Sunday, September 05, 2010 : Downhill Beach

Noel, Anja, John, me, and Nat (Boxer) and Nemo (German Shepherd) traveled to Northern Ireland, where we started at Downhill Beach (Downhill Strand).  The dogs were only allowed to a certain point, so Noel stayed with the dogs while Anja and John and I walked on the beach a ways.

Downhill Strand^{[gaeilge needed]} (better known as Benone Strand) is a beach in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with the A2 and the Derry to Coleraine railway line next to it.
At seven miles long the beach is one of the longest in Northern Ireland, and recipient of the European Blue Flag and Seaside Award.^[1]

John and Anja

Anja

Add caption

Mussenden Temple is at the top.

Jump to: navigation, search

Coordinates: 55°10′05″N 6°48′22″W / 55.168°N 6.806°W / 55.168; -6.806

The Mussenden Temple.

Downhill House

Mussenden Temple is a small circular building located on cliffs near Castlerock in County Londonderry, high above the Atlantic Ocean on the north-western coast of Northern Ireland.
It was built in 1785 and forms part of the estate of Frederick Augustus Hervey, the 4th Earl of Bristol, Bishop of Derry. Built as a library and modelled on the Temple of Vesta in Italy, it is dedicated to the memory of Hervey's cousin Frideswide Mussenden.
Over the years the erosion of the cliff face at Downhill has brought Mussenden Temple ever closer to the edge, and in 1997 the National Trust carried out cliff stabilisation work to prevent the loss of the building.^[1]
The inscription around the building reads, "Tis pleasant, safely to behold from shore/ The rolling ship, and hear the tempest roar." The quotation is from Lucretius.
Now part of the National Trust property of Downhill Estate & Mussenden Temple, the grounds encompassing Mussenden Temple, and its manor house (Downhill Castle) are open to the public all year, from dawn to dusk.^[2] The temple itself is open on certain days, and admission is free. The Temple offers views westwards over Downhill Strand towards Magilligan Point and County Donegal and to the east Castlerock beach towards Portstewart, Portrush and Fair Head.
The temple obtained a licence to hold civil wedding ceremonies in 2007.^[3]