cycling home
Drifting across the border
