S & J's Big Adventure

Awake before our 6 a.m. alarm this morning. Anxious to return our rental and catch our 10 a.m. flight to Belfast. So nervous about getting lost in Manchester again and circling the city 10 times before finding our way out of the ring roads.

Happily we made it back to the Rental Car Village and across to the terminal with plenty of time to spare. One hour flight across the Irish Sea to Belfast. Collected next rental and set off for Castlederg. Easy drive on excellent roads and found our way to the local supermarket

Sharyn Sinclair

69 Blogs

Birthplace of the Gallen's

April 16

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Kilclean Farm, Castlederg, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland

Awake before our 6 a.m. alarm this morning. Anxious to return our rental and catch our 10 a.m. flight to Belfast. So nervous about getting lost in Manchester again and circling the city 10 times before finding our way out of the ring roads.

Happily we made it back to the Rental Car Village and across to the terminal with plenty of time to spare. One hour flight across the Irish Sea to Belfast. Collected next rental and set off for Castlederg. Easy drive on excellent roads and found our way to the local supermarket

where John Gallen collected us to guide us back to Kilclean Farm.

Hard to imagine my great-grandmother, Winifred as a young girl working, playing and learning to read and write on this very land with all 13 of her siblings.

First two pics below are "then and now" photos. The "then" photo was taken early 1900's with my great-great-grandfather Jamie Gallen at the top of the lane. The now photo was taken today with John Gallen at the top of the lane. The stone structure on the left of the photo is a lime kiln and the figure sitting on top of it is John's grandfather, James.

John took us on a short sight-seeing drive around the immediate area, then called in to visit his parents, Aiden and Theresa who treated us to afternoon tea and a good chin-wag.



1.

Hello Hong Kong

2.

Western Markets

3.

Kennedy Town

4.

Victoria Peak

5.

Old Blighty

6.

Leaving Lancaster

7.

Kendal

8.

Lake District

9.

Grayrigg & Manchester

10.

Birthplace of the Gallen's

11.

Derg Castle

12.

Belleek and Donegal

13.

Dublin

14.

Dublin to Chester

15.

The friendliness of the Irish

16.

Rugby & Crick

17.

Northampton

18.

Cambridge

19.

Granada Television

20.

Afternoon with Anne

21.

No 14 Bus to Harrods and the Victoria & Albert Museum

22.

Buckingham Palace

23.

Westminster

24.

Supreme Court

25.

Imperial War Museum, Covent Garden and China Town

26.

St Giles and Oxford Street

27.

Trafalgar Square & National Portrait Gallery

28.

Eurostar to Brussels

29.

Alone in Antwerp

30.

Fabulous Antwerp

31.

Arrivederchi Antwerp, Hello Holland

32.

Spijkenisse

33.

Bruges, I'm on my way

34.

In Bruges

35.

Still In Bruges

36.

Last morning in Bruges - return to Brussels

37.

Back in Brussels

38.

Another City, Another Hospital

39.

Brussels to Ypres, oops!!!

40.

We will remember them

41.

The Ypres Salient

42.

In Flanders Fields Museum

43.

Ramparts War Cemetery and Hill 62

44.

Ypres to Paris

45.

Washing Day

46.

Notre-Dame Cathedral

47.

The Green Wall of 2nd Arrondissement

48.

Little French Shrug

49.

Eiffel Tower

50.

Sacre Coeur & Montmartre

51.

A Little Smoke Signal

52.

Paris to Milan

53.

Milano

54.

Window Shopping

55.

Castello Sforzesco

56.

Milan to Florence

57.

Piazzale Michelangelo (Michelangelo Square)

58.

A Little Retail Therapy

59.

Siena, San Gimignano & Chianti

60.

Porta Romana, Florence

61.

Viareggio

62.

Florence to Rome

63.

Rome

64.

Villa Magnolia

65.

St. Peter's Basilica etc

66.

Aurelio, Rome

67.

Roman Fountains

68.

Arrivederci Roma (what else?)

69.

Kowloon

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