I’m still here, I just haven’t done anything blogworthy over the past six weeks.
However, last Saturday, I headed to North Belfast for my monthly trip to Cavehill.
I struck it lucky with the weather. It was dry, which was nice. Even nicer, was that there was a lot of daylight for me to work with when getting photos. At least I avoided the 24 hours of rain that started that afternoon.
Regular readers will know that I wanted to turn up early enough to photograph the sunrise. Sadly, throughout the Winter, my bed was too cosy. Now, as Spring approaches, the sunrises are earlier, meaning I won’t be able to get there in time as the Car Park doesn’t open until 7.30am.
I arrived just after 8am. I would have arrived earlier, but I had a rotten run of luck with traffic lights.
Whilst the weather that morning was nice, having rained for a few days going into my visit, there was a lot of mud and puddles to navigate around.
It was also very windy, so like a member of U2 trying to maintain Social Distancing, it was best not to stand too close to The Edge.
As per usual, halfway up, I could see Solitude and Windsor Park at the same time. The temptation was there to see what view I could get of Cliftonville v Glenavon and Linfield v Carrick Rangers.
Briefly, there was even a small smattering of snowflakes falling down. Not lying on the ground but I still had to do a double take.
Eventually, I reached the top, McArt’s Fort, took in the view and got some photos.
However, on the way down, I took a different route. Instead of going straight down, I turned right.
The previous month, for my February walk, I headed that way.
If you’re wondering why there is no blog for this, it wasn’t really worth blogging about.
I happened to be in North Belfast that day, to collect a Decathlon delivery from ASDA. After that, I decided to pop along, only going to that point where you have to turn left or go up. I decided to go left to have a nosey.
That morning, was dull and grey, there were no good photos to be had, so I didn’t bother.
That path led me to Upper Hightown Road. There was one spot for a good view of Belfast, and the daylight set up some nice arty shots, just as I did when going down an alternative pathway to the Car Park at Innisfayle Park.
This wasn’t the only adventure I have been on since my last blog post.
In mid January, I headed to Belvoir Park Forest for a stroll, exploring more and more of it than I had previously. You can have a look at the photos here.
The following weekend, there was snow in Belfast. A nice surprise to wake up to. It didn’t last long though.
Unsurprisingly, I was out with my camera, even though the snow was underwhelming.
You can have a look at the photos here.
The following weekend, I headed to Blackmountain for my monthly walk up for January.
It was the first time I had been up there on a weekend, all my previous visits were on weekdays when I was using up Annual Leave.
Despite the fact it was 8.50am and freezing, the place was rammed. I won’t be heading up there on a Saturday for a while, not until I get my second jab. Haven’t even got my first one yet. The downside of being so young.
And worst of all, the weather was dull and grey, so I didn’t get any decent photos.
The following weekend, was the partial walk up Cavehill because I happened to be in North Belfast, mentioned earlier.
And then, more snow the following weekend. Just like in January, it was underwhelming and short lived. You can have a look at the photos here.
So that is what I’ve been up to. Up next on my hitlist is Cregagh Glen/Lisnabreeny Hill as I haven’t been there for a while.
Even though travel outside Belfast is restricted at the moment, there’s nothing wrong with having dreams and plans.
Easyjet have just announced flights between Belfast and Inverness, and they’re cheap. Might take that up in the next eighteen months for some Highland Rambling.
Slievenacloy in Lisburn is still on my radar, if I can find it.
I’m hoping to sneak off to Bray at some point this year, and visit Bray Head and Big Sugar Loaf.
Edinburgh Fringe is doubtful for this year. That’s just my opinion, but the scale of the event, I’ll be surprised if it happens. Even if it doesn’t return in August, I’ll still try to head there and do Arthur’s Seat towards the end of the year.
And of course, I have flights to Gatwick booked for July, so I’ll have to make a decision regarding wether to move them by June.
Regardless of when I go, I’ll probably ditch my hotel in London (free cancellation) instead and go to Brighton. If I do, I’ll try to sneak in Devil’s Dyke.
That are my plans for 2021 and 2022 but in the short-term, Cavehill again at some point in April 2021.
And you may see photos of it on a new Flickr account for all of my 2021 Photo Adventures. You can find it here.
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