Greencastle and Narrow water castle

Northern Ireland like Scotland, has its fair share of castles and ancient monuments, two of which are around an hour's drive from my home and are both around seven miles apart. Like most ancient monuments and castles these are extremely photogenic due to their good condition and outstanding surrounding northern Irish countryside.



About five miles outside of Rostrevor (a place known for its folk music and fiddler's green festival) lies Greencastle royal castle which, I decided to visit first. built in the 13th century the castle is basically large rectangular keep with three vaulted chambers at the ground floor level. Access is free however it is only open two months of the year namely July and August, so if you want to get up close you will need to climb the fence and sneak in like I did!

Did I mention the weather? Saturday was one of those days forecast as 'changeable' which can produce some amazing skies for photography. Wind and torrents rain lashed down all the way there except for the odd two or three minutes of blue sky and amazing cloud formations. I was hoping to catch one of these pauses in the weather when I got to my chosen location. Just as I arrived at Greencastle the rain stopped for about ten minutes giving me just enough time to jump the fence, run up to the castle, fire off a few shots then dash back to the car again! amazing luck! Just as I got back to the car the weather closed in again with a torrential downpour.



About seven miles west of here just outside Warrenpoint, where the Newry river meets Carlingford lough, lies Narrow Water castle keep. This is a tower house building which was built originally by Hugh deLacy, Earl of Ulster in 1568.



The castle is in extremely good condition and is situated in a really beautiful spot, infact this whole area is outstanding with the Mourne mountains only a short distance from here.
Access for photography and general viewing is excellent, given that it is right beside the main A2 road. Access to the inside however is again restricted to July and August.

As before I was amazingly lucky with the weather as it briefly cleared as I got there for around another ten minutes, allowing me to get a few shots in the bag before the rain finally returned!

More images can be viewed in the Kingdom of Mourne and Irish countryside gallery and the Monochrome landscape gallery.

Bye for now.