R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 68

Northern Ireland — Giant’s Causeway; More columns and ruggedness

Today I’ll just let the photographs do the talking. In this series of images you’ll see a wide array of basalt shapes ranging from huge boulders, to tall columns, to ground-level mosaic patterns:

Basalt boulders at Giant’s Causeway Basalt mosaic Columns standing as sentries overlooking the landscape A combination of all three features

Fun Photo Friday — Giant’s Causeway favorites 1

Today is the first of two Fun Photo Fridays dedicated to the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland:

Northern Ireland — Roaming the Giant’s Causeway

Welcome once again to the Giant’s Causeway, an area of Northern Ireland consisting of some 40,000 volcanic basalt columns rising from the Earth. And, yes, you can even climb onto this alien landscape:

Perched atop basalt columns at Giant’s Causeway

Normally I’m not a fan of people getting into my shots, but Giant’s Causeway is the exception. The crowds give these columns some perspective of size:

Giant’s Causeway

Even so, one does enjoy catching this wonder sans people as well:

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Northern Ireland — Reaching the Giant’s Causeway

Over this week and next I’ll be presenting mostly images from an area that has amazed me since I first saw pictures of it many years ago. This is Northern Ireland’s surreal World Heritage Sight (designated: 1986) known as the Giant’s Causeway.

Even the approach to this magical area is filled with enchantment. Below you start to get a hint of what awaits you here:

Giant’s Causeay.

The Giant’s Causeway sits atop an old volcanic fissure, and here you will find an incredible series of 4...

Fun Photo Friday — Carrickfergus and Carrick-a-Rede Favorites

Now for today’s Fun Photo Favorites of Carrickfergus and Carrick-a-Rede:

Northern Ireland — Carrick-a-Rede

Our next stop was a rather unique one. Today’s article is on Carrick-a-Rede. And although it may not look like much from the picture above, take note thin structure connecting that small island to the coast. That is the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, which supplies access to the island of Carrickarede:

Two brave souls crossing Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge

Carrick-a-Rede was for us just a brief stop to our ultimate goal this tour, which you’ll see over the next two weeks beginning on Monday....

Northern Ireland — Carrickfergus

Our next port of call aboard Brilliance of the Seas was Belfast, which I’ve already covered from our previous visit just six days prior. So on this trip to Belfast, Ursula had us scheduled for yet another tour. Our first stop: Carrickfergus in County Antrim. So sit back as we take in the sights, beginning with King William III (a.k.a., William of Orange), and continuing on to Carrickfergus Castle:

Carrickfergus Castle

Carrickfergus Castle is a Norman castle built by Sir John de Courcy,...

WhiteKnightTwo

With Sir Richard Branson’s latest triumph earlier today, I thought it a good time to rerun this goldie oldie from 15 October 2014. The following article is my encounter with the Mothership used in today’s successful launch of Unity 22:

Something you don’t see every day — WhiteKnightTwo

On September 11 of this year we had a visitor come to El Paso International Airport.  What you see above is WhiteKnightTwo, the launch vehicle for Virgin Galactic’s suborbital tourist thrill ride SpaceShipTw...

Fun Photo Friday — Glendalough Favorites

And here are today’s Fun Photo Friday pic picks from Glendalough:

Ireland — Glendalough

Glendalough Monastic City

I will today show you yet another Irish wonder. This is Glendalough, the ruins of an entire Early Medieval monastic city dating back to the 6th century. Glendalough by the way means “Valley of Two Lakes”, and this monastic city does indeed sit just east of both the Glendalough Upper Lake and Glendalough Lower Lake.

Glendalough Upper Lake The hills above Glendalough Upper Lake

Let us wander around the monastic city and take in a few of the sights, beginning w...