Of course the European Heritage Open Days have been held this weekend.
I paid my first visit this morning - quite spontaneously in the sense that I only decided to go today - to the Old Museum Building, College Square North, Belfast.
Incidentally, an ancestor of mine once lived at 22 College Square North during the Victorian era.
This was my very first visit to the Old Museum.
The Ulster Architectural Heritage Society appears to have its GHQ here now.
One of the staff kindly gave me a tour and afterwards I took advantage of their half-price publications offer by purchasing
The Architectural Heritage of Malone & Stranmillis, and
Tollymore: The Story of an Irish Demesne.
During the afternoon I drove to
Scrabo Tower, a memorial to Charles, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry.
I bumped into an old National Trust volunteer pal, Ron, in the first floor exhibition room, where we had a very good chin-wag about local Trust affairs (!).
Afterwards I motored down the hill to St Mark's parish church, Newtownards, which has been beautifully restored.
The Stewarts, Marquesses of Londonderry were patrons and benefactors of St Mark's.
All in all, a more enjoyable day than I'd expected.
