Purity Belle Environmental Blog: flowers

7 Days of Nature on Facebook, a compilation.

by Cliona Kelliher - Tuesday, February 02, 2016

This post was inspired by my husband Mark who nominated me to post photos of nature for 7 days on Facebook. I loved doing it so much and got such a nice response that I decided to put them all together here in a blog post.

The reason I loved it so much was that each photo was not just a picture of a landscape or a flower but also a memory of family time and days out together. Each photo that I posted was a little sliver of time captured and it made me happy to see the lovely places we have been and beautiful things that surround us.

So without further ado here is my Day 1 photo:

It was taken in 2014 on our annual Donegal holiday. We have been visiting my friend Sue for so many years and I never get tired of the incredible landscape. This was on a beautiful day on our way to Magheragh Beach (I think!) The sky was incredible and the greens and blues were stunning.

Haystacks in Donegal on the way to Magheragh Beach

Day 2:

This was taken on the Curragh, about 10 min drive from our house. Although Kildare is not as dramatic as our coastal regions, it has a softness and a certain light that I love so much. This is where I run, to tune out the world and I never get tired of it and the changing light through the seasons.

Soft evening light on the Curragh, County Kildare

Day 3:

This is my day 3 picture and it's a more dainty close up from my own garden. I love to see ladybirds in the garden, not only are they beautiful with their cheery red colour, they are also great predators for garden pests. I try to keep my garden pesticide and chemical free so it's always a joy to see it teeming with insect life.

Day 4:

This is an incredible avenue of yew at Huntington Castle in Clonegal, Co. Carlow. We visited here last year for a talk and of course it rained the whole time but there was shelter in the trees and I took a picture of this avenue of yew trees, over 600 years old! If there's anything that can make me feel small and insignificant, it's a tree, and these are so amazing in real life, to see how the roots entwine and their solidity.

Avenue of Yew Trees in Huntington Castle, Clonegal, County Carlow

Day 5:

This is the daintiest little viola taken on our lovely trip to Glasgow earlier this year. I was delighted that the Glasgow Botanic Gardens were so near our Hotel. I've always been fascinated by tiny little flowers, they can be incredibly hardy and have such detail of pattern and colour and this violet is such a cheery little thing with a lovely soft colour.

Day 6:

As I've so many amazing pictures of Donegal and our hols with Sue it was really hard to choose just one. This is actually from 2014 but it's a beach we go to every year and it's just brilliant for swimming. I picked this because of the mossy stones and the sea stretching out into the distance. We've had so many gorgeous swims at this beach, I can't wait to get back there again!

Mossy stones on Fintra Beach, County Donegal

Day 7:

This picture was taken in Burtown House in Athy, a fabulous place to visit and eat. We ate outside on that particular day and it was sunny and the flowers were in full bloom, gorgeous! I think the octopus-like tendrils in the centre of the flowers are amazing and it was such a pure delicate white.

I hope you've enjoyed my photos as much as I have enjoyed picking them out and looking at them anew! And again, thank you to all my Facebook friends for likes and lovely comments :)

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Glasgow Trip - Charles Rennie Mackintosh and so much more!

by Cliona Kelliher - Monday, August 17, 2015

I'm not long back from a great trip to Glasgow city - I've always wanted to visit Scotland, probably more so the highlands and Scotland's natural beauty but I was on a budget and managed to get a pretty good deal on GoHop for myself, my husband and our 13 year old. It was approx. €600 for the 3 of us for 3 nights but we had 4 long days so I thought it was pretty good value.

I didn't entirely know what to expect from Glasgow - I did know that it was associated with Charles Rennie Mackintosh, part of the Art Nouveau movement and I was dying to see anything of his.
What I realised soon after arriving, however, is that there is an absolute wealth of things to see and do in Glasgow. Many things are free and it is a truly beautiful city. I absolutely fell in love with it and I will definitely be going back!

The first thing we encountered was Glasgow's Botanic Gardens, situated very near our hotel in Glasgow's West End. They are beautifully kept and feature stunning glasshouses, most notably Kibble Palace, erected in 1873. There's also a cosy little tearooms where we had scones with clotted cream and jam, and tea, yum :)

We had reasonably good weather so I was able to take pictures of some of the gorgeous flowers
there

We really packed a lot into our visit and I'm not sure if I remember exactly the order of our days but here are some of the highlights -

Visiting anywhere with a 13 year old involves a certain amount of compromise so we did some trips to the shopping area. This is based around Buchanan St. and Sauchiehall St. and has all the shops you would need and more! Plenty for everyone and every budget. I got a bargain pair of jeans in River Island and Izzy bought some tops and jeans in H&M.

We had a break for tea in the Willow Tearooms on Sauchiehall St. These tea rooms are so beautiful, entirely designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh for Kate Cranston, an enterprising Glasgow lady. He had complete control over the design, even down to the cutlery and waitresses' uniforms. It was a joy to sit and have tea there and soak in the surroundings. Upstairs has a beautiful fireplace and a history of the tea room and the association of CRM and Kate Cranston. Downstairs, you can purchase souvenirs.

Continuing on the Charles Rennie Mackintosh theme, a visit to the Glasgow School of Art was a must. In 1897 a new building for the school was designed by CRM, and it's one of his best known works. Tragically, there was a fire in 2014 , which caused extensive damage and destroyed the Mackintosh library. Fundraising and restoration work is ongoing and you can read more here if you're interested - Things we found in the fire

Glasgow School of Art Window Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Heading back to the hotel, we went via Glasgow University and had a quick look through the Hunterian Museum (the oldest public museum in Scotland) - I was probably too tired at that stage to take in the museum but the University itself was absolutely stunning, breathtakingly beautiful if, like me, you're a fan of old buildings and architecture.

One of the great things about Glasgow was that everything was so accessible, easy to get around by bus but most things are within walking distance if you have the energy.

The following day, we decided to have a day trip to Edinburgh - although it's probably the more popular tourist destination, it's actually nicer and cheaper to stay in Glasgow and visit Edinburgh by train or bus. It was only 50 min away by train from Queen St. Station and it was £25 approx. for a return off-peak ticket for the 3 of us, so very reasonable!

I was really glad we visited Edinburgh but I much preferred Glasgow, mainly because it was crazy busy in Edinburgh with the Fringe Festival on and so touristy that doing anything required spending money and being stuck in crowds of people.

I'm a bit of a solo wanderer, I like to meander around and discover things for myself, so I really didn't want to pay for an hour's tour of the Castle but we did go as far as we could though and looked out over Edinburgh. We walked through the Old Town, it was frenetic with people and street performers. I'm still not well and energy reserves run out quickly for me so it was a little too much although perhaps I'd be able for it if I was feeling better. Then we had a good look around the Scottish National Gallery (there were plenty of seats and wifi to keep Izzy amused whilst I browsed).

We had tea and cake in the cafe and as the sun was shining for once, we sat outside, there's a park just below the cafe so we were able to relax and recharge our batteries for a while.

On our last day we had a good look around Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

This was another fantastically beautiful building in the Baroque style, very regal and impressive! Inside, myself and Izzy spent ages in the museum part and we were both totally riveted by all the exhibits, from fossils to skeletons to insects, it was truly fascinating and there were lots of interactive things for younger kids to do also. All three of us then wandered through the Art Collection which had an amazing array of works by French Impressionists, Dutch Old Masters and Scottish artists, to name but a few. There was also a whole gallery dedicated to Charles Rennie Mackintosh which was so interesting.

Kelvingrove Charles Rennie Mackintosh Art Nouveau

Sadly, our time in Glasgow had to come to an end - I will definitely be going back as it was such a great experience. Two more things I have to mention - one is that we ate out one night in Sarti on Bath Street and it had fabulous food and great service and was also really allergy friendly, I would totally recommend it if you have anyone in the family with food allergies.

Secondly, I love thrift shops/charity shops/vintage shops - always good to find a bargain and something a little bit different and Byres Road in the West End, near our hotel, had absolutely loads of these shops so it was a really cool road to wander down, it also had lots of nice foodie places and a Waitrose which came in really handy!

Hope you've enjoyed my Glasgow recommendations and I'd love to hear if you know of anywhere I should visit that I've missed :)

For some places to visit in Ireland, you might like - Donegal Trip or Burtown House and the Green Barn

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Burtown House Summer Flowers

by Cliona Kelliher - Thursday, June 25, 2015

Summer Flowers in Burtown House, Athy.

Burtown House is one of my favourite places to visit, so beautiful always and owners and staff are so welcoming. We visited there last Sunday and here's a little glimpse of how it looks right now...

Everything is a lot different and more colourful compared to my last visit there when we went to see the snowdrops. Flowers are in full bloom and the beautiful scent of roses wafts through the air as you walk through the gardens.

It was kind of tricky taking pictures as it was windy but still a lovely day and the restaurant was full to the brim but there were seats and prettily laid tables outside..

Close by is a table where you can purchase plants grown and propagated at Burtown House, such a gorgeous selection!

Although I love Burtown House and hesitate to critique, I did have one gripe on this occasion. Our daughter Iseult has severe food allergies, not of the runny nose/upset tummy variety but full blown anaphylaxis which can lead to death. Naturally enough, eating out can be a bit fraught and we rely on the care and attention of servers, chefs, managers and anyone else involved to keep her safe. We have had wonderful experiences in restaurants but I have to say, this wasn't one of them.

We bring this allergy card with us everywhere, I think it's pretty clear and self-explanatory and is very useful as it can be handed directly to people and passed in to the chef.

We handed over the card as well as asking carefully about the dish we were selecting - hummus was included so we asked for that to be left out and also explained about the bread because it can often contain sesame or traces of same.

Unfortunately, when Izzy's dish came out, the bread was obviously not suitable at all and on closer inspection I could see actual sesame seeds which could have been fatal had she eaten them.

Now the staff were very obliging and we changed plates, got different bread and sorted it out but it would make me very wary of eating there with Izzy again.

It was fine for myself and Mark and they were super busy but the inconvenience of waiting wouldn't bother me as they're so lovely - this, however is a very different story and some training in relation to food allergies wouldn't go amiss!

Apart from that, it was a lovely day and the gardens are always worth a visit and if you don't have any serious food allergies, the food really is fab.

Here are some more of the beautiful sights, I particularly loved the poppies, so delicate looking, like silk almost.