Farranamanagh Lough

A slight frost this morning - the first of the season. Another gorgeous bright, sunny clear day but my activities were curtailed by my having developed a sore back. I woke up at 4am feeling distincly uncomfortable and had to go in search of some nurofen. It's not too bad, just feels very stiff but I'm treating it with respect and have rubbed in lots of some magic cream that smells mostly like camphor - keep the moths at bay anyway.

I managed to get down to this lake again, which was my second choice from yesterday. The colours were just amazing - the water so blue, the rocks so yellow, the bracken so orange and the grasses so blond! This is a fresh water lagoon separated from the sea by a pebbly spit and is where the unfortunate Spanish princes drowned. There is the remains of an old castle nestling in all the undergrowth at the far end. It also has an amazing name - Farranamanagh which roughly means monks land.

The whooper swan family were still in evidence, as were mallards, heron and gulls. It's a beautiful spot.