Photography: Dunluce Castle and Belfast

This will be the final batch of photos from my Northern Ireland Trip. They were taken around the ruined Dunluce Castle and the last photo is a sculpture in Belfast. Some photos are HDR and some aren't.

Books: We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea (spoilers!)

As previously mentioned, I like to revisit childhood favorites every now and then. This book isn't actually one I read as a kid, but I loved the series. It's the 9th book in the Swallows and Amazons series, which I've been slowly rereading. It follows the accidental adventure of the Walker children (the Swallows), who sail across the sea to Holland by themelseves. At the start of their holidays they meet a man who agrees to take them for a trip on his boat. Unbeknownst to the children he has an accident while on land getting supplies and is delayed. Meanwhile both a fog and the tide come up. Their anchor chain is too short to hold them in the high water, and because of the fog they don't realise they're drifting out to sea until it's too late. Because of bad weather and treacherous rocks, they decide that the safest thing for them to do is to keep sailing on until the weather changes, and in the morning they find themselves in Holland. They also rescue a drowning kitten from the sea on the way. Luckily in Holland they meet their father who is on his way to England and he helps them sail the ship back to England safely.

I really enjoyed this book, and the whole series so far. The circumstances in which they find themselves sailing to Holland are written in a very believable way. The story takes palces over a much shorter timescale than other Arthur Ransome books, making it much more intense. The long, anxious night, the struggle against the storm, the seasickness and the struggle to stay awake are really gripping. And, OK, the end is a total deus ex machina, but I don't mind that. Like the whole series so far, it's a great read.