A fun day at Down Royal Racecourse in Northern Ireland today – it’s the biggest day of the their season, so you see huge crowds and tremendous quality racing…. and some funny grannies going wild!
These two lads became a bit a viral hit last night when videos emerged on social media as they also went on a wild ride on the first day of the racing festival.
Today I went down myself and couldn’t believe when I bumped right into them entering the course.
Some more photos from a chilly but beautiful day:
Standing atop the Mirador Degollada de La Yegua, mother nature’s force in full swing – one could imagine how it feels when the time has come and the end is near.
Standing there at sunset hour? Anyone can do that. Standing there when the winds reach 100 miles an hour and the rain hits your face hard? You got to be devoted.
I just survived the latest downpour in my quest to concur Mullacor Mountain – one of the easier hikes in the Wicklow Mountains National Park – in dismay I look at those heavy rain clouds which made my last half an hour so miserable.
But then, suddenly and certainly out of nowhere, the sun is back! In fact, at the exact place where only minutes ago I was cursing mother nature, now a glowing stream of vibrant colours forms the most stunning double rainbow.
It’s those moments that are reward for the one who makes the effort to go out into the wild, to explore what the world around us feels and tastes.
At the same time it makes me realise – quite literally – that day in day out I’m actually just sitting in front of a brightly glowing screen and start losing a sense for the real world out there.
So, memo to myself: go out more often! Let’s try this right away…….
Well, special place warrant special journeys, I guess. To find your way to the castle you have to take a short but steep and strenuous hike through the hills. And when you think there’s nothing to find, then, quite suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, this hidden gem appears down in a protected valley.
It’s a place of unspoiled nature, yet magnificent history with the castle being one of the oldest Norman castles in southern Ireland, dating back to 1207.
What I love most about this place: not many tourists know about it! When I was there none else was there – on what was during the heights of the tourist season on a late afternoon. This place is so far out there and tricky to reach – seemingly too much for the conventional tourist.
But that might be a blessing in disguise for the area itself and for those who how take the effort to explore this hidden gem.
Shoot It Now 