I'm writing this blog to show you all of the beautiful landscapes of Ireland. Since I was born and still live in Northern Ireland (NI), I've been all around the country. Even in my rowing I have seen the true beauty of this country.

NORTHERN IRELAND:

First and foremost, there is the Giant's Causeway. This area consists of over 40,000 hexagonal basalt columns, which is the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption which happened around 50 to 60 million years ago. This site is located in Co. Antrim. The legend surrounding this are is that an Irish giant called Fionn MaCool was challenged to a fight by a Scottish giant Benandonner. Fionn accepted the challenge and built the causeway across the North Channel so that the two could meet. The story goes that Fionn disguised himself as a baby, so Benandonner imagines that Fionn must be absolutely huge if Fionn's baby is very large. He then runs back to Scotland, destroying the causeway behind him.



Images above: landscape of the Giant's Causeway.

Next is the Dark Hedges. The Dark Hedges are an avenue of beech trees along Bregagh Road in Co. Antrim (again). These trees form a very dark tunnel which has appeared in Game Of Thrones, which has boosted its popularity. These trees were planted in 1775 by James Stuart on an entrance road to an estate, creating an imposing approach. There's a legend around this that they're visited by a ghost called the Grey Lady, who is said to be James Stuart's daughter.



Images above: the Dark Hedges

A final location in Northern Ireland is Lough Neagh. It is a lake which is considered to be the largest lake on the British Isles. It's also the 34th largest lake in Europe. 5 of the 6 counties in NI have shores on the lough, which leaves out Fermanagh (poor them). I actually live about 5-10 minutes from the shoreline in a village called Maghery. There isn't much to this lake, but it's still beautiful to look at. In recent times, it has suffered a serious amount of blue green algae, which started in summer 2023. These algal blooms are so big you can see them from space! The toxins that they produce pose a serious risk to local wildlife.



Images above: Lough Neagh and then Lough Neagh with algal bloom.

Part 2 will be soon, which will contain the landscape of the Republic of Ireland.