Cathedral and Gargoyles

This blog post follows on from Franciscan Friary & Palace Demesne

After we let the hotel we went to St. Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral. We went into the Cathedral Gardens and the first thing I saw was a Gargoyle! :)

Bunny said that she thought there might be more Gargoyles around Armagh and that I was to keep my eyes peeled for any that I might see.  Then I rested on a box hedge beside some yellow flowers. This was in the herb garden. I think I remember seeing these plants before on our last visit to the Navan Centre and Fort. I think I remember the lady said they were Wild Parsnip.

The gardens had lots of trees! You know trees have to be climbed :) This is a fruit tree, it had small fruits, like plums but smaller. Bunny said she thought it was a damson tree.

Now this tree was VERY easy to climb! <giggles> I think this is a crab apple tree.

In another garden now, standing by a another box hedge. Bunny thinks that the mosaic on the ground is representing the link that Armagh has to the stars (we think that the bit that looks like it's flying down to earth is like a comet) and that the other bit is a head which represents the scholar side of Armagh.

Then we left the gardens and walked towards the Cathedral itself. Next pic is of me in a a tree, I thought it was unusual. This is in the graveyard of the Cathedral.

This is a photo of St. Patrick's Church of Ireland Cathedral as seen from the tree in the above photo.

Then we went inside the Cathedral and Bunny asked the nice man if we could go inside the crypt! So he let us in, it is locked because it is a walk from the main Cathedral doors. In the crypt are stone statues like the one in the photo below and also the burial tombs of Archbishop Robinson and other people that were important to the Cathedral.

When I had finished looking around then we went inside the Cathedral. It's very big! It has very high ceilings and lovely windows with colour in them! Bunny said it was called stained glass.

Next photo is of me looking at the Book of Armagh.

Then we went into the Royal Irish Fusiliers Regimental Chapel. Here is a photo of me beside a memorial. You can just see in the photo that the seats have got crests on them too.

The photo below is of me beside The Tandragee Man. It is a very famous statue (according to Bunny). It is 3000 years old! That's very old.

Then we left the Cathedral and went to Uluru for lunch :) I had salad like before, but when we got in I was so thirsty! I couldn't wait for Bunny to pour me a glass of water.

Then we walked towards the Tourist Information Centre along the way I spotted two more Gargoyles! :)

When we went into the Tourist Information Centre I told them about the Gargoyles that I'd seen, they said that there were more to be found! How exciting :) They gave me a leaflet about them with their locations and they are 22 in total! Bunny said next time we are in Armagh we can take a look for them and we'll take a few trips searching for them. This will be fun! :)

Bunny told the ladies about my blog and I gave them some business cards :)

Bunny said that we had given out 10 business cards today! :)

Then we went back to Bunny's Burrow :)  There were parcels waiting and one of them was for me! :) My first dice that I had ordered had arrived. It might be hard to see in the photo but the dice have a red crown, a black anchor, a red heart, a red diamond, a black club and a black spade. Bunny said that the heart, diamond, club and spade are suits of playing cards. Can't wait to play a game with these :)

I also got a sparkly red bag for my dice :) I know that I have only got 3 so far, but I have more on the way and Bunny said I needed a bag to keep them safe.

Next pic is a magazine but what is more important is one of the free gifts that came with the magazine.

A curly straw! I'd been looking for one of these for AGES, but couldn't find one anywhere and when I saw one with the magazine I had to get it :) It's fun drinking out of a curly straw, the drink goes round and round the straw! :) In the photo I'm also eating rainbow drops :) Bunny got some new snack bowls for me today :) One of them is red! I like red :) The photo is of me enjoying my drink and snack while watching Dr. Who :)

That's the end of today's adventure I had fun :) I can't wait to see where I go next. 

Franciscan Friary & Palace Demesne

Today I went on an adventure in Armagh :) I visited the Armagh Franciscan Friary which was founded by an Archbishop someone or other in 1263/64.  It is part of the Palace Demesne Public Park :) The first photo is of me on a tree seat in the Public Park.

Do you see the scarf around my neck? It's a Buff Headband that Bunny had got for herself but she also got herself a Buff scarf and she can only wear one at a time. So I borrowed her headband for a scarf for myself :) I think it suits me, what do you think?

Here I am in one of the window slits that was part of the Franciscan Friary.

I climbed the wall for this photograph :) You can see the window slit where I was in the previous photo.

A big tree! It was fun to climb this one :)

Another tree that I climbed :) As you can see I was holding onto the tree so I wouldn't fall off.

 Below is photo of me in a crevice in the wall, I'm on the left hand side just below the window.

A close of me from the above photo.

I was scared taking this photograph and jumped down and ran after Bunny. She laughed and gave me a cuddle and said I'd be okay if I stayed still. So I sat still and she took the photo and everything was okay.

Next we went towards the Palace itself, we went through a forest! It was dark and a bit scary, despite what it looks like in the photo below. Bunny held me tight and I was a brave Lion :)

Below is a photo of me on a wheelbarrow with flowers. The building in the background is the Palace and it was built by Archbishop Robinson. The Palace was the residence of the Archbishops of the Church of Ireland from 1770 to 1975. Archbishop Robinson was also responsible for The Mall in Armagh (he turned it into a public park), The Observatory and lots of other places.

Next photograph is of me in a planter at the back of the Palace.

Me lying on a tree :) Isn't the shape of this tree amazing! :)

 If you look carefully you can just about see me :) I was climbing the outside of a trellis in one of the gardens :)

Here I am in the middle of one of the many raised gardens :)

Here I am on the bridge looking into one side of the pond. I love the lillypads :) They had pretty yellow flowers on them.

Then I looked at the other side, see how the water flows from the big pond down a waterfall and under the bridge? Also aren't the red flowers pretty? :) I like red. 

Then I saw a park in the Palace Demesne grounds! I've never been in a park before. I asked Bunny if I could go there and she said yes! It was LOTS of fun :) First I went on a swing! :) Bunny took a short video of me on it :)

Then I had a ride on a this bouncy thing, I think it's meant to be a bunny rabbit.

Then I went on the monkey bars and I got stuck! I shouted for Bunny's help but she was too busy laughing! Then she took this photo and said how cute I looked BEFORE she helped me down. I was scared I'd fall, but Bunny said she wouldn't let anything bad happen to me.

Then I went on the slide! :) WEEEEEEE!! That was lots of fun! :)

Then we walked down the big hill again and we went into Armagh City Hotel for a drink. I was very thirsty after all that playing in the park. Here is a photo of me sitting on a table in the hotel holding a cold bottle of juice :)

We had a rest for a short while then I went on the next stage of my adventure.

The Argory

Today we went to The Argory which is a National Trust house and grounds in Co. Armagh. They had The Argory Tartan on today :) Which is when they have pipe bands and pipers and big drums playing.

We arrived around midday and didn't get back until nearly 5:30pm!

Bunny had got me a bandana for today :) You can see me wearing it in the pics below.  I wanted my ears free so Bunny cut them with special piggy scissors, so that the bandanna wouldn't fray. Piggy scissors, that's a funny name! Piggy, Piggy, Oink, Oink OINK! <giggles>

First pic below is of us at the entrance sign post to The Argory :)

 

First place we went too was into the gardens :) And I saw these lovely flowers, we don't know what they're called as The Argory have lots of flowers from the Victorian times.  If you know what they're called please let me know in the comments :)

Then we went into the rose garden :) I spotted another sun dial and I sat on it for a short rest.

Then I saw this small gravestone, I thought it was very unusual, Bunny says there are quite a few of them hidden in the grounds. 

Next we came across a gate house. There is a lot of it on the other side, we didn't go that far, but Bunny said that when we visit again we can go that way and see how far it goes down the other side.

Next up was some tree climbing!! Yes! lots and lots of trees for me to climb! :)

  Then we came across The Argory, the House itself :) Isn't it pretty and big!

Here is a pic of me beside the tall flowers outside of the House. Again we don't know what these are called so if you do know, please mention it in the comments.

Next I ticked off a few more items off the 50 things list :) I made a den (well kind-of, I  found a natural one, that still counts!)

Then I made a stick trail :)

 Then I made a daisy chain! :)

I was tried after all the tree climbing and making things so I took a wee rest on a tree :)

I was getting thirsty so we went into the tea shop and I got a drink of juice :) It was lovely and cold.

I was getting sleepy so I crawled into my bag and had a nap, but I did wake up to hear the band play and I loved the big drum! It was a very LOUD sound :) 

Lots of people spoke to me when I was walking around with Bunny and I handed out loads of business cards! Bunny said we handed out a dozen! That is LOADS!! :)

Then I went back to sleep and woke up back at Bunny's. I got lots of goodies :) Pics below of the haul from today's adventure :)

A keyring for my bag and I got another pin badge for my rucksack :)

I also got a National Trust passport :) The kind lady stamped it for me and I wrote the date underneath it.

I also got a 50 things adventure scrapbook :) We got the first one stamped and a sticker! :) This was got at the start of the adventure.

I also got chocolate insects to eat! :) I'm keeping these to eat later.

I also got a red zip bracelet :) Isn't it unusual? I put it on my leg, because it fits better on my leg.

I also got a tube of beads and Bunny helped me make a bracelet with them :) It's got a ladybird on it! :)

That is the end of today's adventure :) I had loads of fun! Bunny said that I can decorate an envelope she has and I can keep my 50 things adventure scrapbook and my passports in it and put the envelope in my bag so that I always have them with me.

Distance Travelled (from Armagh): 19 miles