Tuesday 19 July 2016

On The Road Again.

The other day we wended our way across the landscape, seeking out places to explore and photograph.
I felt duty bound to amend for the statue of last week. So our first stop was on the banks of Lough Owel in Co. Westmeath, a Lughnasadh site where horses were ritually bathed in it’s waters. 
Today it is the home of a beautiful statue, created by Linda Brunker, that stands proudly over looking the lake.

The Children of Lír




The rich aroma of freshly made coffee wafted across the car park and as I turned I saw a three wheeled vehicle, complete with full sized coffee machine in the back. Two double shot expressos were ordered and quickly served by the camera shy operator. 




Revitalised we headed to our next stop which, according to Mrs H’s research, would provide us with some rich material. I misdirected her on to a very narrow country road, which was not without interest, for there were two donkeys on the lawn of an empty house.



We finally arrived at Abbeylara where Mrs H found a holy well and visited the ruin of the Cistercian Abbey and I spotted a jolly gardener in the school grounds.

The Jolly Gardener.


Cistercian Abbey.


Onwards then to Ardnacliffe, Co. Longford and to Lough Gowna, 
‘the lake of the calf’. The name comes from a legend about a supernatural calf which escaped from a well and raced northward with a stream of water following it. The flooded area became the lake and the mysterious calf is said to still live beneath the waters.

Not a calf but a horse visiting the waters at Lough Gowna.


We parked on the banks of very attractive small lake- Lough Leebeen known as 'the lake of the small fish' possibly the Stickleback. It sits quite literally on the outskirts of the village. 

The tranquil Lough Leebeen.


Turning for home our next stop was at Ardagh to see the beautiful statue of Midír and Etain by the artist Éamonn O'Doherty. 
For an account of their story see the Lady Gregory version here:


Midír and Etain









32 comments:

  1. Awesome pics, friend H ... thanks for sharing ... Love, cat.

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    1. Am so glad that you enjoyed your visit Cat x

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  2. Lough Leebeen looks beautiful and I like the statue of Midir and Etain. (I will read their story later.)

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    1. Thank you for your interest Sue and I trust that you will enjoy the story.

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  3. The drive looks blissful. The statues are exceptional. And you always create a little magic for me. Some of our best discoveries have resulted from misdirection. We love getting lost.

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    1. Hello Mitchell, what I omitted was the number of coffee breaks that we took throughout the drive. You right about the fruits of misdirection for they often turn up such wonderful gems. Thank you for the comment.

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  4. The sculptire is rather Escher like somehow

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    1. Yes, I see what you mean Simon thank you for your interest.

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  5. Thank you for sharing this beautiful spot. I've become a bit of a metal statue fan since traipsing through Scotland and looking at Andy Scott's work, so I appreciated this post a lot. Cheers. xx

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    1. Hello Anne-Marie thanks for your appreciation, I think some sculptors and artists tend to explore and develop themes.

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  6. Heron, there really are some absolutely beautiful statues here.

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    1. Absolutely Pat and a few more to see yet, so watch this space :-)
      Thank you for visiting.

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  7. Wow!!! I thought the first sculpture was incredible and then you showed me the second one, I'm very impressed.

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    1. Thank you Janet and you can come over to do a tour of them too ;-)

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  8. A much needed breath of fresh air! Thank you.

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    1. You are very welcome Carol and thank you for visiting.

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  9. Hi Mel - what a lovely day out ... just going down unknown lanes is always fun in the country - those donkeys happily looked on ... I love the Children of Lir sculpture - wonderful artwork ... as too your tour for us - something I'd love to do - one day! Cheers Hilary

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    1. Thank you Hilary, am sure that you would have a very enjoyable visit.

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  10. A beautiful meander, Mel! The statues are lovely, but I was most taken by the donkies. I'd guess they must have been playing truant! What sweet faces they have. The photos are really beautiful!

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    1. It most certainly was a very interesting day, so glad that you liked donkeys :-)

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  11. I particularly like the work by Linda Brunker. At first I thought it was a windswept tree but it was a delight to an Escher-like construction! I searched for more of her stuff and it's mostly very beautiful; a real talent and Irish too!
    CLICK HERE for Bazza’s fabulous Blog ‘To Discover Ice’

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  12. Art and ancient building swill always have a certain individuality. Your three-wheeled coffee supplier immediately reminded me that I had queued up behind an identical one at a school swimming gala in New Zealand in February. It truly is a small world these days. I have to say that I thought the statue of Midír and Etain rather severe.

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    1. Thank you Graham, for your comments and observation. Regarding the interpretation of the statue of these mythological beings, every person who looks deeply at these figures will form their own impression. I do agree that Midír looks severe.

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  13. Lovely images! Thanks for the tour of the beautiful places you visited.

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  14. Thank you Bill and welcome to Herons View

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  15. Lovely tour of Irish legends and statues, Ireland is such a beautiful country and the donkeys were cute.

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    1. So glad that you enjoyed the tour Thelma and thanks for the comment :-)

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  16. Mel , you have the most interesting travels around the countryside!!!

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    1. We do, we do Gwen and we have lots of fun on our days out too :-)

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  17. The two statues are stunning, you are very lucky to have such beautiful artwork around you. We have those little coffee vans round here, they are very cute xxx

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