First Time Back In Four Years

Sláinte! 

Hello again everyone, and happy Monday! I feel like I'm still catching up with myself after my move, and I'm more behind than I'd like to be in my writing. Although to be honest, after everything it took to move from America back to England, I think I'm still catching up mentally and physically from that! Anyway, while I was staying with my parents in England for three months, I took some time to rest and recuperate, and enjoyed catching up with friends and family, but I also looked for a place to move to here in Inishowen. In early October, my Mum and I took a short break over to Ireland to look in person, and these photos are from that trip.
I hadn't been back to Ireland since the summer of 2018, and of course, as we all know, the world ended in 2020 and that made it impossible for me to travel back until now. Four years is definitely far too long a time to be away from this beautiful country, and I loved exploring my old favourite haunts again. The first photo (above) is taken in the Strand Hotel, Ballyliffin. It has been there for as long as I can remember, and I have spent many a happy night there, drinking with cousins, attending weddings or family reunions, and listening to live music. It just so happened that the week we were in the area, the owners were closing their doors for good, after selling the hotel and retiring, so I was happy that I got a chance to say goodbye to the place. And I got to have my first proper pint of Guinness, in Ireland, after over four years, sláinte!

The famous seafood chowder at Nancy's Barn, Ballyliffin.

On the day that we went to view the wee house that I am renting, we walked from my family's cottage on the shore up to Ballyliffin village, and stopped at Nancy's Barn for lunch before heading on to Clonmany. Now, I'd heard about Nancy's Barn and their famous chowder, but because I've been gone so long, I hadn't had a chance to try it yet. Having lived near the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia for so many years, and traveling quite extensively across the States, I have tried a lot of chowders, and I was dying to find out what this one was like.
Back in 2017, Chef Kieran of Nancy's Barn entered his recipe in the World Chowder Championships in Rhode Island, and won! Now if you know anything about Rhode Island, and all of the New England States, you'll know that they take their chowder very seriously, so this is a HUGE deal! Honestly, I wasn't sure if it could possibly live up to the hype, but I was absolutely blown away by how delicious it was. I'm going to be a regular there, I promise you.
You can read more about Nancy's Barn HERE.

The view of Pollan Bay from my family's cottage.

If you follow my Grey Skies and Happy Sighs Instagram account, you will have seen this view before, but I will never get tired of it. I was lucky enough to be able to stay here every summer growing up, and this beach spoiled me for all others. It had everything; beautiful stretches of sand, rock pools to explore, rocks and cliffs to climb, sand dunes to picnic on, waves to splash in, that gorgeous view of Glashedy Island, and even a ruined Castle at the far side of the beach! Every other beach I've visited since, no matter how beautiful, has felt distinctly lacking to me, I'm afraid. It has changed a lot since I was young, the tides have changed and the shore is mostly stones now, and sadly, there is a lot more litter and pollution, but I still love this beach more than any other. I think one of my favourite things about it is, no matter how many times I see it, it's always different. The sunlight is so variable here, that the water can look turquoise, or teal, or deep blue, or grey, all in the matter of minutes, depending on cloud cover and the time of day. I learned to swim here, and I know how cold that water is, but it's still inviting to me. There are good waves here, and you will often see people surfing. There are also two hills that overlook the Bay, and provide incredible views if you ever get the chance to climb them. I haven't been up them in decades, but I hope I'll get the chance in the summer when the terrain is less wet, and share some photos from the top.

A rainbow near Glashedy Island.

Glashedy Island, seen from the shore at Pollan Bay.

Looking back at Binnion across the Bay.

A double rainbow captured from the family cottage.

A closer look at Glashedy Island.

 

 

 

Rainbow landing on Binnion Hill.

Sunlight over Crockaughrim Hill.

 

You can probably see why I love this area so much! I always wanted to live here, and it took me a long while, with some pretty impressive detours, but I am so happy to be here at last. It really is a dream come true. I hope that you'll enjoy hearing about more of my adventures soon.

Derry Girls mural in Derry, NI.

"Pilot's Glory" atmospheric phenomenon, captured from the plane.