What with my parents both hailing from Belfast and Danny and I living there now, I've always felt at home there. But home is where the heart is and my heart will always lie in Portstewart, the town where I grew up on the North coast.
I don't know quite how it happened but I hadn't been back to the port since Christmas so today I jumped on the train and was soon breathing a sigh of relief as well as deep lung fulls of sea air. My parent's house is just a few minute's walk from this heavenly 2 mile stretch of beach called 'The Strand'. I'll never tire of this view.
My day at home consisted of a traipse around the local charity shops, this invigorating walk with my parents, a dinner of homemade shepherd's pie and the cinema. Perfick.
The above picture shows the town from the beach, the two of which are linked by a cliff walk.
The building that looks like a castle on the cliff is my old school, Dominican College, where my mother taught until last year and where many lifelong friendships were forged. Beyond it you can see the town - one single street of shops called 'The Promenade' - beautiful in summer, wild in winter.
Below is the 'Barmouth', the pier which guides the River Bann out to sea. On the other side of the river is the town of Castlerock and you can see 'Mussenden Temple', actually the old library for the nearby ruined Bishop's Palace. Both it and the beach are looked after by the good old National Trust.
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