Well, the time has finally arrived, it's time for Panoramic Ireland's final post for 2020.

The year started so well, with a lot of promise then quickly descended into a state of...not so good.

So it's time to bring some hope into the new year and look forward to a better year, starting with January.

I would normally do a review of the year at this time but, well you know how it is. Actually I did photograph some interesting scenes this year but not nearly as many as usual.

The West of Ireland, it's the place that I photograph most often in Ireland along with the Antrim Coast and Dublin.

Here, a typical western scene of rugged mountains, very often coated with a soft green of grass and, here where you see the reddishness, bracken that has died back for the winter. 

Bracken is a type of fern Pteridium that dates back some 55 million years, is highly invasive and can cause cancer in humans (only if eaten) and is poisonous to animals (again only if eaten).

The shortest day of the year has arrived in Ireland and the winter solstice occurred at just after 10:00 today, December 21st.

From here, the winter keeps on for many weeks until the first day of spring but along the way, every day the day length increases by just a little.

Here, in the west of Ireland blue hour ushers in the night; the last remnants of daylight fades lower in the sky as cloud builds to obscure the last warming glow from the western sky.

Morning, and a thin band of sunrise sunlight pierces thick cloud to illuminate the lower slopes of a cloud-covered mountain in the west of Ireland.

Roads like these take you into the splendid scenic views in Ireland as they twist and turn, roll and flow through the rocky, boggy and lush green landscapes of the Irish countryside.

Join me, Panoramic Ireland, on a photography tour in the west of Ireland and the rest of Ireland.

A sunny day in Dublin and wandering in the back streets, a man on a bicycle passes street art of famous guitarist Slash from Guns N' Roses.

Guns N' Roses are due to play a rescheduled concert in Dublin's Marlay Park in June 2021, the 2020 date having been cancelled due to Coronavirus / COVID-19.

Taken on a Panoramic Ireland photography tour of Dublin.

The sky above the west of Ireland, in particular Connemara, is more impressive than those of the rest of Ireland.

Big, open blue skies and stormy skies stretching for miles are the likely scenes awaiting the photographer and visitor alike.

Panoramic Ireland's photography workshops run all year round in Connemara, in Dublin and throughout Ireland.

Contact me today to find out more about the places and options for 2021.

It's winter now and my mind turns to coastal landscapes.

Here, one from the Antrim Coast of Sheep Island.

Crashing waves batter both sides of the small island, for millennia a well known landmark off this part of the Causeway Coast but now more famous from its appearance in HBO's Game of Thrones.

Sheep Island rises some 30 metres above the North Atlantic with mostly sheer cliffs, a thin layer of soil on top gives a green colour particularly in spring. In centuries past, local farmers would graze sheep out here being able to land only on the calmest of days.

Some doubt that landing a vessel here with sheep is possible, but on a calm day and good local knowledge this would be a difficult, but not impossible, task.

Sheep Island is home to a large proportion of Ireland's population of the northern European sub-species of cormorant and is a protected habitat.

You can just see the coast of Scotland, faintly on the horizon under the grey cloud to the right of Sheep Island in this image.

The flower sellers of Dublin's Grafton Street are a famous sight on the well-trod thoroughfare.

They have brightened the streets of Dublin, and the lives of Dubliners, for centuries.

Here, a colour-filled flower stall with fine blooms.

In the background, if you look carefully, you can see the Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy) statue outside of Bruxelles.

In 2019 the flower sellers of Grafton Street were accused of being "street clutter" by a property group who own several shops in the area, they later apologised and the flower sellers are indeed still there brightening up the streets of Dublin.

Golden light slowly fills in from the east as sunrise approaches on the Irish Sea coast of Ireland.

Mountains hidden by the night slowly emerge from darkness casting off their shrouds of cloud, gently pushed by the morning breeze.

It might not be possible to travel to Ireland right now, as we approach the end of 2020 but in spring and summer 2021 Ireland will be open to travel and to visitors seeking to view and photograph the seascapes and landscapes of the fine countryside.

Join me, Panoramic Ireland, for a landscape photography tour in Ireland during 2021 - no deposit required.

Travel in Ireland - December 2020 Coronavirus Update

As of yesterday, December 3rd 2020 Ireland has exited from six weeks of Level 5 coronavirus lockdown meaning that shops can now reopen, pubs serving food and restaurants can open also. Traditional pubs, not serving food, can't reopen as yet - there are many restrictions as the country is now on Level 3.

Travellers from most countries still have to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in Ireland but as of 29th November 2020 visitors can take a PCR test for COVID-19 after five days of being in Ireland. Here's the text:

Post arrival testing of passengers

With effect from midnight 29 November 2020

Passengers arriving from an “orange” or “red” or “grey” region are to restrict their movements for 14 days (other than the categories outlined above).

This period of restricted movement can end if you receive a negative/’not detected’ result of a PCR test that has been taken a minimum of five days after your arrival in Ireland. You should wait for your negative test result to be returned before ending the period of restricted movements.

From: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/b4020-travelling-to-ireland-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/#covid-19-tests-for-international-travel

And yes the above first applied to European arrivals but now applies to all overseas visitors into Ireland.

So you can take a test no less than five days from arrival and upon a negative result you can travel throughout the country.

At the moment most Irish people are limited to staying in their own county for some bizarre reason that I have talked about before, so with checkpoints on the motorways and around the towns of Ireland don't expect your journey to go swiftly. It's difficult to say what the law is for overseas visitors, maybe you would be limited only to travelling in the county where you are staying. The usual rules of wearing a mask, staying 2 metres apart etc... still apply.

Also, having 1,2 or 3 negative PCR tests does not entitle Irish people who have been a close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 to reduce their quarantine from 14 days, so expect some strange looks, disbelief and attitude from the locals when you tell them that you can travel freely while they can't.

Ireland currently has the lowest rate of infections from COVID-19 in Europe, but expect that to increase again as we get towards Christmas and the New Year so we are likely to see another change in lockdown level, potentially around January 6th 2021.

Numbers will rise again and movement will need to be restricted again before vaccines are distributed and become effective.

But we should see plenty of travel opportunities opening up beyond Spring and into Summer 2021.

For Panoramic Ireland's photography tours you can make a provisional booking now for 2021 - no payment is required until we are closer to the time so it is a no-risk no deposit booking.

If you are planning a holiday to Ireland in 2021 do contact me to enquire for availability.