Fort Eochla

The photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand specilaises in the most amazing aerial photographs. This one is of Dun Eochla fort on Inishmore Island, County Galway, built centuries ago on this island some 30 miles off the Irish coast. For centuries, the inhabitants of the Aran Islands have helped keep the soil fertile by regularly spreading a mixture of sand and seaweed on the rock to produce the thin layer of humus needed for farming. To protect their plots from wind erosion, the islanders have built a vast network of almost 7,500miles of low walls, which give the land the appearance of a vast mosaic. But how did he get up there? Certainly wasn't Ryanair.

Check out more of his incredible images here.

Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit

I have just returned from another trip to Orange, Australia. This time it was brief and unexpected but as usual interesting and fun. Orange, in rural NSW, never ceases to amaze me in terms of it's facilities and amenities. It has a substantial and vital agricultural hinterland reliant on apples, cherries and winemaking. Despite the name there is not an orange in sight. The town's name actually has more to do with William of Orange and sectarian rivalries through the ages. Released Irish convicts moved west from Sydney in search of opportunity. After the monumental climb over the Blue Mountains the Irish Catholics decided enough was enough and settled in Bathurst but not before kicking the Irish Protestants out of town. Those evicted travelled further west in search of a suitable place to settle and found the town of Orange and to spite the Bathurst folk named it after the old enemy, William of Orange. Well that is the version I like. Can't recall where I heard that story but I have not been able to find much written or oral evidence. Maybe it is a rural myth. Whatever, I like the story.

Back to present day Orange. During my short stay I managed a stroll through the Botanical Gardens which are quite impressive for a small rural town. What really attracted my attention though was the nice collection of apple varieties they had. By my count there were 54 varieties of apple plus a nice collection of crab apples from Japan an China. The apple collection even had an old Irish variety, Irish Peach, which dates back to the reign of Elizabeth 1. Unfortunately there was no one around to talk to about it, it was 6am after all, but I am sure that the collection is important in the development and history of the apple industry around Orange. I was able to find out that the gardens use the collection to educate the public and schools about the history of growing apples, pruning and grafting and so forth. There is also a children's garden where kids can muck around and a plants and health section planned which will have examples of aboriginal plants important for nutrition. Great examples of what can be done with such gardens in a small rural area.

Before leaving Orange, I took Callum and Imogen to the annual meeting of the Orange Horticultural Society at St Barnabas Hall. There were fine exhibits of cut flowers but hidden away in a corner there was a rather measly collection of back garden vegetables that no one seemed too keen to be associated with. I was left wondering if this is a strong indicator of the decline in growing food in one's back yard.

I think there are many rural towns and councils in Ireland who could learn much from Orange in terms of promoting and enjoying the 'great outdoors'.

Ireland's first all island ecotourism conference

The Greenbox, Ireland's first integrated ecotourism destination is delighted to announce that it is holding its second conference in Fermanagh from the 30-31 January. It will cover ecotourism product development, marketing, eco label certification and training on the island of Ireland. The conference content will consist of key themes, issues and recommendations for product development and marketing of ecotourism.This conference will give private businesses, public sector policymakers and communities an opportunity to develop a new future for tourism on the island of Ireland that will be sustainable and will attract a new type of tourist.

Food glorious food

Following my earlier posting on agritourism I came across this article on culinary tourism on the Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog. It discusses the differences and linkages between the two but at the end of the day I believe that the linkages are greater than what they admit to. There is absoultely no reason why a gourment culinary experience cannot be part of a rural restaurant linked to a farming enterprise.

Just read the comments from their blog on an author's culinary experiences on a recent visit to Ireland. There would seem to be much scope for improvement and innovation bringing to life Irish food in a rural setting.

Lissan House, history on our doorstep

I had a wonderful visit to Lissan House at the weekend, courtesy of the Friends of Lissan Trust. Jane Greer, our knowledgeable and passionate tour guide, enthralled us with the history and stories of the house and its extensive lands in a tour that lasted almost two hours! Jane has obviously benefited from an association with the last family member to have lived in the house, Mrs Hazel Radclyffe-Dolling, who sadly passed away in 2006. I was very pleasantly surprised by the numbers of people that turned up on Sunday to see the house and there were large groups for all the tours, so there is plenty of interest out there in the property. The house was also the former residence of the artist, Sir Robert Ponsonby Staples and a blue plaque awarded by the Ulster History Circle marks this.

Many of you will remember Lissan House from the BBC's Restoration series, when it finished runner-up to the Victoria Baths in Manchester. Well, the house is still very much in need of help, both financial and logistical. For more information on how you might help contact the Friends of Lissan Trust.

Hear Elsie Bell talk about Lissan House here. If you have any other stories about Lissan House you are welcome to share them here.

Agritourism throws lifeline to Italian farmers

Here's an interesting article I came across on my friend Luigi's blog Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog. A staggering 16,000 farms in Italy throw open their gates to tourists annually and this figure is expected to grow by 700 this year. Three million tourists, a quarter of whom are foreigners, are expected to stay on Italian farms this year. That means three-quarters are all locals!

I would be delighted to learn about the more innovative approaches to agritourism that might be happening in Ireland.

Polish Bantams, Bats and Apples

Headed for the Moy today and a visit to the beautiful Ardress House in County Armagh (pictured right). Set in a beautiful rural woodland and orchard setting the house has an incredible history and Una O'Neill, our guide for the day, was the just the right person to tell us all about it. She is well versed in the history of the house and not averse to the odd wee joke or two. Sadly, the property no longer has a functioning farm due to earlier perceived health risks but that is changing. The livestock are making a comeback! There are about five 0r six poultry breeds around at the moment including Marans, Sussex, Rhode Island Reds and Polish Bantams. I never realised that Polish Bantams were such a diverse breed or that they were popular on Northern Ireland farms. I would certainly love to hear from people who could tell me about the diversity of this breed in the North and what their appeal might be. Hopefully the near future will see the return of even more diversity. And talking of diversity, it was interesting to learn that seven out of eight of NI's bat species can be found around the farm buildings of Ardress, including a species that forages for aquatic insects on top of the nearby river by using it's feet! There is still much to see in the rest of the farm as many of the old buildings such as the threshing barn, potato house, byre, diary and so forth have an excellent collection of implements and machinery.

Bringing local history to life

I spent a fabulously interesting day on a wind and rain swept Tullyhogue Fort, Cookstown courtesy of Cookstown District Council and in the learned presence of John Mc Cavitt and Northern Peer Productions. This was one of a number of events organised by Cookstown District Council to commerate the 400 years since the flight of the Flight of the Earls. The event was vividly brought to life by the members of the Northen Peer Productions dressed in full period costume who provided insight into what life was like in this part of Cookstown in the late 16th Century. The historian John Mc Cavitt was also on hand to discuss his most recent publication, The Flight of the Earls - An Illustrated History. The organisation of the event was excellent and it was free! Admittedly it was a wet day but it was disappointing to see so few people turn up to the event. In fact, I continue to wonder whay so few local people seem to take little interest in local history? When I was at high school in Cookstown about 30 years ago there was never any attempt to learn about local history. Yet there is such a vast resource on our doorstep. I certainly hope things have changed today. It never ceases to amaze me the amount of local history, especially in rural areas of the north, and the potential for tourism based on this. The Cookstown District Council are to be congratulated for putting together this series of events (and they continue for the rest of the week).

Additional information regarding the journey the Earls took in mainland Europe can be found here. Hugh O'Neill and Rory O'Donnell eventually died in Rome and are buried at the Franciscan Church of St Peter in Montorio.