Northern Ireland is served by flights into Belfast International Airport, George Best Belfast City Airport and City of Derry Airport. The ferry operators coast to coast from Scotland to Northern Ireland in an hour.

The economy is thriving. New industries are being created. Cities are being revitalised with millions being invested in regeneration. There is a new cultural vitality, pride and optimism. Instead of emigrating, our brightest graduates are staying. Tourism is thriving too, with new visitors discovering our humour, hospitality, scenery and quality of life.

The Troubles officially ended with the ceasefires of the early 90s. With the return of normality, Northern Ireland has blossomed. Today the people of Northern Ireland are confidently looking forward to building a new future together.

St Patrick of Ireland is undoubtedly one of the worlds most popular Saints. An Apostle of Ireland, born at Kilpatrick in Scotland in the year 387AD, he died at Saul, Down Patrick, Northern Ireland on the 17th March 461AD. St Patrickas Day has become a day when everyone is Irish.

Theres plenty worth seeing in wherever you go, museums, visitor centres, historic and scenic attractions put the emphasis on participation.

Stately homes and history parks arent just for viewing, visitors can experience life as it was lived in times gone by. Museums have exhibits you can touch and explore.

Everyone knows the story of the Titanic, yet few realise the ship was built in Belfast. The most famous ship in history is pictured and interpreted through unique and internationally important Titanic collections.

The City Walls Of Derry is the only remaining walled city in Ireland and one of the finest examples of walled cities in Europe, kept in splendid state of preservation.

The Giants Causeway, renowned for its polygonal columns of layered basalt, is the only World Heritage Site in Northern Ireland. Resulting from a volcanic eruption sixty million years ago.

The Bog side Artists studio offers visitors an opportunity to see the work of and speak to those who have created an open air mural gallery in the famous Bog side area of the city.

For such a small country we have a lot of famous people who have made an impact all across the world. Competed at the highest level in sport, including football legend George Best, Harry Gregg, Pat Jennings and Martin O Neill, Formula One driver Eddie Irvine, motorcycling hero Joey Dunlop, snooker world champions Alex Higgins and Dennis Taylor, British and Irish Lions rugby stalwart Willie John McBride, golfer Darren Clarke and Olympic gold medallist Mary Peters. An abundance of musical talent and have produced such greats as Van Morrison, Gary Moore, James Galway, Phil Coulter, Brian Kennedy.

St. patricks day recipes

It amazes me how many great chefs can cook fantastic dishes yet fail to be able to write recipes in a clear and concise way that makes for easy reading and understanding. Many could do with working in manufacturing industry for a number of weeks and learn the skill involved in preparing a bill of materials for a product because in this way they would get to understand how certain ingredients can be grouped together to make a “sub assembly” before the preparation into the final assembly.

Some top chefs have mastered this of course and they truly produce excellent food, freshly prepared and in a short space of time. It simply boils down to storing the food in it’s sub assembly state until you’re ready to serve then throw everything together and give it a blast.

I’m a barbecue and smoker enthusiast and I love to experiment with different marinades, rubs and mops as well as making some really tasty accompaniments for my BBQ parties. It wasn’t until last year that a friend suggest I should “bottle” my knowledge and share it but my confidence wasn’t too great because first of all I’m not a professional chef and second I’ve never written a recipe.

I guess everybody has to start somewhere and when I thought about my day job it in manufacturing and also how some recipes really annoy me I found the way forward. All it took then was to think about how I prepared the meal and write it down.

One thing that really frustrates me is when there’s no clear information about how long the recipe is going to take, admittedly it’s not that important for barbecue recipes because the BBQ cooking is part of the fun and if you’re into smoking most people already know the rule of thumb that it take a minimum of 60 minutes per pound of meat and a thermometer to measure the internal temperature of the food. What’s really annoying is when you get half way through a recipe and then see the words “put the mix to one side and marinate overnight”.

So aside from ensuring that the method clearly states how to put the ingredients together in a manner that ensures the final assembly is as easy as possible, it’s essential to state clearly in the opening summary whether that are any time constraints with the recipe. For another example just a quick note at the top of the page to state preparation time and cooking time will work wonders.

There is a protocol when writing ingredients that the largest constituents go first running down to the inevitable pinch of salt and pepper at the bottom. For me it doesn’t make sense because I like to see the ingredients together that get mixed together. For example if we’re doing a rub then I would prefer to see all the rub ingredients listed separately, this way it’s clear to read and I don’t forget anything. That’s my way, you may have yours but if together it brings more great recipes to the internet then hopefully we’re onto a winner.

Silly putty recipe

Wildlife in Cornwall - The Gannel Estuary The Gannel Estuary has something to interest everybody from the beautiful salt marsh plants to the mystery of the Gannel Crake and provides a home for many different plants and animals.

Algae and Asters

Shifting sands and mud and changes in salinity make the Gannel a hostile place for all but a few specialised plants. There several areas of salt marsh on both sides of the main river channel and at Penpol Creek including pioneer communities with only a sparse covering of green algae as well as well developed vegetation. During the spring these areas are alive with the fragrant scurvy grass, thrift , sea aster and sea purslane form painted edges to the channels of mud where the wading birds feed on shellfish worms and crabs. Towards the sea on Pentire Point East cliff vegetation takes over and spring squill, kidney vetch and wild carrot provide displays of colour. Godwits and Greenshanks Up to 5000 birds have been recorded here sheltering from harsh northern winters including dunlin, ringed plover, redshank, whimbrel, grey plover, greenshank, godwits curlew, widgeon and teal. The different bill shapes and lengths allow the different waders to feed on their own particular favourite animal living in the soft mud.

History

There is much of historical interest on the Gannel with evidence of mans occupation from the bronze Age to the present day. At Trethellan Farm a Bronze Age village once existed that has revealed much information on life at that time whilst overlying the site was an Iron age burial ground that also provided many interesting finds. Also at Trethellan a lead mine operated until about 1860 whilst on the southern shore there was a lead and silver smelting works. Iron ore from the Great Perran Iron Lode was brought to the Gannel for shipment to Wales whilst Welsh coal for the Truro smelting works was unshipped at Trevemper and Penpol. The old packhorse bridge still exists at Trevemper, the tidal limit of the estuary, having been rebuilt with one arch in the last century.

Reeds Boatyard

The old boatyard area at Tregunnel is now a delightful spot to stop a while and enjoy the view. In the 1800’s you would have seen ships of up to 250 tons being built here, launches took place in the evening on a Spring Tide and were great events locally. Today smaller boats are still moored and repaired in the area. Penpol Creek Once known as the Port of Truro, goods were brought into the Gannel and taken up the track leading from the Creek by cart or packhorse. remains of the quay are easily visible as are the remains of a lime kiln where limestone was unloaded and burnt before being spread on the land to improve soil quality. Today the Creek provides a home for wildlife - great spotted woodpeckers can be heard in the spring, whilst recent years has seen the graceful little egret, a large white wading bird from the continent, feeding here at low tide. Treringy Round This is an Iron Age round surrounded by earth banks and ditches.

Crantock

Crantock is delightful old village with a fascinating church, magnificent beach and sand dune system. Taking its name from St Carantoc or Caratocus a Welsh or Irish bishop who studied under St Patrick, the village dates back to 460 AD when a group of Irish hermits founded an oratory here.

The Gannel Crake

This name is given to a terrible sound heard on the Gannel at different times of the day and the night. Some say it is the call of a vixen or perhaps an unusual bird while others say it is the cry of ” a tortured human soul “. A man who heard it in the 1800’s said ” it was like nothing on earth, like a thousand voices pent up in misery, with one long wail dying away in the distance” .Who knows what this strange phenomenon could be?.

Walking and Riding on the Gannel

There are numerous walks to be enjoyed around the estuary including the two circular walks shown on this leaflet. Please follow way marked routes as some paths are permissive and exist only through the goodwill of the landowning community. A delightful day out is a walk around the estuary to Crantock where a cream tea provides welcome refreshment. For horse riders there are rides daily from Trenance Stables that use the bridle ways and take in parts of the foreshore Please try and avoid riding on areas of the vulnerable salt marsh as it takes many years to re establish if badly churned up.

Tides and Ferries

The Gannel is tidal and a dangerous place to swim or wade, in order to walk right around the estuary you will need to avoid high tide. There are two foot bridges, at Trennance the bridge is covered for about an hour either side of the high tide whereas the Penpol bridge is covered for about 2 1/2 hours either side of high tides. Ferries operate primarily on a seasonal basis from Fern Pit to Crantock Beach and the Gannel Ferry Service provide a service from Trethellan Steps and opposite Penpol to Penpol Creek. (

BEFORE SETTING OFF YOU MUST CHECK TIDAL DETAILS

The St Agnes - Newquay Countryside Service is helping to manage the Gannel as a place for both people and wildlife to enjoy, help us to do this by following the Country Code, in particular keeping dogs under close control where they may disturb feeding birds. Please remember the Gannel is a very sensitive area and if possible keep to routes that avoid the foreshore, less erosion is caused and the view is often much better. The Country Code The work on the Gannel is supported by the National Trust, Newquay Town Council Restormel borough Council and Trewithen Estates.

Growing crystals recipes