Off the wild west coast of Ireland you will find the Aran Islands. There are three of them - named Inisheer, Inishmaan and Inishmore. In translation from Irish Gaelic, that simply means, small island, middle island and big island. They have been populated for many centuries.
One summer over twenty five years ago I went out to Inishmaan with my kids, my brother Paul and his two sons. We had tents and I recall we stayed on the island for two nights in clement weather, making camp amidst tussocky grasses not far from the wharf. There was a pub nearby where we had access to a lavatory and a tap for clean water. It was a great adventure.
Last night I was checking out the islands with aerial imagery courtesy of Google and I was struck by the patchworks of tiny fields on each of the islands. Those lines show handbuilt walls that you never get a proper sense of at ground level.
Below I have chosen regular images from the islands along with aerial views. I think the aerial clips are quite amazing - like newly discovered wonders of the world...
Inisheer
Inishmaan
Inishmore
The current population of the three Aran islands is 1347 with by far the greatest number residing on Inishmore. Irish Gaelic is still spoken as a first language in most homes.
I can't believe the great number of stone walls. The old people must have spent much of their lives moving stones. Very few fences of any kind here as it's mostly grain farming.
ReplyDeleteMany of those fields are tiny. I believe it was mostly about protecting the soil - stopping it from blowing away.
DeleteI really, really like those stone walls. Is this where the Aran knitting patterns originated?
ReplyDeleteThat is a brilliant connection River! The field patterns look like knitting and yes - this is indeed where Aran knitting designs came from.
DeleteI've heard of Aran Islands and watched something about catching a ferry to one of them. The stone walls are truly amazing, and I know here they fall down over the years if not maintained, so I guess they are there. The walls no doubt act as a wind break for livestock too. I sure the weather is not always clement.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the walls were mostly to stop soil from blowing away. The majority of fields are not farmed now.
DeleteI have been to Inishmore. We caught the ferry from Doolin. Lots of Americans lay down on the edge of the cliffs looking down. I didn't it terrified me.
ReplyDeleteWe went from Doolin too. I would love to return but that is unlikely.
DeleteWe went in Spar and ordered breakfast rolls and a middle aged American woman asked my wife: "What's in a breakfast roll?" I nearly said: "Custard".
DeleteThose pictures are spectacular! The irregular patterns remind me of stained glass windows, only that the colours are very muted.
ReplyDeleteCamping in such a place does indeed sound like an adventure!
I love the link you made with stained glass and I can see exactly what you mean. I think the "muted" quality of the colour is partly to do with the imagery being collected via a satellite.
DeleteNice jumpers too.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of even one Aran islander excelling in the high jump or even the long jump.
DeleteI couldn't imagine why there were so many small plots of lands fenced with stone walls but I saw your answer above which makes sense and not something I would have thought about. I have never seen anything quite like that, truly a wonder.
ReplyDeleteI am so pleased you also see the wonder of it all - every stone carried and put in place by human hands.
DeleteLooks like a wonderful place for a nice walk, is there a Hilton? I don't sleep in tents.
ReplyDeleteThere is accommodation on the islands - even for urbane Americans. The first thing though is to keep your fingers crossed that the sea is not too rough for your ferry..
DeleteThe arial views remind me a bit of dragonfly wings. I'm with Red- can't imagine the human hours it took to build those walls. How odd that anyone would even try to live in a place so rocky, isolated, and windy. I am sure there were good reasons.
ReplyDeleteI can see why you thought of dragonfly wings. Those islands would have been pretty safe from attack - I guess that's one reason why people have lived there for five thousand years or more.
DeleteInteresting! And I note your comment about how it's to stop erosion, and River's comment about how it may relate to knitting patterns. Even more interesting! You learn something new every day, right?
ReplyDeleteYou learn something every day if you are inquisitive.
DeleteFascinating. But how do the residents traverse the island with all those stone walls?
ReplyDeleteThere are lanes amidst the stone walls. Also see the aerial view of Inishmore. There, near the top, you can see a proper road amidst the tiny cottages and farms.
DeleteFascinating. I visited the area last summer and loved the geography along the coast too.
ReplyDeleteLate to the party re going gently book
ReplyDeleteThank u xx