Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to my FIFTIETH edition of doors!!! I can’t believe I have had fifty posts showcasing doors, never mind finding so many doors to display. Thank you all so much for taking an interest, for your continued support, likes and comments. My doors posts are my favourite to compose and I really enjoy everyones thoughts when picking a favourite for the week, allowing us to connect and also enabling us to see things from different perspectives.
This week I have picked a few of my favourite doors over the last year that have not yet been featured. As always, please let me know if you have a favourite.
I love all these doors but I have saved my favourite for last. I love the stained glass windows and double doors. I also love the little cart and would love to have had a peep inside. I could imagine having holidays in this little mobile home, towed along by my car all over the country. Ah to dream!
Thank you all again and have a fantastic weekend everyone.
Happy Friday everyone and welcome to the weekend. Today’s flower was discovered at the Balmoral Show that I attended last weekend. With their vibrant, eye-popping colours, I was instantly drawn to take a picture of these stunning flowers. This was my first time hearing of these, has anyone heard of these before? Apparently they’re hard maintenance and grow best in high humidity countries, not sure why they’re in Northern Ireland, too funny!
The Balmoral Show is a four day extravaganza that happens every year in Northern Ireland (with a break during covid times). It is the official agricultural event in the country and also the oldest, with the first show having been held in 1872. It offers the chance for people all over the country to come together and be involved in farming exhibitions, competitions, championships , sample local cuisine and check out the farming fashion.
As a child and teenager, I had been to this show many times. As part of the school curriculum, our classes of pupils were taken here yearly for a day out. We all loved it, the chance to roam free (from teachers) through all the stalls on offer, see the variety of animals on show, marvel at the sheer amount of tractors, see what it is like to a part of the farming world, try the different food stalls and collect as many freebies as we could, mostly pens!! (we would see who could obtain the most).
I had always wanted to return as an adult and see if the magic was still alive and to my delight, it really was! The event was previously held in the King’s Hall but is now held outside Lisburn at the Eikon Exhibition Centre at Balmoral Park. Luckily for us we could walk to the venue and I was super grateful as the traffic was pretty busy and you had to pay for parking (crazy considering the ticket prices were £25 each). On display were numerous stalls with local food, gifts, clothing etc. We were able to watch some sheep competitions, dressage, horse jumping and quad bike jumping. There was so much more on offer and with your map (given on entry), you can plan your day with what you want to see and do.
Have a look at my highlights below from spending the day at the Balmoral Show and please let me know if you have anything like this where you are from or would something like this be of interest to you. I would love to know!
I can’t say I know much about tractors but I do find them very impressive to look at. In this country, farmers take real pride in their tractors, it’s their way of life, not just a machine to complete their work. This young handler of sheep competition was fantastic and probably the number one highlight of the day for me. The young handlers were competing with each other to be the best handler of their sheep. I have a few videos on my Instagram stories (N.Ireland) if you’re keen to see it in action. I loved seeing the different varieties of sheep, some of which appeared like mini cows!Using my map to navigate this giant space, looking for what to do next. Thousands of people attend every year but it’s very well laid out and there’s lots of space to manoeuvre. It was great just to be able to walk around and soak up the atmosphere, it certainly helped that the sun was out in force. A great family fun atmosphere. Our walk home through the countryside was beautiful, even with tired feet!
Thank you all for taking the time to read my post, I was delighted to be able to attend the show this year and thrilled to share a little of my day with you all. Have a great week everyone.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of local doors. My entries for this week are from a town called Newry in Co.Down, Northern Ireland, close to the border with Ireland. I have been here a lot over the past few weeks and have enjoyed coming across some new and beautiful doors. I hope you like them as much as I do and let me know if you have a favourite this week.
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For me this week, I kept the best for last. I love number 6 for its colour and regal appearance. The archway, pillars on either side and transom window really make the door pop! What do you think?
Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you all had a lovely weekend and enjoyed the coronation if you watched it. Tonight’s sunset was taken a few evenings ago at Hillsborough Lake. I am obsessed with this place and walk around this lake almost every day. The sunsets here are just fantastic.
As most you already know, on my days off work, I like to get out and about to see some scenery, explore new places and appreciate the nature around us. I have actually been to this reserve before and really loved it, however, it was a cloudy day (surprise surprise) so I really wanted to return one day when the weather was better. Fortunately, we had a couple of days last month where the sun was splitting the trees and we took the opportunity to return to the Murlough National Nature Reserve. This place is really something else and I cannot wait to share it with you all.
Murlough National Nature Reserve is a delicate and impressive 6000 year old sand dune structure owned by the National Trust and has been cared for as Ireland’s first Nature Reserve since 1967. It is an outstanding area for walking, bird watching and taking in the sights due to its sensational location at the edge of Dundrum Bay and the Mourne Mountains (Tourism Northern Ireland, 2023). This is an extremely special location where you can enjoy breathtaking ocean views, with beaches, sand dunes and mountains all in one place.
Before we headed out for a walk, we had to eat. I was pretty hungry as we arrived around lunch time. We parked the car and headed towards Murlough House, just situated five minutes away. Thanks to Google, I discovered there was a cafe there and even better, they had outside dining. Luckily for us, the weather was beautiful so it was the perfect spot to sit out and enjoy the sunshine.
We had the most amazing savoury scones here and these were new to me as I’ve only ever had sweet scones. They consisted of ham, cheese and scallions. Truly delicious and the staff here could not have been any friendlier if they tried. Loved this place for a quick bite to eat. After some food, we took the path from the garden leading down to Murlough Beach. This beach is very quiet and feels extremely secluded. You can often find a herd of seals here basking in the sunshine and it consists of many beautiful stones and sea shells. We walked along here for about half an hour where we then turned right into the sand dunes. You can, however, continue along the beach until you reach Newcastle Beach (very popular with tourists). The views of the mountains are something extraordinary to see along with the sand, stones, water and dunes. We took a walk through the dunes that is very easy to do due to the board walks that are in place. We passed a lovely building that houses a coffee shop and toilets. Sadly not open on this day but I was glad of the toilet stop and there are picnic benches if you happen to bring food with you. There are a few different routes you can take on the board walk and I wasn’t entirely sure which way to go but with the help of google maps, we headed back towards Murlough House. Luckily for us it took us on a stunning journey back via part of Saint Patrick’s Way : The Pilgrims Walk. The views here of Dundrum Bay and the Mourne Mountains are simply out of this world!
From here we ended up back to the carpark just before Murlough House. All in all, this was a three hour round trip journey with a half hour pit stop for lunch. I highly recommend you check this place out if in Northern Ireland and have some time to see some stunning scenery.
I want to share this amazing town with you all that is situated right in the heart of Ireland. We were heading to a wedding in the nearby town of Glasson and decided to stay in Athlone due to the location to the wedding venue and this is where we managed to find a reasonably priced place to stay.
The blue circle is Athlone, the heart of Ireland. Excuse all the other hearts and flags on my map, these are places of interest for me that I have already visited or hope to be checking out in the future.
We stayed in the most amazing B’n’B called Riverdale House that I managed to find on Booking.com. This place has a lot of character, has a fantastic proximity to the town, delivers first rate breakfasts and has the best hosts that we had the absolute pleasure of meeting. To be honest, our hosts Neil and Avril made this stay so perfect for us here. They were unbelievably friendly and extremely knowledgeable of the local area. Not to sound over the top but we really enjoyed chatting to this lovely couple and learned a lot about Athlone from them. Excuse my ignorance but I had no idea we were in the centre of Ireland, despite driving there but I was absolutely amazed to be staying in the heart of Ireland. Also Neil gave us a few suggestions of places to check out, including Sean’s Bar that, not only is the oldest pub in Ireland but also the oldest pub in the world!!! As proven by the Guinness World Book of Records.
Of course we had to check out Sean’s Bar and I can see why it is so popular. Obviously it attracts a lot of tourists due to being the oldest bar but it also has a lot of character and charm, as well as selling the most delicious pints of Guinness. It was actually really lovely to see so many tourists in the pub, almost like pre covid times. Situated on Main Street, Athlone, you are right in the heart of the town where there are lots of restaurants, bars and cafes. It is also a really colourful and quaint area that is a complete feast for the eyes. Also a very popular spot for tourists, stag doos and hen parties.
After a couple of pints at Sean’s Bar, we were able to hop over and try an Italian restaurant nearby as we were really in the mood for a bowl of pasta and a glass of wine. Pavarotti’s was really delicious with a lovely warm ambiance and really friendly staff. Highly recommend!
You can also take a walk along the River Shannon, check out Athlone Castle and another cool place to visit for a drink is Dead Centre Brewing (sadly we didn’t have time to try here but was highly recommended, maybe next time). There is also a lovely park by the river to check out, some lovely art work in the town, impressive architecture, an abundance of shops over the bridge and beautiful scenery.
I hope from my photos you can gather an idea of what this stunning little town looks like and maybe one day you can also visit the heart of Ireland.
We loved our stay here in Athlone and would be delighted to return one day. Feeling very grateful for all these amazing places to visit within driving distance! Thank you all for taking a look at this blog post and I hope you all have a lovely Sunday.
Hello everyone and welcome to another week of doors! Today is Friday here in Northern Ireland, so I am a day late with my doors, however, the weather yesterday was unbelievably good and I didn’t want to waste a second of it. When the sun shines, there’s no rain and the skies are blue, you have to make the most of it in Ireland.
I thought this week I would share some of my favourite church doors. I have so many photos of churches as I love the architecture and history of these buildings and thankfully they quite often have beautiful doors. Let me know if you have a favourite this week.
1 – Glaslough, NI2 – Mudgee, Australia 3 – Queenstown, NZ4 – Carlingford, Ireland 5 – Sydney, Australia
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of amazing doors from Ireland. Today I have been travelling towards Galway to attend a wedding and fortunately I was able to stop in Kells along the way. A town famous for The Book of Kells, however, I believe the book has now been moved elsewhere, I have always heard of this place but until now, had never visited. Admittedly, I don’t know much of this place but I was grateful to stop here on the way to Galway for a toilet stop and a bite to eat. Luckily, I managed to spot a few amazing doors whilst here. Please let me know if you have a favourite this week.
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I think my favourite this week is number two for the colour, arch and transom window. I also love a letter box that is high up on the door rather than at the floor, maybe that’s a sign of old age 😂.
This park was a real gem of a find. I had never been to Rostrevor but I knew it was on the coast of Carlingford Lough, near Newry, Co. Down and thought it might be worth a visit as it is close by. We followed google maps to Rostrevor, parked the car beside the park and wandered in for a look around. Just to the left of the park is Fairy Glen, where it is believed that fairies have or had once lived, according to Irish folklore.
It is well known here that the famous writer C.S. Lewis from Northern Ireland, spent a lot of his time in the Mourne area and in particular, Carlingford and Rostrevor. He was inspired here and once said that Rostrevor was his inspiration for Narnia. In this park there is a dedicated family trail to C.S. Lewis where you can see memorabilia from The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe stories. There is also a play area for the kids and an outdoor gym.
You can walk through the woodland areas, as well as around the park area (where you will also find a cafe) and along the river. It’s a truly magical place that leads back to the small, yet enchanting village. Entering and leaving the park you will see the most beautiful and quaint houses with some impressive murals on the walls leading through the village.
I cannot recommend this place highly enough and I look forward to returning here soon in the not so distant future. If you’re ever in Northern Ireland, be sure to check out this park and village.
The north coast of Northern Ireland / Ireland is undeniably beautiful and severely underrated. If you are from Northern Ireland, you will have travelled here many, many times as a child for your holidays. When people couldn’t afford foreign holidays, families would travel here to the coast, no matter if there was rain, hail or shine. Sadly, as many of you will know, our weather is notoriously wet and cold, however, when you do have good weather, the north coast is absolutely breathtaking and has a lot to offer.
You can travel along the north coast, also known as the Causeway Coast and there are numerous locations along the coastal route that are very much worth seeing. I have been to the north coast a lot but I haven’t often travelled along the Causeway Coastal route. It is well sign posted along the whole route and I will highlight the top sites to stop and see, at least those that we were able to tick off our bucket list.
We stayed in one of the popular towns in the north of the country, Portrush. I know this town pretty well as my parents lived here for a few years. It’s a really stunning coastal town and an extremely popular holiday destination. There are gorgeous walks along it’s two beaches, the West and East Strand. Portrush is well known for its theme park for the kids, surfing and paddle boarding and of course its abundance of fantastic restaurants and bars along the coast, in the town itself and by the harbour. For us, this is where we started our journey along the Causeway Coastal Route.
West Strand, Portrush Arcadia Portrush, once served as a dance hall and cafeEvery Sunday you can find people having a very quick and cold swim here, before warming up with a coffee. Not something I could do 😅1 – Magheracross Viewing Point – Our first stop has been on my bucket list since it opened a couple of years ago. The views of the Causeway Coast from here are something else.2 – Dunluce Castle – One of the most stunning castle remains in Ireland. This magnificent castle dates back to the 16th and 17th centuries. You can pay a small fee to visit the information centre and walk around the castle or like us, you can simply view from afar. 3 – Portballintrae Causeway Loop – this walk is absolutely stunning and only takes about 45 minutes one way. If you want to see the Giant’s Causeway without having to pay the hefty fee, park your car for free at Portballintrae Beach and enjoy the walk to the Causeway along the old train line.4 – Bushmills – This is a really quaint little town near Portballintrae that is really worth checking out when you’re in the vicinity. We stopped for tea at the famous Bushmills Inn. 5 – Dunseverick Castle – I couldn’t wait to see this castle so when I found it along the Causeway coastal route, I actually laughed out loud. I couldn’t believe it was simply a couple of pillars left. However, this was once a majestic castle with an impressive history dating back to as far as 5AD. It’s said that St Patrick also visited here to baptise a local man who would later become the Bishop of Ireland (National Trust, 2023). 6 – Pans Rock Pier – This was our last stop along the Causeway Coastal route. I had wanted to see this pier since seeing it on Instagram a few months ago (the power of social media). It’s a beautiful pier situated at the far end of Ballycastle Beach. Ballycastle is a fantastic seaside town to check out along the Causeway Coastal route and I have been here a few times before but somehow had never seen this pier. Also this beach is pretty extraordinary as it is compiled of many different pebbles of all shapes and sizes that comprises of quartz, sandstone and granite.
I hope you have enjoyed the journey along Northern Ireland’s spectacular coastline and hopefully one day you may be able to see it for yourself, if you haven’t done so already. I know I am biased but it is honestly extremely beautiful!
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to my FORTIETH edition of Doors of WordPress. I thought with tomorrow being St Patrick’s Day in Ireland, I would showcase some of my favourite green doors that I have seen recently in Northern Ireland.
Sadly I will be working tomorrow and not seeing much of the Patrick’s Day celebrations. It used to be one of my most favourite holidays to celebrate, wearing something green, having a big fry for breakfast and then heading out with friends for some Guinness and Irish music. Even when I was in Australia it was always fun to celebrate the occasion, I guess as there are so many Irish people living in Sydney. I suppose there are so many Irish people everywhere as you will see huge celebrations all over the world, especially in America where many Irish people once emigrated to, just like Australia.
Will you be celebrating St Patrick’s Day this year or have you celebrated in the past? Also please do let me know if you have a favourite green door this week. I love to hear your thoughts.
For me, the favourite of the week has to be number 7 from Rostrevor. I think the door and whole building is absolutely fantastic, the windows, the greenery and that homely, country feel. Outstanding.
Have a great day everyone and I hope you all have a lovely St Patrick’s Day tomorrow ☘️☘️.
Yesterday we took a walk to Clare Glen Woodland. It’s less than 20 minutes to drive here from where I currently live in Banbridge and I used to walk here all the time growing up as a child and teenager with our family dog. It’s a beautiful place to become one with nature and really appreciate the beauty around you. It’s a short 2km loop walk in Co. Armagh, Northern Ireland, in between Tandragee and Markethill. You will find a variety of tree species including hazel, oak, ash and I always remember collecting conkers here to collect for the school playground from the chestnut trees. Does anyone else remember playing with conkers (or chestnuts to others) attached to a string and used to swing and break your opponents conker?
The walk takes you along the River Cusher and the sound of the river just resonates with tranquility and serenity. It is so soothing for the soul and really relaxes you and allows you to wash away your daily worries. The trees, greenery, nature, birds and even the mushrooms we saw here are just beautiful. In the spring time you can also see an abundance of blue bells, so I am extremely eager to return in a couple of months time.
Have a look at my pictures taken below and hopefully they can convey even a small amount of how fantastic this woodland is.
Walking through this woodland, you really feel that spring is just around the corner and believe me, I am extremely glad. Thank you for taking a look at my post today and have a lovely weekend.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of wonderful doors. Two weeks ago I flew over to England to visit my sister who lives just outside London in a small town in Cambridgeshire and of course I was able to spot a few lovely doors.
I only managed to picture five doors but I know there are hundreds more. I look forward to seeing more in the future and exploring doors from other parts of the UK. Please let me know if you have a favourite door this week. Not all the doors are clear to see but I love the design and architecture of the whole buildings, however, if you zoom in, you should be able to make out the doors 😉.
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Thank you all for taking a look and have a lovely weekend.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of doors. Over the next two to three weeks I will be showcasing some of my doors from our recent trip to Carlingford, Ireland. I will create a blog post for this town also as it’s too amazing not to share with you all. Let me know if you have a favourite door this week.
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I love the colours of these doors, bright and fun. They really give you a sense of what Carlingford is all about. I love door number five, especially with the wreath, however, the two houses in image six are my favourites this week, just beautiful and the doors blend in perfectly.
Stay tuned for more doors from Carlingford next week and enjoy your day everyone.
I love choosing 12 photos to highlight what I have experienced throughout the year and it’s a great little recap. This has been a big year with lots of changes, some good and some bad, however, I am grateful to have had a good year overall and ending 2022 on a positive note. Please feel free to have a look at my 2022 highlights below and feel free to share your highlights from the past 12 months.
JANUARY – starting the year off with a little trip to Mudgee, NSW. We had always wanted to visit here and this was the perfect place for us to celebrate 15 years together. FEBRUARY – This was one of our most epic destinations and a huge bucket list ticked off. Our trip to Uluru was one that we will cherish for years to come. MARCH – Rain, rain, rain. Two years of rain in Sydney thanks to La Niña. We had many days out in the rain, we wouldn’t let it deter us, it was certainly better than having bush fires. APRIL – a lovely little trip seeing the bestie in Melbourne. So good to catch-up after so long apart and seeing these Brighton boxes was another item ticked off the bucket list. MAY – Seeing Dermot Kennedy in concert was pretty special, especially with my Irish friends. JUNE – BBQ with the boys. Some of my favourite people, fantastic Lebanese food and this was the beginning of my many leaving parties as I leave Sydney for the time being. JULY – the beginning of our travels. Queenstown in New Zealand was an absolute highlight. We loved it here. AUGUST – Next on our travels was Bali, Indonesia. Stunning place to visit and we welcomed the sunshine after being in NZ at winter time. SEPTEMBER – a big reason for me coming home was to see my sisters become married. A beautiful day and I love this photos with my sisters. I’m a lucky guy to have not one but three amazing sisters 🤍OCTOBER – the main reason for me to come home, my family. Precious time with my niece and nephew, priceless! NOVEMBER – my baby sister has her wedding. A lovely day and feeling very proud here 🤍DECEMBER – Home with my number one person. Grateful to be here together and look forward to 2023, side by side ❤️
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of doors, the last one before Christmas. This week’s Thursday Doors challenge is to show your favourite doors of the year, thanks for that Dan, not an easy thing to do! I have chosen my top 8 doors of 2022, from Australia and NZ, all the way to here in Northern Ireland. I have ranked them in my order of preference, some have been shown already and some are newly featured. Please take a look and enjoy these magnificent doors and hats off to their owners for doing such a fantastic job.
Many of you here will have heard of Hillsborough from my doors posts, as there are many fantastic doors found in this quaint little village.
Hillsborough is well renowned for its character and charm but more so for its historic castle and gardens. This is the place of residence for when members of the Royal family come to stay in Northern Ireland and only very recently has Hillsborough been renamed Royal Hillsborough for that reason.
This was the first time I had visited the gardens and I was extremely excited as I had always heard how amazing they are and I have always wanted to visit here. We didn’t visit the castle today but that will be for another time. We just wanted to have a good stroll today and get some fresh air. It was made even more special as there was snow on the ground and gave the gardens a really festive and Christmassy feel.
The admission fee is £11 which is expensive enough (in my opinion) to go for a walk, however, the gardens are absolutely stunning and the castle is a true spectacle. There is also a light show featuring in the gardens at present that can be seen at night time, running until the beginning of January. It’s pretty pricey at £22 a visit so we’ll have to wait and see if we decide to return for that or not. From what I witnessed during the day today, it would be quite the display.
If you would like to read more about this wonderful place, you can take a look at the official website here. Thanks for taking a look and I hope you are all enjoying your Sunday.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to my 30th edition of Doors of WordPress!!! This week we’re showcasing some festive inspired doors, mine are all red as that’s the colour I think of when I envisage the Christmas season. I haven’t seen too many festive doors this week but I suppose it’s still early days. I love seeing all the Christmas wreaths on the doors too, a tradition that still makes me smile when I see it, so if I see any wreaths over the next couple of weeks, I will be sure to share them.
1 – Love & Death, a cool bar in Belfast city centre. 2 – St Malachy’s Parish Church, Hillsborough3 – Hillsborough, I love this door, the frame and transom window, very regal in appearance and just beside Hillsborough Castle.4 – Avonmore House, Banbridge. This house was built around 1791 and was the home of Francis Crozier, the Banbridge born polar explorer. 5 – Hillsborough, a great door and I love the Christmas wreath.
I hope you’re all enjoying the festive season thus far. I’m just working away and enjoying the build up, the Christmas songs and mince pies. I haven’t even started Christmas shopping yet, what about you?
Happy Friday everyone. So, I have showcased this flower before but recently I have seen a different variety and it looks so much different in another season and another country. You can see my previous poinsettia here from March when I was living in Sydney. This flower is always grown as a potted plant and is often used as a Christmas decoration due to its bright red leaves. This flower definitely feels Christmassy, more so as it is now the Christmas season and it’s cold here in this side of the world, unlike when I had previously seen this flower in summer in Sydney.
Have you ever given or received this flower at Christmas? It certainly blends in with our Christmas decorations.
As most of you know, I was in Moira last weekend for my sister’s wedding and I really want to show you all this picturesque and charming place.
Moira is a beautiful little village in Co. Down, Northern Ireland and can be accessed directly from the motorway, making it very easy to access. This was only my second time visiting here, which is surprising as it has always been a close enough place to where I had been living.
The last time I was here was in 2016 and it made a huge impact on me even then. I knew I wanted to return for a visit one day and luckily enough for me, I would be visiting for a wedding. It’s an extremely quirky place with many independently owned shops, quaint cafes and award winning restaurants. There is a very welcoming and homely feel to Moira and it has an abundance of character. I will run through some of the places I managed to see over the weekend and highlight a couple of places that I would love to visit in the future.
1 – Ralph’s Bed and Breakfast
We stayed here for two nights and absolutely loved it. The rooms were really comfortable, the breakfast was outstanding and the whole place just oozed a certain attractive charm. The location was fantastic, situated on the Main Street and close to everything.
2 – Tutta La Pizza
This is a lovely pizzeria across the road from Ralph’s that has amazing pizza, where you can grab a takeaway or you can dine in, whilst soaking in the rustic charm that it has managed to encapsulate.
3 – The StillHouse
This family owned gastropub is perfect for some great food and drinks in a warm and cosy environment. Not a bad place for a wedding too 🤗. This is a really stunning venue with the friendliest of staff, that has been a popular spot here for many years. I remember calling in here before and loving it even then.
4 – Moira Demesne
This amazing space is also situated just off Main Street and offers a beautiful getaway from the hustle and bustle of the village. There is a lovely loop walkway, a play park for the kids, some creative animal statues and an amazing coffee cart (best coffee I have tried so far here in Northern Ireland!).
5 – Places to interest
I didn’t have time on this occasion to check these places out but they are definitely on my list for the future. A quirky coffee shop and an award winning restaurant, I have heard amazing reviews about these two spots and they are conveniently situated on the Main Street. Be sure to check these out if you’re in the vicinity. A lovely sunset on the Main Street on a crisp autumn evening.
All in all this is a great little place to check out and spend a day or two. I personally can’t wait to return to explore more and try the coffee shops and restaurants, as I’m sure there are even more that I haven’t even seen yet.
Happy Thursday everyone. It’s a cold and wet one this week in Northern Ireland (what a shocker) and the dark evenings have leached into the afternoons.
However, last weekend we were in Moira for my sister’s wedding and I was able to spot a few doors that I liked. Take a wee look below and let me know if you have a favourite.
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Number 5 is my personal favourite. The quaintest and tiniest door I ever did see! I wonder if a bird lives in there?!
We had the pleasure of watching my youngest sister walk down the aisle at the weekend to be married to her best friend. We had an amazing day with family and friends and enjoyed quality time filled with love and laughter (call me Corny Collins). That is all of the siblings married now in my family and it certainly makes you feel like we’re all getting on in life. Things sure have changed here on Waltons mountain.
My beautiful sister 🤍🤍
I can’t wait to show case the town where my sister had her wedding with a blog post coming very soon. It’s a beautiful, quaint little town in Northern Ireland called Moira. Have you ever heard of it?
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of doors. This week I’m really missing Sydney and Australia so I thought I would showcase some more of my doors from Sydney, taken just before we left for our travels home.
My favourite this week is number 3 from The Rocks. I think these police doors are amazing and very welcoming for a police station. Do you have a favourite this week?
Thanks for checking out my doors. Have a great weekend guys. I will be at another wedding this weekend so won’t be online too much until next week.
Does anybody else love to take a Sunday stroll? I love to walk, as nerdy as that sounds but it really makes me feel good. Since leaving Sydney I have been walking less and less, mainly due to being extremely busy but also as there aren’t too many interesting walks nearby. This riverside walk in Banbridge is the nearest walkway to me and I really love it. The only downside is that it’s really quite short, therefore, it doesn’t enable you to obtain many steps for the day.
The name of the walk is pretty self explanatory, it’s a short walk along the river, the River Bann to be precise and it’s one of the longest rivers in Northern Ireland. The walk itself in Banbridge could take you about 20 minutes but it’s beautiful all the same. It’s especially scenic at this time of year with all the autumnal colours.
It’s a shame you can’t walk the whole length of the river, however, I am grateful to have even a small path to walk along when you need to clear your head and breathe in some fresh air.
Have a great Sunday everyone. I will be watching a Christmas movie this afternoon to get into the festive spirit 😉.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of doors spotted in Northern Ireland. This week’s selection are colourful and full of character. Let me know if you have a favourite 😊.
Happy Friday everyone. I spotted this flower in the Botanic Gardens Belfast and I loved its uniqueness. I have never seen this particular species before. I love the colour and find it a very uplifting flower. Have you ever seen a common borage?
Also known as beeplant or starflower. The edible leaves of common borage, said to have the fragrance and taste of cucumbers, are often used to make salads, soup, and sauces. Its blue, star-like flowers can also be used as an attractive drink garnish and as an ingredient in some gins (Picture This, 2022).
Happy Thursday everyone. As it was Halloween this week and we are still in Autumn/Fall, I thought I would try to share my most autumnal and spooky doors. Let me know what you think and if you have a favourite.
1 – The Gatekeeper’s Inn2 – Banbridge 3 – Hillsborough Castle4 – Elmwood Avenue5 – Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park
I hope you all had a lovely Halloween if you celebrate at all. I was driving in the evening so I missed it all. I did manage to see a few fireworks in the sky though which was nice.
The sunset I am sharing today is from 12 weeks ago in Bondi, Sydney. You don’t actually see the sunset but the colours that were on show were absolutely stunning. I haven’t seen anything quite like the colour changes here of the sky anywhere else, from yellow to orange and then pink to lilac. I was just standing in the middle of the road, outside our friend’s apartment, in complete awe, as were many other locals.
Beautiful Bondi
I hope you enjoy the colours and have had a lovely relaxing weekend.
Happy Friday everyone. It is another wet and wild day here in Northern Ireland. I may get used to this! Lucky we have some flowers in our garden that are pretty bright and cheery.
Pot Marigold – found in my parents garden. I love the bright orange colour and it’s perfect looking petals.
Hi everyone and a very happy Thursday to you all. The sun is shining here in Northern Ireland after some horrendous stormy weather yesterday. I have been pretty quiet here in the blogging realm for a few weeks due to some family circumstances but I thought today would be as good a day as any to make a return, plus I love creating doors posts on a Thursday so it’s perfect timing.
I hope you have all been keeping well and adjusting to these seasonal changes wherever in the world you might be. I have been trying to keep an eye on other people’s blogs, as a means to stay in tune with what’s happening here but also for some light reading as a welcome distraction.
I hope you enjoy my selection of local doors from around Northern Ireland and please let me know if you have a favourite.
My personal favourite is number five. I love the colour of the door, the glass panels on either side, the arch around the door, the wreath on the door, I could go on and on and on. I just love this one. How about you?
This sunset was taken last week at my parents home in Banbridge, Northern Ireland. Although we didn’t see the sun actually set, I loved the colours of the sky as it was setting. I especially like the way the buildings become a silhouette against the skyline.
I hope you have all had a lovely weekend. This is now almost three weeks for us being home in Northern Ireland. Where does the time go??
Happy Friday everyone! Today’s flower of the day was spotted at Sir Thomas and Lady Dixon Park when I was there last week. This flower really jumped out at me and I couldn’t believe it was another black eyed susan. You might remember I showed this flower last Friday but I feel that this flower looks very different from last weeks. Therefore, I thought it would be good to showcase this flower again. What do you think of this flower today? Does it look similar or different to my previous black eyed susan? I have placed the link to last week’s flower below my image.
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another Doors of WordPress. This week I thought I would show case some more doors from Sydney, as it has now been two weeks since we left and it is never far from my mind.
This park is located in South Belfast and is a good walk from where I am staying at the moment. I have been here a couple of times and have always known it was famous for its many flowers and in particular its rose gardens. However, this was the first time I actually followed the map and purposefully looked for the attractions listed, such as the walled garden and Japanese garden. I also was not aware that there is a cafe here too, that was a welcome bonus. I will leave the official link for this park here so you can read a little history about this place and how it ended up being available to the public. https://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/things-to-do/parks-and-open-spaces/a-z-parks/sir-thomas-and-lady-dixon-park
This park is great for walking around and taking in all its beauty, made even better with blue skies. We loved the Stables coffee shop and it was so lovely to be able to sit outside. This park is famous for its flowers, especially roses. The first image is from the walled garden. This is a very tranquil and serene space and I encourage everyone to visit if travelling in Northern Ireland.
I hope you enjoy reading about this wonderful park and please let me know if you have ever visited yourself.
Happy Monday everyone! The start of a new week and I’m just having a look at my blog memory. I have noticed that I have used 80% of my storage, presumably on images as I do tend to upload a lot of these. Does anyone here in the blogosphere know what happens when you run out of storage? Do you have to pay for more or is it best to delete some of my older images?
I already pay quite a bit for a yearly subscription for a personal plan and I have 6G of storage, so I don’t really want to pay any more. However, I am worried about deleting images as that may affect my previous blog posts. If you remove the images from the media library, does that remove them also from your blog posts?
There are quite a few questions there but if anyone has any advice, it would be greatly appreciated. Otherwise, I can contact the engineers and see what solutions they can offer.
My Friday flower of the day seen this week at Hillsborough Castle. How amazing are these? I love how they look like mini sunflowers and I also love the name, black eyed susan. Also can you see the little wasp on one of the flowers? These are super easy to look after and have even been known to be good for gardeners with brown thumbs (I love that saying!).
Happy Thursday everyone and welcome to another week of Doors of WordPress. I have been in Northern Ireland for just over one week now and have managed to spot a copious amount of doors. To be honest, I was nervous leaving Sydney and not seeing any more amazing doors, however, I am pleased to say, Northern Ireland has a fantastic array of doors that I am very much looking forward to showcasing. Have a look below and let me know if you have a favourite door or if you have been to any of the locations.
1 – Banbridge2 – Hillsborough 3 – Belfast City Centre4 – Banbridge5 – Belfast City Centre
Thanks for checking out my doors again this week. Have a great day everyone.
WrookieSchU 