Tableland
Standing on the beach at Cushendun village, looking east towards the Scottish coast, just over the horizon. Cushendun is an ancient ferry port.
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Tableland
Standing on the beach at Cushendun village, looking west towards the glens. The Antrim coast is notable for the rising tablelands of broad, eroded valleys, or glens.
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Neat and tidy
Here is a view of our route to Torr Head standing on the beach at Cushendun, facing north. The village name in Irish is Cois Abhann Doinne, meaning at the foot of the river Dun, the land here and bay formed by the outflow of rivers from the glens.
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Gorse in flower
In 3.1 miles Torr Road passes nine townlands between Cushendun and Torcorr Townland, each with a namestone holding the Irish and Anglicized name. We can walk it in an hour at a steady pace, the terrane is sliced up so.
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Tornamoney townland is “Cattle Field of the Bogland.” That is the car door, foreground.
Common to all was the slope down to the North Channel.
Rowan Tree directional growth from a constant east wind..
Sheep pasture above the Loughan Cottage ruins.
Here is the friendly owner who climbed off his tractor for a chat with Pam while I photographed.
Rising from Cushendun Village
Torr Road passes nine townlands between Cushendun and Torcorr Townlands, each with a namestone holding the Irish and Anglicized name. Here are a few interesting names.
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“Ballindam” is derived from the Irish “Baile an tdam”, the Anglicization is the sounding out of Irish. Baile is “town” and “an tdam” is on the dam.
Headed uphill, the next is “Ballycleagh”. Bally is the English pronunciation of Baile. I found “cleagh” on Google translate under “Scots Irish” for “Well.” So, this is the town of the well.
Here is a sheep lookout at the aptly named, Alt gabhair townland, Irish for “Goat Section.” Otherwise known as Altagore.
Ancient Gaelic Names
Take a look at the view of Coolranny Townland on approach from Torcorr on Torr Road and see the source of this townland name that, from the Irish Language, means a recess, or “nook”, of ferns, or “bracken.” This, in the “Glens” section of County Antrim, is not a deep glen, as such, is rather a wrinkle between town headlands.
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The words carved on this namestone are from ancient Irish language with “Cuil” (a recess) and “Raithni” (possessive case of the noun for bracken, a type of fern). In other words, recess of ferns. The anglicized name, “Coolranny,” is the untranslated sound of the Gaelic place name.
The road to Coolranny starts at the foot of Glendun, Cushendun village. Here is the view over Cushendun and its sheltered harbor as Torr road climbs in a series of switchbacks to Torcorr townland.
A May Morning, Early
Every photograph from my recent posting were accepted by Getty IStock. Click this link to visit the photographs on IStock.
A photographer and his audience
One May early morning two white horses come down from a sloping pasture on Slievenaglogh to view an interloper taking photographs. Slievenaglogh Townland, County Louth, Ireland.
Slievenaglogh Townland, County Louth, Ireland.
This I used the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens. It is two shots, the first in horizontal, the second in vertical mode.
A Cooley Peninsula Valley on a May Morning
On the northeast slope of Slievenaglogh peak (Irish: Sliabh na gCloch) on the road from Mullaghattin Townland to Riverstown. This day I swapped lenses and took in the same general direction for each. This is the first and last of a series using the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens and I pulled in the shots from the Canon 24mm f1.4 L II USM lens, published in previous posts.
Here we look northeast from the Slievenaglogh Townland over the valley between Slievenaglogh and Slieve Foy peaks. Slieve Foy is the far ridge lost in clouds.
This is the first and last of a series using the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens.
The view includes Little River, Castletown River, Ballycoly and Glenmore Townlands. Adjacent is a sheep pasture with a farm ruin behind the yellow flowered gorse (Whin bush, scientific name Ulex).
Early morning, late May 2014.
green pastures framed by Whin Bush and Hawthorn windbreak
The road runs high on the shoulder of Slievenaglog peak, the 200 mm lens peers into the next townland over, Ballycoly (or Ballygoley), the valley floor broad, pastured.
This is the seventh and last of a series using the Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L USM lens.
