Festival of Archaeology - Dunluce Castle (Guest spot)

Armed with a picnic and the promise of a sunny day I headed off to Dunluce Castle. This is a place I often pass in the car but haven't visited in living memory but today was going to change that. Upon arriving at the Castle we were told the car park was full (although there were disabled spaces available of required) and there was a free bus service running from the Magheracross car park (10 mins walk away) to the Castle.

At the car park we were told there was a Medieval day going on, this just added to the excitement. Before boarding the bus to the Castle we made use of one of the picnic tables and ate our picnic whilst enjoying the beautiful views which included Portballintrae and White Rocks Beach.

Fed and watered the next stop was the Castle. Outside the entrance of the Castle there was a lovely tea room and they also had a bbq going for those that didn't bring a picnic. Entrance to Dunluce was £6 for Adults, £3 for children and £15 for a family ticket. As it was Medieval day there was lots going on and lots to see, there were archaeology and geology tours running every hour, displays of old musical instruments, a blacksmith, candle making and much more; for those with more modern tastes there was also a coffee van and a crepe maker! Further inside the walls 3 gentlemen in authentic dress were in charge of a cannon which they fired every hour. We decided the archaeology tour would suit us better so with 45 mins to wait for the next tour we went on our own adventure. What a wonderful Castle we were to find. There is an app you can download which gives you an idea of what each room was used for. If you don't have the app there are audio guides for hire at the entrance desk.
The archaeology tour took us not round the castle but on a tour of the lost tour of Dunluce. This was extremely interesting and gave us an insight into what the town on the 'outside' of the castle walls was like hundreds of years ago. We also saw pictures of the excavation and were given a small history lesson on who lived in the Castle around this time. We had a great day and would certainly recommend a visit!!

Editors notes - Game of Thrones fans may recognise Dunluce Castle as the House of Greyjoy overlooking Pyke on the Iron Islands.

Ulster New Zealand Trust at The Ballance House (Strawberry Tea Fair)

Due to prior committments I couldn't stray too far from home this weekend, so when I got a phone call to pick something up in Moira I decided to 'kill two birds with one stone' and call into The Ballance House in Glenavy on the way home.
The Ballance House was the birthplace of John Ballance who was the Prime Minister of New Zealand between 1891-1893, and even though I was born and raised approx 10 miles down the road I didn't even know it existed!!

When we visited they were holding their annual Strawberry Tea Fair, and the three of us were charged £5 each for an entry fee (this included a bowl of strawberries, a bouncy castle, balloon modelling, crafts for the kids and face painting), for an additional £2.50 I got a guided tour of the house itself. While waiting on the tour to start (they were leaving at 1pm, 2pm and 3pm) we had a cuppa and a scone in the Tea Barn (quite reasonable and old fashioned with a biscuit tin for a till).
The guided tour of the house lasted an hour and at times was quite interesting and I never realised that there were so many links between Ireland and New Zealand for example, Ireland provided NZ with 6 Prime Ministers, the original owner of Hunter Wines was from Co Tyrone and the first ever captain of the All Blacks Rugby Team was Irish!!!!!!
John Ballance himself was a very important figure in NZ history both with Maori rights and he was instrumental in ensuring that NZ was the first Country in the world to give women the vote.
The following events are running at Ballance House in the second half of 2015; Anzac Day Ceremony 9th August, Apple day 17th October and Victorian Christmas Market 5th December. On non-event days the entrance prices are as follows: Adult £3, Child under 16 50p.
Disabled accessibility - When we arrived there were no available disabled spaces however on a quiet day it may be possible to get a space closer to the house. The house itself is two stories so if you have problems getting up stairs you won't be able to view the New Zealand exhibition, John Ballance's chair or the NZ reference library.
if you are interested in the NZ connection it may be worth a visit but go on a non-event day so you don't have to pay twice.
Opening hours - April - September, Wednesday, Sundays and Bank Holidays 2-5pm.

On a side note, anyone who knows me knows I love food and cooking and going to Moira gives me a chance to go to the Meat Merchant owned by Hannan's Meat, an excellent wholesale butchers who supply a number of top restaurants in Belfast, definitely worth a visit!!!!!!
Just the one location this weekend, I am now trying to decide whether to join the National Trust, so let me know if you think it's worth it?!
Until next time............

Antrim Castle Gardens and The People's Park Ballymena

Having got the 'Tourist Bug' I got out my map on Sunday morning, packed a picnic and along with my Mum, Sister and 6 year old nephew headed out on my next trip, this time to Clotworthy House and Antrim Castle Gardens (admission free).
What started as a cloudy day soon changed when we arrived in Antrim, the sun came out allowing us to sit outside in the courtyard for a nice cuppa (and sausage roll - very tasty and good value for money) from the cafe.
When we finished our refreshment break we headed to the shop where we discovered by pure fluke that they had a Mobility scooter available for members of Shop Mobility (free of charge), this was great news for us as we had thought mum would have to wait for us in the car!!!!!! The shop also offers visitors the chance to rent a 'Castle Carriage' (essentially a 3/4 person bicycle) which you can rent for £6 for 45 minutes along with photo ID, if you don't have ID a £50 deposit is required.
Scooter rented and armed with a map clearly marked with accessible paths we set off for a walk through the gardens. This was my first visit and I was very impressed, beautiful gardens as well as castle ruins made an archaeology graduate very happy (some pics below).

 When we had walked around the whole estate (for those health conscious among you it worked out at 7500 steps) it was lunchtime and there was plenty of time left in the day to tick another location of the list, so it was back in the car and off to the People's Park in Ballymena.
After accidentally putting the wrong address into the sat nav we eventually arrived at the Park just in time to get  99 from the ice cream man!! While my sister went to the Pavilion to buy a bag of bird seed (<£1) I read the welcome sign which explained the 'Teddy Toddle', a walk around the park guided by Teddy bear signs. Sister back with bird seed in hand we set off to feed the ducks at the lake out the back of the Pavilion (there is a decked area with a fence separating the pavilion from the lake, steps were provided for small children so they could throw the seeds to the ducks) and complete the walk (approx 1k), this took you round the lake, past the tennis courts, bowling green and past an art installation of 5 giant apples by a Japanese artist.

If you are in the Ballymena area it is a great wee park with a decent play area and a few picnic tables, worth a visit if you have the time. This was a great day in the sun topped off with a lovely dinner in Galgorm Manor on the way home!!!
Now time to plan for the next day out!

Whitehead Railway & Andrew Jackson's Cottage Carrickfergus.

On an admittedly wet Saturday I packed my Tourist Map and headed to the Country Antrim coast in search of the 'Railway Preservation Society of Ireland' or as I call it 'the wee steam train in Whitehead'. Unfortunately when i got there it was all closed up but it did give me an excuse to visit McKee's Bakery - if you like your soda and potato bread I recommend it!!!!!!
There are also a few nice coffee shops in Whitehead if you are in need of a cuppa - try The Bankhouse or Mauds; word of warning for those with limited mobility Whitehead is quite hilly so try and get parked close to wherever you want to go.

(Website for Railway Preservation Society of Ireland - Steam Train next running 25th July)

http://www.steamtrainsireland.com/whitehead/

On the way home from Whitehead I called into the Andrew Jackson Cottage in Carrickfergus, which also houses the US Rangers Museum.

The Cottage is set up as it would have been in the late 18th Century around the time that Andrew Jackson (7th US President) was born; although named after the US President this is his ancestral home, President AJ himself was born in America.
It is run by volunteers and open Thursday - Saturday 11-3 and Sunday 1-4 and entrance is free.
When I arrived I was greeted by a very friendly and enthusiastic married couple who volunteer at the Centre (unfortunately i never got their name), the lady explained President Jackson's story and  invited me to explore the Cottage at my own pace. If you are interested in history and are in the Carrickfergus area I would recommend a visit, with no entrance fee and enthusiastic volunteers explaining the story behind the cottage and the surrounding area (I was surprised to learn of a link between the thatched cottage opposite and the Titanic) it could be an interesting hour or two!
After my visit to the cottage I was off home to dry off and plan my next adventure!!!