Drive To Castleward In County Down

We brought a flask and some fruit with us this morning and drove to Castleward, the wonderful National Trust property in County Down. Traffic was very light on the way and we drove straight to the village of Strangford first; parked near the old harbour, we sat in the lovely Spring sunshine for awhile; then I had a walk round the village.

The Lobster Pot restaurant and bar has expanded by buying two adjacent terrace properties and on the right-hand side they have a guest-house called The Manse; on the left-hand side there is a traditional bar called The Pot. We have fond, nostalgic memories of the Lobster Pot going right back to the early seventies, when real scampi was served in a wicker basket with chips and cost £3.65! There were two very attractive teenage waitresses too, one called Julie. I sent her a Valentine card once, when I was about sixteen or seventeen and wrote "Julie the Sensuous Barmaid" thereon! The other waitress was pretty too and I saw her today, thirty years later. I smiled and nodded to her and she smiled back. I wonder if she remembered me.

We drove on to Castleward. Parking at the old farm-yard, there was a group of people enjoying an organized barbecue and the aroma of the sausages made me so hungry that I felt like going over to them and offering a few quid for a hot-dog! The farm-yard is the base for Clearsky Adventures and I think they organized it all.

It was so sunny by now that I lowered the soft-top of the car. I had a brief walk to Temple Water and back via Terinichol Cottage. We drove up to the main car park and I had another walk to the stable-yard, where I was delighted to meet Laura (a fellow-volunteer) who was on duty in the shop. We chatted for five or ten minutes and I learned that Laura is leaving us for about three months to spend some time on an Irish island called Rockabill.

The stable-yard was quite busy and it was sunny. I went in to the second-hand book shop to see if they had any P G Wodehouse: no joy there. The white marquee which is situated beside the theatre is still there; perhaps it's a semi-permanent feature now. I'll be there on 19th June for the opera.

So we must have spent a few hours at dear, old Castleward before motoring home; we stopped off at another fond spot: Quoile Countryside Centre, near Downpatrick. They had a welcoming fire blazing inside the centre itself which used to be a cottage. What a really lovely place. The picture here is of the Quoile Centre.

I cannot be bothered doing much cooking this evening, so I think I'll whack some scampi, chips and onion rings into the oven for dinner; there are two sponge puddings in the fridge too.