Derry / Londonderry
The second largest city in Northern Ireland. The name is an anglicised word meaning ‘oak grove’. In 1613, the city was granted a Royal Charter by King James I and gained the “London” prefix to reflect the funding of its construction by the London guilds. The River Foyle runs through the middle separating the ‘Cityside’ on the west and the ‘Waterside’ on the east.
Wednesday, 22nd June 2016
Tatiana and Tony by the River Foyle with the Peace Bridge behind. The footbridge opened in 2011 with the aim of improving relations between the largely unionist ‘Waterside’ with the mainly nationalist ‘Cityside’. It is 235 metres in length.
Tatiana and Tony below the ‘Hands Across the Divide’ sculpture. The sculpture is situated at the west end of Craigavon Bridge in Carlisle Square. It is made of bronze, and depicts two men reaching out to each other, symbolising the spirit of reconciliation. It was produced by Derry sculptor Maurice Harron and unveiled in 1992.
Tony and Tatiana in front of a mural located in the unionist Fountain estate. It depicts a scene from the 1688–1691 war between supporters of Catholic King James II and those of the Dutch Protestant Prince William of Orange.
Thursday, 23rd June 2016
On the city walls. Behind is a stone tower, which houses the Tower Museum. This museum covers the history of the city.
Derry is the only remaining completely intact walled city in Ireland. The walls are approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) in circumference and vary in height and width between 3.7 and 10.7 metres (12 and 35 feet) forming a walkway around the inner city. Derry was the last walled city to be built in Europe with construction taking place between 1613 and 1619 as defences for early 17th century settlers from England and Scotland.
Tony and Tatiana next to an old canon on the city walls. Beyond is the imposing red-brick late-Victorian Guildhall, crowned by a copper dome. It stands just beyond Shipquay Gate and close to the river front.
View along Shipquay Street from atop the city walls.
Again Tatiana and Tony on the city walls. Here on top of Ferryquay Gate looking along Ferryquay Street.
Tatiana and Tony outside St Columb’s Cathedral. This Church of Ireland (Anglican) cathedral was completed in 1633 in Gothic style.
Outside the Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall on Magazine Street Upper. This building commemorates the Protestant ‘Apprentice boys’ who closed the gates to the walled city in 1688 against the advance of soldiers loyal to Catholic King James II.
Tony and Tatiana at Butcher Gate, one of the four original gates through the city walls. Three further gates were added later, making seven gates in total.
Tony and Tatiana with the ‘You are now entering free Derry’ mural behind. This is located in the city’s Bogside neighbourhood, which contains numerous murals. These include the People’s Gallery, a set of murals which depict the events surrounding sectarian violence and civil rights protests in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, painted by the Bogside Artists consisting of Tom Kelly, his brother William Kelly, and Kevin Hasson.
Tony and Tatiana at the Bloody Sunday memorial. A stone obelisk inscribed with the names of the 14 people who were shot dead by British soldiers on 30th January 1972.
Glencolmcille (officially Gleann Cholm Cille)
County Donegal, Republic of Ireland
Saturday, 25th June 2016
A simple fireplace inside a traditional house. Taken at Glencolmcille Folk Village, which features re-creations of dwellings from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, intended to show how people used to live and their daily routines.
Inside the same dwelling, a wooden table and chair with various domestic wooden and metal implements.
Tony and Tatiana in the doorway of a small stone cottage with a thatched roof.
Inside another cottage looking at a display of agricultural and craft tools.
Outside ‘Killaned Cottage’ – painted white with a thatched roof.
Galway
Galway is a city in the West of Ireland in the province of Connacht. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay and is surrounded by County Galway.
Friday, 1st July 2016
Eyre Square, which contains John F. Kennedy Park, located at Galway’s centre. A tree-lined path with a road and buildings to one side.
View over trees to the Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas. The cathedral was built on the site of the old city prison and was consecrated in 1965. It has an eclectic style including a central Renaissance Revival dome.
Tony and Tatiana next to O’Briens Bridge over the River Corrib.
Looking through the Spanish Arch, one of two remaining arches through the Ceann an Bhalla (“Front Wall”). The two arches were part of an extension of the city wall from Martin’s Tower to the bank of the River Corrib constructed in 1584.
Tony and Tatiana outside a jewellery shop at the junction and Quay Street and Quay Lane.
Outside St Nicholas’ Collegiate Church (Church of Ireland). This is, allegedly, the largest medieval church still in everyday use in Ireland. It was founded in 1320 and enlarged in the following two centuries. It is in the heart of the old city.
Waterford
City and county in south-east Ireland.
Saturday, 2nd July 2016
A tall narrow round hut with a pointed roof covered with reeds or grasses. This is how a hut might have looked in the Middle Stone Age (Mesolithic), when people first arrived in Ireland following the Ice Age 9000 years ago. It is at the Irish National Heritage Park, an outdoor museum with replica buildings and structures covering 9000 years of Irish history in a forest setting.
Tatiana emerging from a replica prehistoric hut.
Close-up of Tatiana and Tony in front of the hut.
Tatiana exploring inside a larger hut. The hut is divided into compartments, probably for keeping animals.
A prehistoric burial chamber, known as a dolmen. It consists of at least three standing stones with a larger flat cap stone placed on top.
A wooded path running past the dolmen.
Tony and Tatiana with a standing stone (megalith) behind.
Tatiana next to a series of wooden posts that have been sunk into the ground. Lengths of cane-like material have been woven around them, perhaps demonstrating how prehistoric buildings were constructed.
Two buildings constructed of stone. The nearest is round with a thatched roof. Part of a replica of an early Christian monastery.
Tony and Tatiana in front of a lake with reeds growing in it. Beyond two round houses can be seen. These are standing on a crannog, which is a man-made island. These typically date from the early medieval period though some are much older.
Land’s End, Cornwall
Thursday, 7th July 2016
Land’s End is a headland and holiday complex in western Cornwall, which is popular with tourists. It is the most westerly point of mainland England. It is approximately eight miles (13 km) south-west of Penzance.
Tony and Tatiana in front of the entrance arch, near the Land’s End Visitor Centre.
Tony and Tatiana at Land’s End with a good view out to sea. The rocky Longships islets can be seen in the distance with Longships Lighthouse standing amongst them. The Longships are situated roughly 1.25 miles (2 km) west of Land’s End.
A pig with at least eight suckling piglets at Greeb Farm, a farm park located at a restored 200-year-old Cornish farmstead at Land’s End.
Another view of the muddy pig and piglets.
Tony and Tatiana with a pony.
Close-up of a sheep being fed.
Tony, Tatiana and other visitors petting the sheep.
Tatiana and Tony feeding a calf using a milk-filled bottle.
Tony and Tatiana sitting down. Tatiana has a guinea pig on her lap.
Close-up of the guinea pig.
Tony with a black chicken on his knee.
Tony and Tatiana outside Penwith House. Originally built as a temperance hotel for Victorian visitors to Land’s End who preferred an establishment that did not serve alcohol. Today this charming old building is home to a shop selling nautically-themed gifts, souvenirs and confectionery.
Tatiana and Tony sitting beside the famous Land’s End sign. The signpost was erected in the 1950s.
Path along the top of the granite cliffs with a little of the rocky shoreline visible below.
Tony and Tatiana with the Atlantic Ocean and the Longships rocks in the background. A flag pole flying the Union Jack along side.
Barnstaple, north Devon
Saturday, 9th July 2016
Tony and Tatiana at Queen Anne’s Walk. This was originally a meeting place for the town’s merchants completed in 1713. The Tome Stone can be seen protected by railings behind. It is a low stone circular bargaining table where merchants sealed deals.
Tony and Tatiana standing beneath a statue of Queen Anne at Queen Anne’s Walk. The statue is on top of a colonnade supported by stone columns. Queen Anne reigned from May 1707 to August 1714.