Cold

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Monday 27^thApril. Today I completed that weather quartet, and had snow as well – in addition to rain and hail – and the wind! The wind on the coast was fierce. I had to wear plenty of layers, and gloves and ear-warming hat too. The snow, which was occasional, and up in the hills, consisted of big, wet flakes, which melted as soon as they hit the car or the ground. It was interesting too to have a sun-shower or two, but not of rain, but hail! It certainly was cold.

In the morning I walked the walls of Derry, in the rain. This city has a very interesting history, and was under siege in 1689 when a Catholic king and a Protestant king were fighting over who was to actually be king of England. Also there is a lot of history of the ‘Troubles’ here. Tomorrow, if it’s not raining, I plan to do a guided walking tour in order to learn more.

After that, I drove down to Plumbridge to meet the Bradleys and visit their farm. It was lovely to talk about the family tree, similarities and differences, and family happenings. Noeleen put on a delicious lunch too.

I then drove north up to the coast to see the Giant’s Causeway. This is very famous, and I found it very interesting, but much smaller than I had expected. Despite all the rain around (and I drove through plenty of it), it was sunny there (and extremely windy), so I was very lucky. It did start to rain as I was walking back up to the carpark, so I became a bit wet. I then drove through more rain around to the Carrick-a-Rede, a rope-bridge which goes across to a little island, originally built by the salmon fishermen. Again the sun came out (with a rainbow) during my visit! It was exciting to walk across the narrow, swaying bridge, and the coastal scenery there was very spectacular, especially with dark clouds in the distance.

I drove back to Derry in the rain! How fortunate that I had sunshine and clouds, but no rain, during my scenic stops!

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Photos

Glenelly Valley
Where the Bradleys' farm is located

Coastal Scenery near Giant's Causeway
Check out those buildings at the cliff base