While museums and many indoor attractions are currently closed in Dublin - including the Long Room Library and Book of Kells at Trinity College as the city is is on a three-week lockdown - the rest of Ireland is open.

Exploring the Irish countryside with camera is not a new endeavour to me but for much of this year it has been a difficult one with travel restrictions in place.

Here, deep in rural Ireland I found some old miners' cottages.  A remnant of a previous economic collapse, the industry here halted due to cheaper imports from overseas; soon after the mine closed and the miners left to find new work - often heading overseas to where those cheaper imports were coming from.

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Dublin's Forty Foot is one of the most famous swimming spots in Ireland, and possibly the world.

With recent visitors including Matt Damon, Loudon Wainwright III and of course me, the Forty or 40-Foot also featured in James Joyce's Ulysses.

I have of course written here on Panoramic Ireland about the 40-foot, where I mentioned that the water is definitely not 40 feet deep. The name of this small coastal area in Sandycove comes from the 40th Regiment of Foot, a regiment of the British Army that were stationed here.

I wrote recently about the production of a new film, postponed during the Coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic, set to be filmed this month at Cahir Castle, County Tipperary. Some of The Last Duel, starring Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Ben Affleck and Jodie Comer and directed by Ridley Scott is also being filmed at one of the finest scenic locations in County Meath, Bective Abbey.

Bective Abbey is a former Cistercian Abbey dating to 1147 by a local king as a daughter house to Mellifont Abbey, in nearby County Louth. It was in use until the mid 16th century when it was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII. It was subsequently used as a private house and is now in state care.

Filming of The Last Duel takes place in September and October 2020.

Bective remains one of my favourite locations to photograph. Seen here in the main image the ruins after dark, and below on a fine sunny day surrounded by lush green trees in summer.

The ruins famously featured in another Hollywood film, Braveheart starring and directed by Mel Gibson. You'll remember that scene where the chap gets thrown out of the window, that's Bective.

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Ruins of Bective Abbey, County Meath - Ireland

As of September 10th 2020, Ireland still remains the most difficult country in Europe to get into and out of.

International travel is currently still possible but with a mandatory 14 day quarantine and no allowance made for negative tests, the number of visitors coming to Ireland has fallen significantly and the Irish government has asked Irish people not to travel for non-essential reasons such as for holidays.

Pubs in Ireland are currently still closed, except for those that can serve food - a substantial meal. And although a date has been set for the 21st of September, in the same breath members of the government were advising that this date might not be possible due to public health advice.

Dublin and Limerick are experiencing large increases of cases, more so than the three counties of Laois, Offaly and Kildare that had restrictions of movement placed on them for several weeks in August.

It seems like the Irish government are still working on a county by county basis rather than a municipal basis. Restricting movement at a town or district level would make much more sense for those who know Ireland.

For instance, should an outbreak occur in Portumna, County Galway the current policy would involve restrictions on movement in the whole of that large county, Ireland's second largest. That means a 2.5-hour drive away in Clifden, there would also be restrictions yet in this majestic small town, pictured, nestled behind the Twelve Bens beside the Atlantic Ocean there may no increase, even a decrease in cases or none at all. To put this in context, Portumna is only a 2 hour 10 minutes drive from Dublin, the Irish capital and the same journey time to Cork.

So it is obvious to many that a county by county basis is not a workable option for lockdowns or restrictions on movement in Ireland as schools and the economy, pubs and international travel reopens.

What the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic has shown is that travel is certainly now more difficult even to standard, normal, safe destinations. It is possible to be faced with cancellations, delays and restrictions without warning.

It's always worth having good travel insurance and never more important than now so check out this roundup of the best deals from Money.

Indeed Matt Damon who is now filming The Last Duel in Cahir, County Tipperary remained in Ireland during the first lockdown in Spring 2020.