McCutcheon's Field Day

Tomasz has considered that today might have been one of our final visits to McCutcheon's Field in 2015.

This property of the National Trust is about a mile from Groomsport, County Down.

Today, yet again, we were cutting and burning gorse bushes.

The Dexter cattle were there.

there were about eight of us today.

Castle Ward Visit

I spent a most agreeable three hours at Castle Ward yesterday, on what was a fine, sunny autumn day.

Castle Ward, County Down, is, of course, the ancestral seat of the Viscounts Bangor. Indeed, the family still has an apartment in the mansion house.

When I arrived I made a bee-line for the cafeteria in the stable-yard, where I had a delicious bowl of very thick curried carrot and parsnip soup, served with a generous slice of wheaten-bread.

Castle Ward has been a property of the National Trust since the early 1950s.

The Tack Room

I think the 7th Viscount gave the estate to the Northern Ireland government at the time as part of death duties.

After lunch, I took advantage of the free wi-fi in the stable-yard and posted a few photographs.

Thence I donned the wellington boots and had a long walk through the estate woodland.

I passed the former gamekeeper's cottage, otherwise known as the Bunkhouse; the pond; and a very large field with cattle.

BACK at the mansion house, I admired the prospect from the garden front of Strangford Lough.

Scrub and bushes have been cleared from the area between the house and the stable-yard outbuildings, revealing a very small single-storey cottage or bothy, which has obviously been derelict for many years.

I've been coming to Castle Ward since I was a boy and I've never seen this building before.

I wonder what its purpose was? Did it store something?

Bonito Cottage

Before I departed I visited the farmyard, where Old Castle Ward is located, and walked past the former smithy to the charming Bonito Cottage.

Kearney Visit

I've spent a glorious day at the National Trust's 19th century fishing village of Kearney, County Down.

It is not far from the tip of the Ards Peninsula.

Portaferry, due west, is the closest town.

The sun shone all day and temperatures must surely have been close to 20c.

There were about ten of us today.

We were painting traditional County Down gates.

At lunch-time we settled at a pleasant spot on the shore and basked in the sunshine.

Judicial Appointment

THE QUEEN has been pleased to approve that the honour of Knighthood be conferred upon Adrian George Patrick Colton, QC, on his appointment as a Justice of the High Court.

The Hon Mr Justice Colton was called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 1983, and took Silk in 2006.

Mystery House

Do any readers recognize this house?

The image shows a wedding party with members of the Silcock family.

The Silcock residence was once Marybrook House, near Crossgar, County Down.

Warrenpoint House

Do any readers recognize this house?

It is or was located near Warrenpoint, County Down.

McCutcheon's Field Day

Groomsport from McCutcheon's Field

I've spent the day with other National Trust volunteers at a place known as McCutcheon's Field.

This comprises several acres of coastline at Brigg's Rocks, close to Sandeel Bay, in north County Down.

There's a static caravan park here called Windsor Holiday Park.

This field is close to Groomsport.

Today we were gathering gorse bushes and burning them.

There were about eight of us today.