Magilligan Drive

This morning I drove across the bridge at the River Bann, at Coleraine, County Londonderry, and towards Bellarena, passing the Desmonds' admirable Bellarena estate (above).

Magilligan Point isn't far from here, so I made a detour towards the little ferry terminus.

There's a fine Martello tower of 1812 here, close to the beginning of Lough Foyle.

I stopped at Downhill, the property of the National Trust, and admired the grounds.

I made a point of visiting the mausoleum, built between 1779-83, in memory of George William [Hervey], 2nd Earl of Bristol, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1766, brother of the Earl Bishop.

The mausoleum stands proud, though many of its finely-carved stone blocks lie on the ground.

Would this edifice make a future project for the Follies Trust?

Mussenden Temple

A reader informed me that the centaur statue, which used to greet visitors to Downhill Palace (or Castle), is now at Spencer House, in London.