Trip to Europe 2025.

Next day I went out and got us breakfast and we had the same arrangement as before where I went out on my own first then took Peter out later.

This time I had decided to explore the north side of the river. I started by walking to The National Wax Museum, then crossing O'Connell Bridge and heading off to the right. I wanted to see The Custom House which I had noticed on the drive in from the airport.

National Wax Museum.

The O'Connell Bridge.

The Custom House dates back to the eighteenth century when John Beresford, the first commissioner of revenue for Ireland, appointed architect James Gandon to build it in order that customs revenue could be collected from ships travelling on the River Liffey. Originally there was also a Customs Dock and a swing bridge. However, over the years the port of Dublin was moved further downriver, and the Custom House became obsolete. The Customs Dock was filled in and the swing bridge was demolished. Then in 1921 the IRA burnt the Custom House down to destroy the records kept there by the British government. After the Anglo-Irish treaty the Irish Free State Government had the building rebuilt. Nowadays The Custom House is home to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. It also has a visitors centre.

The Custom House.

The Custom House.

The Loopline Bridge.

I continued further along the river because I wanted to see The Famine Memorial.

The Great Famine which occurred in Ireland between 1845 and 1852 was a horrendous event that had a colossal impact on Irish history. Basically the Irish people were heavily dependent on the potato as their staple diet and a fungus-like organism known as the potato blight destroyed all the potato crops several years running. This led to starvation on a major scale. It is believed that between one to one and a half million people in Ireland died due to the potato famine. Another million people tried to escape death by emigrating to The United Kingdom, The United States, Canada and Australia.

The only crop affected by the blight was the potato, but Ireland also grew corn, wheat and barley and produced beef. Why didn't they just eat that? Well, because their British landlords continued to export this for profit while the poor people all around them starved to death. Naturally such injustices led to future unrest.

The famine memorial stands on Custom House Quay. It was designed by Dublin sculptor Rowan Gillespie. As you would expect, it's a very disturbing sculpture, hard to look at. It depicts people who are helpless, hopeless and starving to death. Perhaps they are using what little remaining strength they have to try and reach the Dublin docks and gain a place on a famine ship, which could take them to a country with food.

Approaching the famine memorial.

A half dead man carrying his lifeless child.

Clutching the few possessions they have..

Rake thin and lifeless.

Can they make it as far as the ships? And if they do, what next?

Of course this memorial exists within a context and just a little way further on there are two things also connected to the famine. One is a museum called Epic which tells the story of mass Irish emigration.

Epic

The other is The Jeanie Johnstone famine ship, a replica of a ship that took starving people on an epic voyage to a new life, if they managed to survive the journey. The original Jeanie Johnstone was built in Canada in 1847. During the famine years she made sixteen transatlantic voyages and carried around 2,500 emigrants to a new life.

Sign for the Jeanie Johnstone.

The Jeanie Johnstone.

The Jeanie Johnstone.

Figurehead of the Jeanie Johnstone.

I continued past the Jeanie Johnstone because I like bridges. I had already past an attractive bridge called The Sean O'Casey Bridge.

The Sean O'Casey Bridge

Selfie on The Sean O'Casey Bridge.

Now I wanted to keep going to The Samuel Beckett Bridge.

The Samuel Beckett Bridge.

The Samuel Beckett Bridge.

There were also lovely views of the river in certain places.

This is a view towards the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church.

Closeup.

River.

River.

River.

River.

River.

River.

I hadn't intended to go further in this direction but I could see another ship up ahead and decided to find out what it was. It turned out to be EMV Cill Airne, a former tender ship that is now a bar and restaurant.

MV Cill Airne.

On the other side of the road was the Dublin Convention Centre.

The Convention Centre.

On the banks of the river.

I had walked along on the water side. I turned round and went back on the other side of the road. When I reached The Epic Museum I had a look at the Triumphal Arch which was built in 1813 and used to be the entrance to The Custom House. I also had a look at the Royal Canal and the Scherezer Bridges which are twin rolling lift bridges.

The Triumphal Arch.

The Triumphal Arch.

Canal.

Canal bridge.

Royal Canal Scherzer Bridges.

I then decided to leave the waterfront and head inland a bit. I found The Chariot of Life Sculpture by Oisín Kelly, a Scottish Presbyterian Church and The Silver Penny, which was the local Wetherspoons pub. (Don't tell Peter he'll want to go.)

Chariot of Life" sculpture by Oisín Kelly.

Scots Presbyterian Church

The Silver Penny.

Tram.

I turned left and headed to O'Connell Street. There's a lot to see here including the famous General Post Office and many, many monuments. So why would a General Post Office be worth visiting? Well, because this was the headquarters of the leaders of The Easter Rising. Outside this building on the 24th of April 1916 Patrick Pearse read out the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. During the course of the fighting, the post office was destroyed except for its granite facade. It was rebuilt in 1929 by the Irish Free State Government. Nowadays this building is still a working post office, though part of it is also a museum.

General Post Office outside

And in.

General Post Office.

General Post Office.

General Post Office.

The myriad of statues in this area included the writer James Joyce, another talking statue.

James Joyce.

James Joyce.

Then there's Jim Larkin in front of The General Post Office. Larkin played an important part in the Irish labour movement and was the leader of the 1913 Dublin Lockout. The base of the monument has a quote attributed to The French Revolution: "The great appear great because we are on our knees. Let us rise".

Jim Larkin in front of GPO.

Close up.

Then there's Irish priest Father Theobald Mathew who played a leading role in the temperance movement and was known as the Apostle of Temperance.

Father Theobald Mathew.

Next I looked at Sir John Gray, an Irish physician, surgeon, journalist, and politician.

Sir John Gray Monument

On the other side of the road from the post office there was a huge department store called Clerys which I found quite striking. Unfortunately this shop closed down in 2015.

Clerys.

There was yet another monument on this street. This one was to William Smith O'Brien, an Irish nationalist and the leader of the Young Ireland movement. O'Brien was well-known for his fight for Irish interests in the British House of Commons.]

William Smith O'Brien.

Right at the end of the street near the O'Connell Bridge, there was a monument to Daniel O'Connell. He was known as "the Liberator" for his successful campaign for Catholic Emancipation in Ireland.

Daniel O'Connell statue.

Daniel O'Connell.

Daniel O'Connell.

I was nearly back to where I had started my walk, but I hadn't finished, not by a long way. This time I intended to walk along the north side of the Liffey all the way to Phoenix Park.

On the way there I passed the Ha'penny Bridge again and liked the monument at the other end of it, which is another talking statue. It's called meeting place and shows two women sitting down to chat after they have finished their shopping. I sent a copy of this to my neighbour, Jane and she said it looked like her and me sitting at the bus-stop. I didn't have the heart to tell her A.I. calls this 'the hags with the bags'. Actually this was my favourite of all the statues I saw, because it was just of ordinary people. I also passed the Grattan Bridge and some colourful buildings.

Ha'penny Bridge.

Meeting Place.

Meeting Place.

The Grattan Bridge.

Buildings by the river.

Boat.

River.

Further along I came to some interesting Street art. I especially liked the 'do not remove ' one.

Do not remove.

Do not remove.

Shark.

I reached an attractive looking building which was in the process of being renovated. This turned out to be the four courts and dates back to the late 1700s. This consists of The Supreme Court, The Court of Appeal, The High Court and the Dublin Circuit Court. This building was also heavily involved in the fighting during The Easter Rising. Later in 1922 it was taken over by the IRA who were protesting against the Anglo-Irish Agreement. Part of the building ended up being blown up.

The Four Courts.

Past The Four Courts I came to two attractive bridges: the James Joyce Bridge and the Rory O'More Bridge. There are lots and lots of bridges across the River Liffey.

The James Joyce Bridge.

The Rory O'More Bridge.

The Rory O'More Bridge.

On the other side of the river I could see the Guinness brewery.

Guinness brewery.

Lovely day for a Guinness.

On the side I was walking on I came to the National Museum of Ireland which is housed in the old Collins Barracks Building. These barracks were built in 1702, and extended in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. They are called after Michael Collins.

Collins Barracks now the National Museum of Ireland.

I then reached a small park, Croppies Memorial Park, with a strange statue in it. The statue was labelled as Anna Livia, which meant nothing to me, but I later discovered she's a character in 'Finnegan's Wake' by James Joyce and personifies The River Liffey. When I looked her up, A.I. told me she's affectionately known as the floozie in the jacuzzi - not another one!!!

Anna Livia Statue.

Croppies Memorial Park.

Slightly further on I came to The Criminal Courts and just past that I was finally at the entrance to Phoenix Park.

The Criminal Courts.

Phoenix Park is huge and I didn't really do it justice, because I was running out of time and energy, especially since I intended to walk back home rather than take the bus which runs through the park. There lots more to see here and if I ever return to Dublin I'd devote a whole day to just looking around here.

Phoenix Park.

Phoenix Park encloses 707 hectares of recreational space. It has monuments, a zoo, the residence of the president of Ireland, the residence of the American ambassador to Ireland and a herd of wild fallow deer.

Naturally I found lots of beautiful colourful flowers and trees.

Rose beds.

Flower beds.

Pampas grass and flowers.

Flower beds.

Flower beds.

Autumnal tree

I found a very serene looking pond, surrounded by gorgeous lush greenery.

Pond.

Pond.

I passed a bandstand hidden in a deep hollow and a busy little tearoom that many people seemed to be enjoying.

Bandstand.

Tearooms.

I found some of the many monuments in the park, though there's still plenty left to discover next time. I found 'Embraced Loop' Ireland's first national monument to remember those who have died of HIV AIDS. I also saw a monument to Seán Heuston, one of the sixteen men executed at Kilmainham Gaol for their leadership role in the 1916 Easter Rising. Plus I encountered the sixty-two metre high Wellington Monument, built to commemorate the victories of Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington, who was apparently born in Ireland.

Embraced Loop.

Embraced Loop.

Seán Heuston monument.

The Wellington Monument.

The Wellington Monument.

However what l wanted to see most of all, was the wild fallow deer to make up for not being able to photograph any in Woburn. I eventually found several wild deer next to The Wellington Monument. They seemed fairly tame.

The buck stops here.

Wild fallow deer.

Wild fallow deer.

Wild fallow deer

Wild fallow deer.

Wild fallow deer.

Wild fallow deer.

Happy having seen my deer, I left the park and started walking back on the other side of the river. I noticed that there were some very strong fortified walls on the north side of the river. They actually looked like castle walls. There were lots of swans sitting on the mudflats in the river.

Walls.

Swans.

I passed right next to the Guinness brewery and didn't even stop for a pint.

Guinness.

Guinness.

I photographed the four courts and Collins Barracks from the other side of the river and The Church of Saint Paul's which I had been too close to to photograph earlier.

Four Courts.

Collins Barracks.

St Paul's Church.

St. Paul's Church.

I passed Heuston Station and realised it was called after the man I had seen in the statue earlier who had been executed at Kilmainham Gaol.

Heuston Station.

I also passed The Church of the Immaculate Conception and O'Donovan Rossa Bridge.

The Church of the Immaculate Conception.

The river.

O'Donovan Rossa Bridge.

Back home after a rest, I took Peter out on a tour of Temple Bar. We took lots of photos in front of the pubs.

Peter with our hotel.

Temple Bar.

Temple Bar.

Pub.

Pub with live music.

Peter in Temple Bar.

Peter outside the famous Temple Bar Pub.

Peter in Temple Bar.

Me in Temple Bar.

Temple Bar Trading Company.

The Quays Bar.

The Auld Dubliner.

After a good look around, We ate in O'Shea's Restaurant which looked like it might be a bit cheaper than the other restaurants. It wasn't really, because it charged service charge, so it was actually a similar price to the others. Peter had fish and chips. I had chicken in pepper sauce. The food was very good and it was a very pleasant evening.

Peter in O'Shea's.

Me in O'Shea's with my Guinness.

Us in O'Shea's.

Next day we were leaving Dublin and flying back to Hong Kong. I wasn't looking forward to the flight as it takes so long. When we checked out of our hotel, I asked the receptionist if I could leave my bag there and come back for it in ten minutes, so I could push Peter to the Dublin Express bus stop without it. He said: "Let me come with you and take your bag for you." And he did. How kind was that!! I asked him which part of Ireland he was from and he said: "Turkey." which made me laugh. I told him we used to work there many moons ago.

We had a little bit of a misunderstanding with the Dublin Express bus driver who seemed to think we wanted to take the wheelchair inside the bus, but once I collapsed it and put it in the luggage he was ok with it. He even helped us with everything when we got off.

We got good passenger assistance at the airport and when we checked in for the flight, we asked if we could get our wheelchair at the door of the plane in Doha, so we'd have it for our eight hour stopover there. They told us that would be fine.

We are silver members with Qatar so we were able to use the free airport lounge. It was very good.

Airport lounge.

Airport.

To our horror on the plane, we were stuck in the middle of four seats with a stranger on each side. Peter had an upset tummy and I go to the toilet constantly. I made the stranger next to me let me out six times on an eight hour flight. I bet he wanted to kill me.

In Doha I told the flight attendants that we were to get our own wheelchair at the door of the plane. They said: "What wheelchair? We know nothing about it." The wheelchair could not be found and we were told we'd have to go to the airport transfer desk to sort it out. The guy who was taking us said: "Go through security first then go to the transfer desk", then he disappeared and someone else took us through security. When we had passed through, I said: "We need to go to the transfer desk." He said: "You can't, it's on the other side of security." We were furious. From this point we were taken just about everywhere imaginable, each one more pointless than the one before. Eventually we were taken to another transfer desk and the girl said: "If you want us to get your wheelchair, you'll need to sit here for two hours."

This is when Peter uttered the immortal words: "Call yourself a six star airways. Your not as good as Ryan Air. They had our wheelchair at the plane door waiting for us."

We didn't want to sit there pointlessly for two hours, so we asked to be taken to the silver lounge and made them guarantee that the wheelchair would go all the way through to Hong Kong. They promised us it would, but by this stage we didn't believe them.

We were both in a really bad mood and exhausted by this stage. We still had around six hours before our final plane. Personally I couldn't even sleep at all.

When it was finally time to board our final plane, I handed over our boarding passes and was told: "Oh you've both got a free upgrade to business class." Obviously they felt bad about the wheelchair situation.

So instead of eight hours cramped in economy, squashed, fed up and half dead, we got seats that reclined into a bed, free pyjamas, a huge steak for dinner for me, (Peter preferred a toasted sandwich, followed by ice-cream) the offer of free champagne (I opted for white wine and Peter had beer.) and most importantly several hours of much needed sleep.

Peter on the plane. I had eaten mine before I even thought of photographing it.

We arrived in Hong Kong and were reunited with the wheelchair we thought had been lost and our luggage. When I told my friend Jason about our free upgrade, he said: "Try and lose your wheelchair on your next flight, too." Who knows? Maybe we will.

We hadn't paid for breakfast in the hotel, so next day I went to Tesco's and got us sandwiches and pain au chocolate for breakfast.

We had agreed that I would go out on my own first then come back and take Peter out later, so after breakfast, I headed back up to Dame Street and went left, the opposite direction from yesterday. I was aiming for Trinity College, but before I got there I came across the Thomas Davis statue and memorial fountain. At the time I didn't realise it was a fountain as there was no water in it. Thomas Davis was a journalist, poet and politician. He was a powerful influence on those seeking an independent Ireland. His statue and fountain were created by Edward Delaney in 1966. Davis is looking towards Trinity College where he was a student. His fountain is made up of four figures blowing water out of trumpets. These represent the four provinces of Ireland.

Thomas Davis Statue.

Thomas Davis Memorial Fountain.

A little bit further on there's a statue of Henry Grattan, an Irish politician and important member of the Irish House of Commons who wanted Ireland to be able to make its own laws. This statue was also made by Edward Delaney.

Henry Grattan.

Slightly further on I came to a building that is now The Bank of Ireland, but which was originally built as The Irish Parliament House in 1729 and continued in this role until the Act of Union abolished the Irish Parliament. From that point on it was used as a bank. This building wasn't quite at its best as it was undergoing renovation.

Just beyond The Bank of Ireland Building is the entrance to Trinity College Dublin. On its north lawn just outside the entrance there are two statues: one is of Edmund Burke, an eighteenth-century Irish statesman, orator, and philosopher. The other is of Oliver Goldsmith, a prominent Irish novelist, playwright, and poet who graduated from Trinity College and wrote "The Vicar of Wakefield" and the play "She Stoops to Conquer". Both statues were created by one of Ireland's most famous sculptors, John Henry Foley.

The Bank of Ireland and the statue of Edmund Burke.

Oliver Goldsmith.

Trinity College from the outside.

I have been to Trinity College briefly once before, but this time I spent a lot of time here and visited it thoroughly. I didn't do any of the paid activities here. I just wanted to wander around the university campus and look at its buildings and grounds. If you do want to do a paid activity, you can visit The Book of Kells, which is supposed to be amazing.

Trinity College dates all the way back to 1592 when it was created by royal charter during the reign of Elizabeth I. It is located on the site of the former Priory of All Hallows, which was demolished during the reign of Henry VIII.

Once you pass through the university's entranceway, you are at Library Square. There's a beautiful Campanile bell tower straight in front of you.

Campanile.

Lawns, Campanile and Graduates Memorial Building.

There are statues on each side of the Campanile. One is of William Edward Hartpole Lecky, a notable Irish historian, essayist, and political theorist, who wrote an eight volume "History of England during the Eighteenth Century,". This statue was created by Sir Goscombe John.

William Edward Hartpole Lecky.

The other statue is of George Salmon, a distinguished Irish mathematician, Anglican theologian and one time provost of Trinity College. He is well known for his opposition to women entering Trinity College and said they would only ever get in over his dead body. In fact women were allowed to enter Trinity from 1904, shortly after Salmon's death, so I guess he was right.

George Salmon.

To the left of the Campanile is the Graduates Memorial Building.

Graduates Memorial Building.

To the right is The Old Library which houses the Book of Kells, the Brian Boru harp and a copy of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. There's also a Reading Room designed by Thomas Deane which acts as a memorial to the college members who died in the First World War.

Old library Building.

Reading Room.

Postgraduate reading room.

I noticed two very modern sculptures on the lawns in Library Square. One is called Reclining Figure: Arch Leg and is by Henry Moore. The other is called "Cactus Provisoire," and is by Alexander Calder.

Reclining Figure: Arch Leg by Henry Moore.

"Cactus Provisoire," a sculpture by Alexander Calder.

Going further into the campus there is a beautiful museum building with a sculpture called "Sphere Within Sphere" created by Arnaldo Pomodoro.

Museum building.

Museum Building and sculpture.

Museum building from the other side.

With such a long and distinguished history Trinity College has produced some very famous people. These include writers such as: Oscar Wilde, Jonathan Swift, Samuel Beckett, Bram Stoker and Oliver Goldsmith. Other graduates are philosophers George Berkeley and Edmund Burke and statesman Éamon de Valera. There have been many scientific breakthroughs and achievements here, too

Beyond the museum building, I came to a wide open green expanse of playing fields known as College Park. There are also rugby fields here, too.

College Park.

College Park.

College Park.

There were some lovely flowers here. I thought it was great to have such large green spaces on campus. I could happily have sat here for a while just enjoying the greenery and peacefulness.

Wasp on hedge bindweed.

Lily of the Nile.

Black eyed Susans.

Autumn Joy.

Stonecrop.

I rather liked the look of The School of Physics, too. The sculpture outside it is called Apples and Atoms and was created in 2013 to celebrate the life and work of Ernest T.S. Walton, a Nobel Laureate for Physics and a Professor at Trinity College. Ernest Walton and John Cockcroft successfully split an atom by artificial means in 1932.

School of Physics.

I took a few more photos and a selfie then left the university campus.

Trinity College

Selfie.

Trinity College leaving the university.

I was heading towards Merrion Square. I photographed any buildings that caught my attention on the way. These included the Morrison Chambers with their green dome and Lincoln's Inn, which is designed to look like the building of the same name in London.

Morrison Chambers.

Lincoln's Inn.

I also took a photo of The Davenport Hotel, another attractive looking building. This was originally built as a prayer hall for the open brethren in the seventeenth century. Nowadays it's a luxury boutique hotel.

The Davenport Hotel.

At one point I took a photo of a house that I thought looked interesting. I didn't go close to it and so didn't realise until later that this was actually the home of Oscar Wilde. He lived here for the first ten years of his life. Nowadays it is a four story high museum about his life.

Oscar Wilde House.

In fact it was because of Oscar Wilde that I had come to Merrion Square. I had discovered there was a statue of him in the park there. This is one of a group of twelve statues that have become part of a talking statue self guided tour. The idea of the statues is that when you reach them, you scan a QR code and then you will receive a phonecall 'from the statue' and it will tell you all about its life. I didn't actually do this, nor did I try to track the twelve statues down. Nonetheless, I reckon I encountered about ten of them just wandering around. The statue of George Salmon in Trinity College is also one of the talking statues.

The statue of Oscar Wilde is inside Merrion Gardens, but not far from his old house. He is depicted sprawling back on a rock. The sculptor, Danny Osborne, has depicted him smiling on one side of his face and sneering on the other. The smiling side represents the quick wit Wilde was famous for. The sneering side shows him worn down and broken having been imprisoned for homosexuality. I read all this later. When I was looking at the statue, I just thought Oscar Wilde had been depicted drunk. I thought that was why he appeared to have fallen back on a rock, too. There are two other statues that form part of this statue group. One is a naked male torso and the other is the nude image of Wilde's pregnant wife, Constance Lloyd. Wilde is looking at the naked male torso, rather than at his wife, which is another reference to his homosexuality. I also didn't notice any of this but to be fair to me, the statues were simply covered everywhere in tourists taking selfies and I couldn't get away from them fast enough.

Oscar Wilde.

Oscar Wilde.

Oscar Wilde.

Constance Lloyd.

I quickly left the statue behind and set off to explore the gardens at the centre of Merrion Square This was much more interesting. I found the far away end of the gardens to be the prettiest, because these were filled with lots of colourful flowers.

Merrion Square Gardens.

Merrion Square Gardens.

Merrion Square Gardens.

Sea holly.

Peruvian lilies.

There were sculptures everywhere in these gardens. I photographed all the ones that I found.

One sculpture depicted a woman with a harp to personify Ireland itself. This is called the Eire Memorial and was designed by Jerome Connor.

The Éire Memorial.

Another statue depicts Michael Collins, a key figure in Ireland's struggle for independence.

Michael Collins.

There's also Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme a Chilean independence leader of Spanish and Irish ancestry, known for freeing Chile from Spanish rule during the Chilean War of Independence.

Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme.

The Right Honourable Henry Grattan, Irish politician, was depicted here, too. He was also outside Trinity College.

The Right Hon. Henry Grattan.

There was also a bust of George William Russell, a prominent Irish writer, poet and artist.

George William Russell.

Then there was Tribute Head II by Dame Elisabeth Frink. This is one of four heads created to honour victims of state persecution and torture.

"Tribute Head II."

My favourite sculpture here was the 'Joker's Chair', also known as the Dermot Morgan Memorial Sculpture. Dermot Morgan was an actor and comedian best known for playing the role of Father Ted. This sculpture was designed by Catherine Greene and symbolizes the jester's ability to speak the truth to those in power. There is an eye beneath the seat to show that the person sitting on this seat sees exactly what is going on. The balls on the backrest resemble those on a jester's hat. This is an interactive sculpture so it is ok to sit on it.

The Joker's chair.

There were some children's playgrounds in these gardens, too, which seemed very popular and well-used.

Playground.

How happy we are here.

At the entrance to Merrion Square Gardens stands the Rutland Fountain. This was erected in 1792 in memory of Charles Manners, Duke of Rutland, who died while serving as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. It was designed by Francis Sandys.

The Rutland Fountain.

The Rutland Fountain.

Across the road from the fountain is The National Gallery of Ireland and Leinster House, the Irish parliament building. There's a statue outside The National Gallery depicting William Dargan. He was a well-known engineer often dubbed the 'father of Irish railways.' He helped build Ireland's first railway line between Dublin and Dún Laoghaire. The National Gallery is free to enter, but I didn't go in on this occasion. Leinster House dates back to the eighteenth century and was originally the residence of the Duke of Leinster. Through the rails of Leinster House I saw a statue of Robert Prescott Stewart, an Irish composer, organist, conductor, and teacher.

The National Gallery of Ireland.

The National Gallery of Ireland and the William Dargan Memorial.

Leinster House.

Robert Prescott Stewart.

I walked back to the city centre via some of Dublin's best shopping streets and found the statue of Sweet Molly Malone. She is another of the talking statues. Molly Malone is of course the character in the famous song who pushes her cart around Dublin selling cockles and mussels, before she sucumbs to a fever and dies. This statue was designed by sculptor Jeanne Rynhart. According to A.I. this statue is nicknamed 'the tart with the cart'. Personally I think A.I. is just having a laugh at human expense. Since I wrote that the statue on Victoria Square, Birmingham was nicknamed 'the floozy in the jacuzzi' I've seen that description on almost any statue that contains water. I don't like the current habit people have of grabbing or rubbing parts of a statue for luck. It results in them always having shiny breasts or groins or testicles or something. Surely it causes a lot of damage to a work of art. I photographed Molly in between horny men attaching themselves to her boobs.

Grafton Street for shopping.

Grafton Street.

Molly Malone.

Molly Malone.

I said goodbye to Sweet Molly Malone and headed back to Dame Street. I liked the constant reminders that there is such a thing as Guinness in the world. I love Guinness. I liked the look of the Dublin Citi Hotel and I liked the mosaic outside The Stag's Head Pub. I was heading to Dublin Castle.

Guinness.

Guinness.

Dublin Citi Hotel on Dame Street..

The Stag's Head.

The earliest version of Dublin Castle was constructed on the site of a former Viking settlement during the reign of King John in England. This was a medieval fortress consisting of four corner towers linked together by strong defensive curtain walls and built around a central courtyard. However, this fortress was very badly damaged in a fire in 1684 and was subsequently rebuilt in Georgian style as a palace with suites of grand reception rooms. In the early nineteenth century the Chapel Royal was added to the Lower Castle Yard.

Map of Dublin Castle.

Dublin Castle was the seat of first English, then British rule, in Ireland for more than seven hundred years. Then on the 16th of January 1922, the final British Viceroy of Ireland handed Dublin Castle over to Michael Collins and the government of the newly-independent Irish state. Nowadays the castle is still used for ceremonial events such as the inauguration of Irish presidents in Saint Patrick's Hall, the grandest of all the palace suites.

Famous people who have been guests in Dublin Castle include: Benjamin Franklin in 1771, The Duke of Wellington in 1807 and Daniel O'Connell in 1841. Queen Victoria stayed here on four separate occasions. Charles Dickens stayed here in 1864, Princess Grace of Monaco in 1961, John F Kennedy in 1963, Charles de Gaulle in 1969, Nelson Mandela in 1990 and Queen Elizabeth II in 2011. Bram Stoker, the author of 'Dracula' worked here from 1866 to 1878.

There are several different entrances to Dublin Castle. I entered from Dame Street into the Lower Castle Yard where I could see the Record Tower and the Chapel Royal. The Record Tower was undergoing some renovation.

Entrance and cafe.

The Record Tower.

The Record Tower and The Chapel Royal.

The Chapel Royal.

I passed through a gateway into the Upper Castle Yard where I could see some of the suites of reception rooms and the Bedford Tower. There were sculptures on each side of Bedford Tower. One showed Lady Justice the other is called Fortitude and depicts a warrior and a lion.

The Bedford Hall and Bedford Tower.

Bedford Tower through the archway.

Lady Justice.

Fortitude.

The Suites.

The Suites through the archway.

Gateway.

It is possible to buy an entry ticket for twelve Euros and tour the inside of the reception suites, but I didn't do this. Instead I went back to the Lower Castle Courtyard and continued round The Chapel Royal towards the Palace Gardens. I passed some small courtyards and saw that the lower side of the castle was painted in several different bright colours. It reminded me a bit of the castle in Sintra, Portugal.

Dublin Castle.

Courtyard.

Dublin Castle courtyard with Irish flag.

Colourful castle.

Colourful castle.

The castle gardens were my favourite part of the castle. There were good views of the castle from them.

Gardens and towers.

Castle from the garden.

Castle across the garden.

I also discovered a rather weird pink sculpture of David and Goliath. This was created by James Sutton and was originally part of the On A Pedestal exhibition which took place in 2018. Apparently this is a 3-d printed sculpture.

"David and Goliath" by Jam Sutton.

David and Goliath.

The castle gardens had lush green lawns and lots of colourful flowers.

A pleasant place to sit.

Sculpture in the garden.

Flowers in the garden.

On the far side of the garden is The Chester Beatty Library. I decided to have a quick look inside this free entry museum, though to be honest I was tiring by this stage and didn't do it full justice.

The Chester Beatty Library is a museum housing the art and artefacts collected by Sir Alfred Chester Beatty. He was an American mining engineer, collector and philanthropist. Chester Beatty worked in the mining industry in Zambia and the Belgian Congo. His passion was to collect manuscripts, rare books and other treasures from different cultures. He bequeathed his large collection to the people of Ireland.

The Chester Beauty Library.

Sculpture outside The Chester Beatty commemorating The Dublin 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games.

Sir Alfred Chester Beatty.

On the first floor was an exhibition called 'Arts of the Book. Exploring the richness of East Asian, Islamic and Western manuscript and printing traditions.'

Exhibit

Scenes from the life of Jesus.

The baptism of Christ.

Exhibit.

On the second floor there was an exhibition called 'Exploring Sacred Traditions from across the East Asian, Islamic and Western regions'.

Decorated door of Chinese cabinet.

Chinese painting.

Chinese door god.

Japanese Samurai armour.

Persian Miniature painting.

Persian miniature painting.

Madonna and child.

I took a couple of shots of the views over Dublin Castle Gardens from the second floor. I had expected good views from the rooftop garden, but there weren't. The rooftop garden is a pleasant place to sit. Sometimes yoga workshops take place here.

View from the library.

View from the library.

Roof garden.

After visiting The Chester Beatty Library, I left Dublin Castle and returned to the hotel.

Leaving the castle.

After a light lunch I took Peter out. We passed some statues outside a pub and a horse and carriage.

Gogarty and Joyce. Good taste in hats.

Horse and carriage.

We had a look at Icon Alley again, but this time I found a different part of it that I hadn't seen before. It had lots of sports stars, actors and actresses, musicians and writers, plus lots of street art.

Icon Alley.

Peter in Icon Alley.

Peter with Luke Kelly.

Peter at The Wall of Irish Sport.

Peter with four Irish sporting legends.

Famous Irish films.

George Bernard Shaw and Edna O'Brien.

Irish humour.

A Parting Glass.

Street art.

Street art.

Street art.

Street art.

Then I took Peter to the River Liffey. I pushed him along in one direction then he walked back along the other. We watched some people kayaking along the waters.

Peter with O'Connell Bridge.

Peter at O'Connell Bridge.

Peter by the river.

Peter by the river.

City Kayaking.

Kayaking on the river.

Peter at Ha'penny Bridge.

Me at Ha'penny Bridge.

Ha'penny Bridge.

I then took Peter up past Trinity College and onto Dame Street where we found a place to have dinner. We chose Trinity Bar and Venue Grill. I had a pint of Guinness and beef and Guinness casserole, because you can never have too much Guinness. Peter wasn't all that hungry so just had a sausage roll. He had two different kinds of cider and especially liked the Orchard Thieves.

Me at dinner.

Peter at dinner.

Peter with his sausage roll.

My Beef and Guinness casserole.

Us at dinner.

Peter with his cider.

After dinner we headed home. There was just one full day of holiday left.

On the 21st of July we finally left The UK and flew from Birmingham Airport to Dublin Airport on Ryan Air.

Our flight.

Last time we used Ryan Air was to fly from Berlin to Krakow last year and we were very unimpressed. This time, however, everything about the journey went right. We got excellent passenger assistance at Birmingham Airport. Our Ryan Air flight departed and arrived on time, so we were in Dublin less than an hour after leaving Birmingham. There was even a little victory tune as soon as we hit the ground and an announcement that we were on one of the many Ryan Air flights to arrive and depart on time. We had no difficulty getting Peter's wheelchair on the flight, and because we had prearranged this, it was taken for free and was there waiting for us when we got off. So this time ten out of ten for Ryan Air.

We got excellent passenger assistance when we arrived in Dublin Airport. We were taken right to the Dublin Express bus stop where we bought two return tickets to Aston Quay. On the journey we got talking to a man from Birmingham who had also travelled to Dublin in a wheelchair using passenger assistance. He told us his mother was originally from Cork and that he planned to be in Dublin for a week, including making a visit to the seaside.

At Aston Quay I was a bit confused about which way to go, as I am totally rubbish at understanding maps. We were staying for three nights in The Blooms Hotel in the Temple Bar Area. In fact the hotel was only a couple of minutes walk away from the bus stop, but I took us too far and ended up giving Peter a tour of the Temple Bar area while trying to find our hotel.

Blooms Hotel takes its name from the James Joyce novel 'Ulysses' and the hotel is covered with brightly coloured paintings of the main characters in the novel.

Leopold Bloom, Buck Mulligan, Blazes Boylan.

Leopold Bloom, Buck Mulligan.

Molly Bloom.

We checked in and the receptionist was very helpful and kind. He escorted us to our room, because I had Peter in a wheelchair and luggage to manage. The room was comfortable and clean. It had a walk-in shower, a safe and a kettle. The bed was very comfortable. I found out that the kettle, which was kind of weird and built into a tray, took forever to boil, so I went down to reception and told them this and they brought us another faster kettle.

Our room.

After a reviving cup of coffee, I went out in the drizzle to do a bit of sightseeing. Peter didn't want to come with me and chose to rest until dinner time. I began with another quick wander around The Temple Bar area.

The Temple Bar area takes its name from British diplomat, Sir William Temple, who built a huge house with expansive gardens here in the early 1600s. However by the eighteenth century this area had sunk into decline and was largely filled with rowdy bars and brothels. In the 1990's a private company came up with a proposal to tear down most of the historic buildings in Temple Bar and build a bus station there instead. While this proposal was being considered, the historic buildings were leased out at very low rents and many artists and other creative types flocked into the area. The bus station proposal was rejected and money was spent on revitalizing this area instead. Nowadays Temple Bar is Dublin's nightlife and cultural centre. It is filled with bars and restaurants. Many of these, however, are very expensive and the area appeals more to tourists than to locals.

Of the many many bars here, tourists are particularly attracted to a pub called Temple Bar; I think largely because of its name and a mistaken belief that it must have given its name to the area. This historic bar dates from 1840 and is constantly surrounded by people taking photos. It's supposed to have a huge selection of whiskies, beers and sandwiches. I didn't go inside, but found this pub quite photogenic from the outside.

The Temple Bar.

The Temple Bar.

The Temple Bar.

There were lots of other bars, restaurants, arty farty shops and theatres here. This area was incredibly lively at night.

The Old Mill Restaurant.

Outside a restaurant.

The Whiskey Reserve.

Nine Crows Vintage Clothes Shop.

The former Church of Saints Michael and John.

There was also lots of beautiful street art all around this area.

Street art.

Street art.

Street art.

Street art.

Street art.

Street art.

Street art.

Next, I decided to go away from the River Liffey and explore Dame Street on the southern edge of Temple Bar. I passed some interesting buildings on route including Dublin City Hall and Dublin Castle.

Dublin City Hall.

Dublin Castle and Newcomen bank.

Allied Irish Bank.

"Millennium Child" sculpture by John Behan.

I walked along Dame Street as far as Christ Church Cathedral.

Christ Church Cathedral is the oldest cathedral in Dublin and dates back to around 1030 when it was founded during the reign of the Viking King Sitric Silkenbeard. Then in the twelfth century it was rebuilt in stone when the Norman potentate, Strongbow, was in power. Parts of the cathedral fell down in the sixteenth century and it wasn't rebuilt into its current form until the nineteenth century. It might have been nice to have a look inside, but entrance cost around twelve Euros. Considering it is a religious building,and you should be able to go inside to pray, I wasn't impressed by this and didn't go inside at all. However the building with its tower and footbridge was attractive from the outside. There was a statue of a down and out called 'Homeless Jesus' on the bench in front of the cathedral.

Christchurch Cathedral.

Christchurch Cathedral.

Cathedral and footbridge.

Footbridge.

'Homeless Jesus' sculpture by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz.

I knew that if I changed direction and went further away from the river, I would come to Saint Patrick's Cathedral, so I did that next. There was an attractive park next to this cathedral. I photographed the cathedral building from there and didn't even look at how much it was to go inside, but looking it up online now it seems to be around eleven Euros.

Saint Patrick's Cathedral.

Saint Patrick's Cathedral.

According to legend this cathedral is built on the site of an ancient well, which was used by Saint Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland, to baptise people. The cathedral itself dates back to around 1220.

There's an interesting story connected to the cathedral. In 1492 two families, the Butlers and the FitzGeralds became embroiled in a bitter feud. Tempers were close to boiling point, so the Butler Family, fearing for their lives, fled and sought sanctuary inside the Chapter House of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral. When they had calmed down a bit, the FitzGerald family came to the cathedral and tried to get the Butlers to come out and agree to a truce. Fearing that they would be killed, the Butlers refused to move, so Gerald, the head of the Fitzgerald family, cut a hole in the Chapter House door and stuck his arm through it. The Butlers seeing that Gerald was willing to risk the damage they may do to his arm, shook hands with him and the dispute was over. This incident is said to be the origin of the phrase “to chance your arm.”

From here I decided to walk to Saint Stephen's Green. The area I walked through was mainly residential and not very touristy. Saint Stephen's Green is a park with a lot of statues and an interesting history. It takes its name from a hospital for lepers which used to be nearby and which was dedicated to Saint Stephen.

Map of Saint Stephen's Green.

Map of Saint Stephen's Green.

Until 1663 Saint Stephen's Green was a marshy common on the outskirts of Dublin. Locals brought their animals here to graze. Then Dublin Corporation decided to fence off the common and build houses around it. For many years access to the common was only available to those who lived around it. Then in 1877 Sir A.E. Guinness, a member of the Guinness brewing family, managed to get the park opened up to the general public once more and paid to have it redesigned more or less to the way it is today. There's a statue of Sir A.E. Guinness in the park.

Sir Arthur Edward Guinness.

Saint Stephen's Green played a part in The Easter Risings of 1916 and although I am not an expert in Irish history, I'll attempt to explain The Easter Rising and why it occurred. Apologies if I get anything wrong. Irish history is certainly complex.

The Act of Union in 1801 joined the whole of Ireland to Britain, creating the country The United Kingdom of Britain and Ireland. However, not everyone in Ireland was happy about this. Many people, especially those belonging to the majority Catholic population, wanted Ireland to be an independent country. This led to several uprisings against British rule, especially during times of great hardship, such as during famines or periods of mass emigration.

The Easter Rising of 1916 took place at a time when Britain was fighting in the First World War. The Irish hoped that the British would be too caught up in the war to put down the rebellion. In fact the leaders of the rebellion, working on the principle the enemy of my enemy is my friend, had met up with members of the German government and were promised a consignment of arms from them to help fight against the British.

In my opinion The Easter Rising was almost certainly doomed to failure right from the start for a number of reasons. One, the Protestants in the north of the country were completely against independence and wanted to stay part of The United Kingdom. Two, even among the Catholic majority there was no consensus about independence. Some people wanted total independence; others wanted to stay part of The United Kingdom but have improved powers and rights. There was also no consensus about the timing of the rebellion. Three, the leaders of the rebellion were paranoid that the British would find out about it in advance, so kept almost all information about it top secret. This resulted in those taking part in the rebellion having limited knowledge about what was actually going on. In addition to all of this, the British knew about the arms that were being sent to Ireland, because they had intercepted encrypted messages about them and they blew up the ship that was bringing them from Germany. Finally, the British greatly outnumbered the Irish population and were able to send huge numbers of reinforcements to quell any uprisings that may occur.

However, although the British did manage to quell the rebellion, they suffered many casualties, a lot more than was suffered by the Irish. This made the British furious and resulted in them committing several atrocities. One such incident was known as the North King Street Massacre in which sixteen civilian men and boys were falsely accused of taking part in the rebellion and were brutally murdered by British soldiers. The leaders of the rebellion were taken to Kilmainham Jail and shot, which also shocked a lot of people.

While these acts of revenge were meant to cow the Irish and stop them from rebelling, they had the exact opposite effect. They simply led to more and more Catholics sympathising with the rebels and being willing to fight for independence. Southern Ireland eventually became independent from Britain in 1922, though the Protestant north did not.

So what exactly happened on Saint Stephen's Green? Well, around two hundred to two hundred and fifty Irish fighters blocked off roads around the green and dug trenches in the park to fight the British soldiers. They expected the British to approach them at ground level from the nearby British barracks. Instead of doing this, the British took over the Shelbourne Hotel which overlooked the park. From this vantage point they could shoot the Irish soldiers waiting in the trenches below. This forced the Irish soldiers who weren't gunned down to retreat to The Royal College of Surgeons on the west side of the park.

The only pleasant part of this story is that apparently at one point in the fighting both sides agreed to halt hostilities to allow a groundsman to feed the ducks on the ponds of Saint Stephen's Green!!

Nowadays there are still ducks in the ponds on Saint Stephen's Green and a bridge called O'Connell Bridge which stretches across the middle of the ponds.

Bridge.

Pond.

Pond.

Duck.

There are also lots of flower beds. These were looking a bit flooded as there had been torrential rain overnight and much of the morning. We had managed to just miss this. The flooded flower beds were covered with seagulls.

Flooded flower beds.

Flooded flower beds.

Flooded flower beds.

As you walk around Saint Stephen's Green, you are of course surrounded by greenery, but I was surprised to see that some trees were already looking autumnal.

Saint Stephen's Green.

Saint Stephen's Green.

Autumnal tree.

There are many monuments in Saint Stephen's Park such as a Fusiliers Arch, which commemorates the Royal Dublin Fusiliers who died in the Second Boer War.

The Fusiliers Arch.

Another monument is the Three Fates Fountain, which was a gift from the German people to thank the Irish for taking in German children as refugees during World War II.

The Three Fates.

Then there's the W. B. Yeats memorial garden with a sculpture by Henry Moore.

W.B. Yeats Memorial.

Another bust depicts the famous Irish writer, James Joyce. I've never actually read anything by him. Perhaps I should.

James Joyce.

There's a memorial to the Fenian leader (apparently that's an organisation and not an insult) Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa, who continued to fight for Irish independence after being exiled to The United States.

Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa Memorial.

A bronze statue depicts Theobald Wolfe Tone, the leader of the 1798 rebellion.

Wolfe Tone.

Just behind this, there's a memorial to the Great Famine of 1845–1850 by Edward Delaney.

Memorial to The Great Famine.

Memorial to The Great Famine.

There's a bust of Countess Constance Markievicz. She was one of the fighters here during The Easter Rising. Markievicz was an Irish revolutionary nationalist politician, suffragist and socialist. She was also the first woman elected to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Countess Constance Markievicz.

There's a statue of Robert Emmet, an Irish Republican, orator and rebel leader.

Robert Emmet.

I also found a memorial bust of war poet, Thomas Kettle and of another poet called James Clarence Mangan.

Thomas Kettle, Irish poet.

James Clarence Mangan, Irish poet.

Oh and speaking of poets, there's also a bust of Bengal Renaissance poet Rabindranath Tagore.

Rabindranath Tagore.

Finally there's a gardener's cottage, bandstand and ornate shelter.

The Gardener's Cottage.

Flowers.

Bandstand.

Shelter.

When I had finished wandering around Saint Stephen's Green, I headed back towards the hotel. I saw the mansion house, which has been home to the Lord Mayor of Dublin since 1715. Next to the mansion there was a very fancy looking restaurant called The Fire Steakhouse. I also passed by Hodges Figgis Book Shop, the Lady Grattan Drinking Fountain and a hairdressers I liked the look of for some reason. My friend Pat had strongly recommended the book shop, but I didn't have time to go in. Hodges Figgis dates back to 1768, making it the oldest book shop in Ireland. The Lady Grattan Fountain was presented to the people of Dublin by Lady Laura Grattan, daughter-in-law of politician and patriot, Henry Grattan, (I found his statue next day) at a time when running water was supplied to only a small number of houses in the city.

The Mansion House.

Fire Steakhouse Restaurant.

Hodges Figgis Bookshop.

Lady Grattan drinking fountain.

The Salon.

Back at the hotel, we had vouchers for a free drink in The Vat House, which was the hotel pub, so we went there and had a lovely meal. I had a delicious Irish stew and Peter had a cheese board. There was a live band playing. The atmosphere was really pleasant and we had a very enjoyable evening. I liked that every table had hats to try on. I do love a good hat.

The Vat House Bar.

Live band.

Life is better in a hat.

What a handsome young man!

Looking very dapper.

My Irish stew.

Peter's cheeseboard.

After dinner, I had a quick walk around the Temple Bar area again to see what it was like at night. It was extremely crowded. Most of the bars had live music on. The atmosphere was good or at least it was in the early evening before people got too drunk.

The Oliver St John Gogarty.

The Oliver St John Gogarty.

The Auld Dubliner.

Irish pub.

Irish pub.

Enjoy an Irish coffee.

Guinness black cannot be turned white.

Some buildings were very nicely lit up and colourful.

Night-time buildings.

Night-time street.

Building in Temple Bar.

The famous Temple Bar Pub was absolutely covered everywhere in tiny lights. Again it was surrounded by people taking pictures.

The Temple Bar at night.

The Temple Bar at night.

I walked down to the river and admired The Ha'penny Bridge. Before this was built there were seven ferries which crossed the River Liffey. These were operated by a man called William Walsh and were in very poor condition and Walsh was told to either repair them or build a bridge across the river. Walsh chose to build a bridge. It was constructed in Shropshire, England and was delivered to Ireland in parts, then reconstructed across the Liffey in 1816. Walsh had the right to charge a ha'penny toll from anyone crossing it for the next hundred years. This toll was finally dropped in 1919.

Halfpenny Bridge.

I walked along to The O'Connell Bridge. This has a busy road chocabloc with traffic crossing it and leads to O'Connell Street on the other side of the river.

O'Connell Bridge.

I noticed a very noisy seagull on the fence by the water and stopped to photograph it.

Seagull by the Liffey.

On my way back home I stumbled upon Icon Alley which contained street art depicting famous Irish people. I didn't recognize everyone there, but I knew some of the musicians such as Sinead O'Connor, Bob Geldof and Thin Lizzy.

Icon Alley.

Sinead O'Connor.

Shane MacGowan.

Thin Lizzy.

Bob Geldof.

I also loved the images of Father Ted, as I find this show really funny.

Father Ted.

Father Ted.

There were also lots of images of famous Irish writers and a list of their works, plus famous quotes from them. These included: Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett and Sean O'Casey.

Oscar Wilde.

George Bernard Shaw.

Samuel Beckett.

Sean O'Casey.

Back home I could hear the music from a bar in our room, but I didn't find it annoying, instead I found it quite pleasant to listen to and it didn't go on too late. We both slept well.

It was time to visit Peter's brother and his wife in Buckinghamshire. We checked out of The Ibis Hotel, took the train to Leighton Buzzard and and were picked up by Peter's brother, Richard.

I took lots of pictures of the flowers in Richard and Viv's huge garden.

White roses.

Pink rose.

Red roses.

Orange rose.

Clematis.

Anemone.

Butterfly bush.

We sat in the garden and had a drink.

Richard, Peter, Vivienne.

Peter and I.

Peter.

Richard and Viv.

The weather was beautiful, so Richard's wife, Viv, made us a lovely meal which we ate under a tree in the garden. We had sea bass risotto. It was delicious.

Sea bass.

Veggies.

That evening we watched some TV. Viv introduced us to 'Motherland' and 'Amandaland' which we thought were quite funny. We also watched several cookery programmes.

Next day we had a bit of a long lie. It was raining, but still felt really hot.

We went for a drive to a pub called The French Horn in Steppingley. The rain had stopped and we were able to enjoy a drink outside in the beer garden. I noticed there was a beautiful church next to the pub and lots of beautiful flowers in the beer garden.

The French Horn.

The French Horn.

In The French Horn.

Church.

Lilies.

Roses.

Richard drove us across Woburn Abbey Deer Park. We saw lots of lovely deer, but Richard never slows down or stops, so I couldn't take any photos. I'll add one from the web.

Woburn Deer Park.

That evening we sat in the garden again and had a picnic consisting of quiche, tortilla, pork pie, Scotch egg, Wiltshire ham and salad. It was very pleasant to sit outside in the fresh air.

Picnic.

There was a pretty sunset at night.

Sunset.

We were leaving the next day and were taken to Leighton Buzzard to catch our train. We had booked passenger assistance but didn't get it as the station was unmanned on a Sunday. The train was really busy. Peter sat in his wheelchair. I varied between standing and sitting on my case. When we got as far as North Hampton, we were suddenly told there was a line down and we all had to go back to Milton Keynes. This would have been really annoying even if we hadn't had luggage and one of us in a wheelchair. In our current situation it was pretty much unbearable. We couldn't get to the platform fast enough for the train back to Milton Keynes, so we had to take the next one. It departed late. We were starting to get really annoyed. When we did finally arrive at Milton Keynes, the staff there seemed surprised we were being sent back. We had been told our tickets would be valid on Avanti trains, but there were announcements saying they weren't valid. We got on anyway and fortunately nobody checked our ticket.

I was so relieved when we finally reached Birmingham International and checked into The Ibis Hotel at the airport.

Our room.

We were both exhausted and hungry so we went for a meal in the hotel and enjoyed our free drinks. I normally have beer, but this time I went for a large glass of white wine. I felt I needed it. For dinner I had chicken burger and Peter had ham croquettes.

Peter.

Peter's croquettes.

My burger.

Both of us.

We were really really tired, but had to get up early for our flight the next day.

A Visit to Baddesley Clinton.

On the Thursday Peter and I took the number three bus from outside The Adagio to Saint Agnes Road, where we met up with Chris and Pat again. Pat has a minivan and there was plenty of room to get Peter's wheelchair into the back.

Pat then drove us out of Birmingham and into Warwickshire. We were on our way to visit an old manor house and estate owned by The National Trust. This estate is called Baddesley Clinton.

Baddesley Clinton entrance board.

The front of the house.

Peter on the bridge.

Baddesley Clinton Manor House.

Here's how it got its name. Way back in Saxon times a man called Badde drove his cattle to the Forest of Arden, then cut down trees to make a sheltered clearing called a 'ley' to graze them on. This clearing was called Badde's Ley, which was later contracted to Baddesley.

And as for the Clinton part of the name ...

Around 1100 control of the Baddesley estate passed to Walter de Bisege and remained in the Bisege family for the next four generations. Then around 1290 Walter’s great-granddaughter, Mazera, who was heir to the property, married Sir Thomas de Clinton, and the name of the estate was changed to Baddesley Clinton. Sir Thomas and Mazera’s son, James de Clinton, had a moat dug and the earliest version of the manor house built. The first buildings here were wooden and little remains of them today.

When we arrived at the current moated stone manor house that occupies the estate, we got tickets to enter the house at three fifteen.

Baddesley Clinton Manor House.

The side of the house.

The back of the house.

Reflections.

We were a bit early so we went for a walk around the moat first. Here we saw the loveliest baby ducklings. In fact a mother duck led them right next to us and they sat contentedly next to the bench we were sitting on.

Peter in the grounds.

Peter, Pat and Chris.

Peter, Pat, Chris and me.

Peter, me, Chris.

Ducks by the moat.

Mummy duck and her babies.

Ducklings.

Ducklings.

Pat and I walked right around the moat and visited the walled gardens of Baddesley. These were filled with colourful flowers.

Walking round the moat.

Baddesley Clinton Manor House.

Wild flowers don't grow where feet go.

Entrance to the walled gardens.

Flowers in the walled gardens.

Gardens.

Flowers in the walled gardens.

Pat in the walled garden.

Wooden shed and gardens.

Gardens.

Gardens.

The house viewed from the walled gardens.

Of course there were lots more beautiful flowers everywhere.

Flowers in the grounds.

Flower and bee.

Yellow flowers.

Roses.

Roses.

Cafe.

When we came back, we found a family of even tinier ducklings.

Tiny ducklings.

Tiny ducklings.

Then we headed to the bridge that leads to a gatehouse.

Peter by the moat.

Peter.

Once through the gatehouse we found ourselves in a beautiful garden decorated with flowers growing in red and yellow diamond shapes reflecting the coat of arms of the Ferrers family who used to live in this manor house.

Diamond shapes in the courtyard.

In the courtyard.

In the courtyard.

Windows.

Peter by the entrance.

Chris and Pat.

Downstairs in the manor house we saw a pantry and a kitchen which is famous for having a once concealed priest hole.

Pantry.

Kitchen.

Kitchen.

Priest hole.

We also saw the great hall which is probably the most ornate room in the house.

The Great Hall.

The Great Hall.

The Great Hall.

The Great Hall.

The Great Hall.

On the ground floor there was also a dining room and a drawing room.

Dining room.

Drawing room.

Peter in the manor house.

Stairway.

We learned the stories of some of the occupants of the house such as John and Nicholas Brome.

In 1438 Baddesley Clinton was acquired by an influential lawyer, called John Brome, who later became Under-Treasurer of the Exchequer. John Brome improved the house greatly. He also had a lot of the land cleared in order to grow cereals and breed cattle.

Brome began his career very successfully, however, his fortunes changed abruptly when he supported the losing side in The War of the Roses. This resulted in him losing all his positions in court. In 1468 Brome got into an argument with John Herthill, steward to the Earl of Warwick, and was subsequently killed by him in the porch of Whitefriars Church in London.

John Brome's second son, Nicholas, was furious about his father's murder and challenged Herthill to a duel in which Herthill was killed. Because he was wealthy and from an important family, Nicholas received a very lenient penalty for killing Herthill, which was to pay for a priest to say daily prayers for the souls of both his father and John Herthill, and to pay Herthill's widow 33 shillings and fourpence.

When Nicholas's mother died in 1483, Nicholas inherited Baddesley and thus had the job of appointing a parish priest for the Church of Saint Michael which is located on the estate. He appointed a priest called William Foster. However, in 1485 Nicholas returned home unexpectedly and found William Foster, stroking his wife under the chin. Nicholas lost his temper and ran the priest through with a sword.

As recompense for his crimes, Nicholas built two towers which are known as the towers of atonement. Nicholas was pardoned by King Henry VII in 1496. He died in 1517 and requested in his will that he be buried ‘Within the Church door as the people may tread upon mee as they come into the church.’ He was buried standing up under the entrance to the church, where his body remains to the present day.

Upstairs in the house we saw several bedrooms, another priest hole, a chapel and a library. There's a large blood stain on the fireplace in the library. At one time it was believed that Nicholas Brome murdered the priest here, but analysis of the blood stain showed it was actually animal blood.

Chapel.

Priest hole.

Library.

Library.

Bedroom.

Bedroom.

Bedroom.

Bedroom.

Bedroom.

There were lots of beautiful paintings all over the house and several lovely stained glass windows.

Painting.

Henry Ferrers Ferrers.

"A Lady of the Petre Family Playing the Guitar".

The inside of a Dutch church.

Stained glass windows.

Stained glass windows.

Armour and a buff coat.

Another very interesting period in the history of this house took place during the English Reformation when practicing Catholicism was banned and Baddesley Clinton became a secret safe house for Catholic priests.

In 1497 Sir Edward Ferrers, Sheriff of Warwickshire, married Constance, Nicholas Brome’s daughter and eventually inherited Baddesley Clinton. The Ferrers family continued to live here for the next twelve generations, around five hundred years.

The Ferrers secretly remained Catholics after the English reformation. The then owner of Baddesley Clinton, Henry Ferrers, rented out his home to two sisters Anne and Eleanor Vaux in 1588. These women employed a lay-brother of the Jesuit faith called Nicholas Owen to create hiding places for up to twelve priests inside Baddesley Clinton Manor.

On one occasion in 1591 there was a secret Jesuit meeting in Baddesley and a group of priest hunters were tipped off and surrounded the building. The Jesuits had to climb down a rope inside one of the priest holes and hide at the bottom of a latrine for several hours while Anne Vaux bravely tried first to delay the priest hunters to allow the Jesuits to hide, then butter them up with free food and drink to convince them of her innocence.

Nicholas Owen, who built the priest holes here and in several other estate houses, was eventually captured by the Protestant authorities and tortured to death. He was later canonised.

Much later in the 1860's Baddesley Clinton was inhabited by the novelists Georgiana Chatterton and her second husband Edward Heneage Dering, who both converted to Roman Catholicism and rebuilt the beautiful Roman Catholic chapel inside the house.

After looking around the house, we had ice-cream and coffees in the cafe next to the old manor house.

Crossing back over the bridge.

There were several second hand book shops and plant nurseries near the cafe.

In the cafe.

Nursery.

Nursery.

Nursery.

Plant nurseries.

Chris and I had a look at the old Saint Michael's Church where Nicholas Brome is buried. It was beautiful but unfortunately it was closed.

St Michael's Church sign.

St Michael's Church.

St Michael's Church.

St Michael's Church.

The grounds at Baddesley Clinton are extensive and there are lots of sheep grazing here. Apparently there are also several lakes and walking trails. It really is a beautiful place.

Sheep.

When we were finished looking around the estate, we headed to a pub called The Orange Tree where we had a quick drink while sitting outside.

The Orange Tree.

The Orange Tree.

The Orange Tree

We then went to another pub called The Black Boy for dinner. The Black Boy is scenically located next to a canal. It's called The Black Boy after Charles II. This was the nickname his mum used for him. We ate inside the pub then sat outside for coffee and dessert. I had a Chinese chicken curry for dinner, Peter had lamb kofte, Chris had steak and ale pie and Pat had grilled salmon.

The Black Boy.

The Black Boy.

Peter in The Black Boy.

Peter, me and Chris.

Peter's kofte.

Pat's salmon.

Chris's pie.

Peter, Pat and Chris by the canal.

Canal.

Canal.

Canal.

Canal.

Canal.

It was a really lovely day and I think we all enjoyed it very much.