I have listened to "The Saw Doctors" for as long as I can remember, and the time before last when I was visiting Westport and of course County Mayo, something had to be done, and that was,
"Catching the boat from Roonagh, to Clare Island."
Now of course you might be asking, "well what is so special about catching a boat from a place called Roonagh to Clare Island" and that of course comes from the lyrics of the following song by The Saw Doctors, which is called, Clare Island.
And the last time I had visited Clare Island, I was completely taken away by just how beautiful and unspoilt it was, compared to some of the Scottish Islands/Isles of Scilly which have become even more popular thanks to influencers and other write ups in travel magazines, but here of course things seem that little bit more relaxed, for Clare Island itself has a lot of history to it, and beautiful scenery, it really could be described "as the end of the world." and from its western flanks - the next landmass you would get to is America/Canada. Yet the last time I had visited Clare Island, I fell in love with it, with its peacefulness and its calm and tranquillity.
But this time around, as I set off from Westport towards Roonagh Quay, things looked grey, was the weather going to improve and was Clare Island going to have nice weather? Thankfully after a smooth enough sailing from Roonagh Quay across to Clare Island things did improve, and this small unspoilt island at the end of Clew Bay, surrounded by The Atlantic Ocean, soon felt like it could have been a Caribbean Island, with a blue sky and tranquil waters and pristine white sands, it was also this time around the perfect time in which to capture this island from above.
"Clare Island Drama and a sense of Mood."
"This could be a tropical paradise." - (Colour.)
"Achill, Clare Island Below and the beauty of a Clare Island Panorama." - (Colour.)
"Achill, Clare Island Below and the beauty of a Clare Island Panorama." (Black and White.)
"This could be a tropical paradise." - (Black and White.)
"Harbour Beauty, under a perfect sky." - (Colour.)
"Arts of shapes, walls and the view across the top of Clare Island." - (Colour.)
"Arts of shapes, walls and the view across the top of Clare Island." - (Black and White.)
"A Perfect place for Lunch?"
"Floating Gently above the bay."
And after a full day of well just soaking up the warm sunshine, it was time to head back across to the mainland of Ireland and to Westport, but on the way back, even I noticed that the sky was potentially going to have a little bit of magic within it, and surely enough it did, as that evening Clew Bay lit up, with an almost watercolour like hue to it, and I just had to capture the following photos.
"A Painted Panoramic Across the Beauty of Clew Bay." - (Panoramic.)
"Beginning to Shine."
"Gold and Grey, Clouds and Sunset across the beauty of Clew Bay."
"Under golden glow, the beauty of the islands they glow."
Ah, the wonders of Ireland never cease to amaze and it was on Wednesday the 30th of April 2025, that a trip to the city of Galway was on the cards, a truly delightful city with a plethora of history and architecture to leave anyone wanting to uncover its curiosities even more - and after a relaxing time visiting and exploring Galway it was time to head back towards Westport, just over the border slightly in County Mayo, but to get back to County Mayo, a delightful drive along the coast road heading to the west, with views over Galway Bay towards County Clare in the distance and The Burren could be seen. But the alien almost moonlike landscape gave way, as the coast road headed towards the mountains of Connemara, and after driving through the delightful landscapes of the Maam Valley, the location that I had arrived at was of course the village of "Leenaun." Situated at the top end of Killary Fjord, a location that was also made famous by the film called, The Field which was filmed in and around the village, but with a harsh light, I just had to get the drone up, for I had visited Leenaun before, but to see it from above with a harsh light and the sun setting in the distance, well that was going to be a challenge, but I also wanted to capture some of the Fjord as well, and I had to experiment for that, but of course here is what I had managed to capture.
"The Mountain Guardian at the head of Killary Fjord." - (Panoramic.)
"Over Leenaun Village towards Lackavrea."
"Floating above Leenaun, The head of the Fjord below."
"Leenaun and Killary, a Gentle light along the Fjord."
And of course when I got back to Westport, after what had been a delightful day of exploring the city of Galway and the peace and serenity of Leenaun, I knew that there was possibly going to be another delightful sunset, and surely enough there was, I was looking at the colours in the sky that kept on changing and I knew that I had moments in which to capture yet more works of art in the sky, and of course these photos below are what I had managed to capture, at the end of what had been a delightful day.
"A Dreamscape Sunset, the arts of Light over Clew Bay."
"Paintings of colour, over the delightful Clew Bay."
"The last moments of Sunset Art, across Clew Bay."
The west coast of Ireland (County Mayo) really is home to some amazing landscapes and locations that seemingly blend together in a strange kind of way, and create something well and truly special, but there is one place in County Mayo, along The Wild Atlantic Way, that the first time I had visited this location I was taken away with - that was a couple of years ago and that was when I had visited on a Coach Trip, that place is simply known as,
There are many people who would claim the following, "That there is something about the light in St Ives in Cornwall that makes it magical for artists and photographers." But I completely dispute that, not in a negative way either, but in a positive way. And whilst the idea that St Ives in Cornwall might have a glorious kind of light, it was a few years ago that I had a coach trip to Ireland, to County Mayo and Connemara - located on the West Coast of Ireland, touched of course by The Atlantic Ocean, yes it is also part of The Wild Atlantic Way, but when I was on that coach trip staying in Westport, there was also something about the light, about the sunsets that just created something truly beautiful and magnificent, for here the light is something else. And of course just recently, the end of April into early May, I was fortunate enough to visit this part of Ireland again, staying not too far away from Westport, and this time around I had the drone with me! But it was on Monday the 28th of April 2025, that I just had to send the drone up to capture something truly stunning and glorious and that of course was the light, the vistas and views over Clew Bay, with Clare Island on the horizon, an Island made famous by the Saw Doctors who wrote a song about it. But here I was looking across a part of Ireland that has a certain something else about it, where the light can really create artworks, and of course the artworks here are some truly glorious painted skies that just have to be seen to be believed.
"Gentle Watercolour Sunset, over Clew Bay." - (Panoramic.)
It was on Sunday the 6th of April 2025 that I had visited Greasley Church, the purpose being for "research." and that research was to see if the beautiful Spring Blossoms had all come out into bloom - and they had not, the beautiful Spring Blossoms of course not only being the white ones but the even more opulent pink cherry Blossoms that always add a little bit more magic. Yet fast forward from Sunday the 6th of April 2025 by just six days and it was on Friday the 12th of April 2025 that I decided to stop off at Greasley Church, just by chance to see if the glorious and opulent pink cherry Blossoms had finally come out in all their beauty, for they had, and I had something slightly different in mind, I wanted to capture them from a more unique perspective, and that of course meant that I had to take the drone up and capture there abstract features and views from above. Of course flying just above the glorious opulent pink cherry Blossoms revealed a somewhat abstract beauty, and artwork that from the ground you do not notice, and yet from above, it is just something else, and below are the photos that I had managed to capture.
"Ah, the season of Spring, a delightful season that much like Autumn has a certain something about it, for the landscape changes, gone are the bare elements of Winter and instead like Autumn, the landscape is changed into an art gallery of colour with the symphonic sounds of Wildlife and birdsong, for it is just something else to behold and something that we should all take time to witness instead of rushing around in life, take time to slow down and appreciate the arts of nature and the colour that Spring paints within the landscape that surrounds us."
"Opulent in Pink. The beauty of The Spring Blossoms."
"The perfect place to sit and be surrounded by Spring."
"Shades of Green, elements of Blue, Cherry Blossom Beauty it Glows."
"Floating just above the beauty of Pink below."
"Abstract elements, the Beauty of Cherry Blossoms."
There is something about the sky, for it always constantly changes and perhaps the most interesting way to describe the sky is along the following lines,
"For the sky, it is nothing short of a giant canvas, a canvas that can be painted by the artist known as nature at any given moment or time, especially at Sunrise or Sunset, and from below on the ground, looking up at the sky, you can notice artwork being created, the colours they can change in a moment leaving just a window of opportunity in which to capture the artwork of the sky, the cloudscapes, a Sunrise or a Sunset."
And it was on Friday the 4th of April 2025 that I was observing the clouds changing colour, I knew that there was going to be the potential of a glorious Spring Sunset taking place, and I knew that I had moments in which to capture the Sunset taking place, I managed just in the spare moments of time to send the drone up, and from above this is the one photo that I had managed to capture of a truly glorious Spring Sunset, and quite possibly the only Sunset from April 2025 so far.
"Lockdown." For that is a word that many people would perhaps rather forget, and yet to some it was a time of discovery - when of course restrictions had been eased. And it was when those restrictions had been eased that I had made some kind of "local lockdown discovery." And found the delightful, historic and curious Watnall Woods, an area of woodland on the metaphorical doorstep that I had never visited before and I was completely taken away with it, for surrounding the woodland is of course areas of Suburbia, yet Watnall Woods - provides a serene sanctuary away from the areas of Suburbia and whenever you visit, you are greeted by the symphony of wildlife, birds and of course the gentle breezes that can flow through the woodlands, it really is magical. But another visit on Monday the 31st of March 2025 to these woodlands was on the cards, and me - well I wanted to capture this unique area from a completely different and unusual view, from above, and under a delightful Spring Sky, these are the photos that I had managed to capture of a truly glorious and spectacular woodland, for these are the delightful views of Watnall Woods, from a more unique perspective.
"Under a delightful sky, the flanks of Watnall Woods." - (Panoramic.)
"Floating gently, the serene scenes of Watnall Woods Below."
"From Suburbia to Countryside" - (Panoramic.)
"Over the Watnall and Greasley Fields, a fine Spring Vista."
"Looking over the delights of Serenity below. A spring scene over the fields below."
