County Down

If there are nicer people in this world then the Irish, we sure haven’t met them. Not only are they friendly, helpful and curious, but also seem to take it as a personal responsibility that we enjoy their country. Every person we’ve met has apologized for the weather as if the country’s climate has had the effrontery to disappoint us in some way. To a man, everyone has said “You should have been here last Friday”. We were here last Friday and it was indeed beautiful. Apparently it was the most beautiful day of the year so far and perhaps has the potential of being the most beautiful day of the year to come. We’re from a place with unsettled everchanging weather and have come to accept beautiful days as a special treat and not the norm. But then you don’t really come to a place like Ireland for the weather. You come for the charming people, the green hills, the music and, of course, the beer.

We’re situated in Rostrevor, County Down, Northern Ireland, on the banks of the Carlingford Lough, at the foot of the Mourne Mountains. A lovely place criscrossed with very narrow winding roads and longstanding stone walls.

The Ross Monument and Carlingford Lough -Rostrevor, NI

The lovely home we’re in sits next to a monument for Major General Robert Ross. The Major General was born in Rostrevor and attended Trinity College in Dublin before being sent to American in the War of 1812 to avenge American  atrocities in the Battle of York (Toronto) where American troops were accused of many acts of vandalism, looting and burning of both private & public property.

Ross quickly captured Washington and burnt down the White House. Rumor has it that he intended to build a home for himself on the site but was shot at the Battle of Baltimore and fled to Halifax, Nova Scotia where he died and is buried. A villian to some but a hero to many.

The Ross Monument – Rostrevor, NI