Stephen and I took a walk up Cavehill this morning. I was hoping to get a clear view of Belfast but the cloud moved in during the 10 minutes we stayed at the top. It did however lead to some interesting photos.
Here’s some scenic shots.
Looking at the top.
Hawthorn silhouette
Stephen taking in the view as it disappeared into the cloud.
Love this one.
Looking down over North Belfast.
Belfast in a shaft of sunlight.
Shipyard where the Titanic was built 100 years ago.
Belfast Castle, our start and finish point.
A sculpture in the grounds of the Castle.
Some trees for inspiration.
Beech Uros.
Yellow Larch
Hawthorn berries
Scots Pine
Hawthorn popping up everywhere.
and the best for last, a panoramic of Belfast Lough, stitched together in Photoshop.
This guy was walking a horse on the Beach! Well, it was the size of a horse. My dogs gave it a wide berth. Pink lead made me laugh.
Crawforsburn
Just makes you want to sit down for a while.
end game, Bangor Marina.
Hooded Crow takes off just as I get the camera up!!
Sycamore with a windswept look. Thatched roof behind.
Stenna Ferry heading out of Belfast Lough
The brothers grim 🙂 I know you check this Sam, and it would be remiss of me not to follow on from the Gorrillas in the mist dig from the last walk 🙂
Extra light hitting the forest floor now that leaf drop is well under way.
A Larch on the Autumn turn.
Peeking out over County Down.
Every time a walk past this cottage in the country, I want to move in! Wonder if the back garden is big enough for my bonsai collection 🙂
Maybe in 20 years time. Too young to collect.
Most of the Hawthorn have lost their leaves but it looks to have been a great year for berries.
Up top, not a lot to see!!
Gorrillas in the mist… my two brothers 🙂
More Autumn colour, and I don’t mean the cattle!
Just love walking under the tree canopy in the rain. Some lovely scenes.
We spotted this Birch that had grown for years on a slab of rock. I guess it over stretched itself and the weight of the canopy pulled it over. The glade is sheltered and wind paid no part.
Had to resort to a flash!
We did get a brief flash of Sun.
Nebari addict!!
The path is part of a major cycle network.
Some of the wildlife.
Turned out to be my dog Smudge 🙂
Some nice old Beech trees with interesting nebari.
We walked past the old 
Stephen’s wee legs just couldn’t keep up 😉
As usual pollution could be seen but on the whole, the waterway was very clear considering it was a stretch of water linking two Cities.
One of the other major issues on this stretch of river is the spread of Japanese or 
Oyster Catchers on the wing.
Spreading the wings to catch the rays.
The Winter hasn’t had an impact on our native orchids, I’ve seem more this year than ever.
After being tied up with bonsai for the last two Sundays it was a relief to get out with the dogs this morning. We added a bit on to the walk to make it around the 11 mile mark. We started off at the Lead Mines in Ards and walked the Clandeboye Way to Bangor Marina. Some nice trees and flowers along the way for inspiration.
Some native Orchids I spotted on the way. Amazing that they have survived the dirt Bikes that tear the area to bits!
At the top of the first hill is Helens Tower. You can read about it for yourselves. It was nice to see and reminded me of the Ulster Tower during my trip to the Somme Battlefield last September.
Some nice Beech and Pine around the Tower dating to the original planting in 1848.
What are you looking at?
Where did the path go??
Pink Valerian
Eleven miles later, the finish line at Bangor Marina.
Bonsai Eejit 