It has been a challenging spring this year, the weather had not been entirely favourable.

Lots of rain, lots of wind and not much in the way of sunshine so here a fine day in Aprill by the coast on County Antrim's Causeway Coast.

Photography is always a challenge in Ireland, the weather really can be in your favour or against it but there can be no doubt about it, Ireland is always a fun place for photography.

Join me, Panoramic Ireland, to photograph on the coast throughout the year.

Carrickfergus Castle was begun by John de Courcy in 1177.

De Courcy was an Anglo-Norman knight who came to Ireland at the behest of Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster, who sought the English King Henry II's help in becoming King of Ireland.

With no inheritance in England due, no lands and title - de Courcy set off from the southeast of Ireland to the north, and effectively defeated any opposition in County Down and County Antrim. Thus begins a turbulent millennium of English involvement in Ireland.

Recently while leading another photo tour to my own part of Ireland, County Antrim, we stopped off at the Dark Hedges.

Choosing a morning before all of the groups arrived we had the famous avenue of beech trees pretty much to ourselves as S.S. visiting from California photographed Bregagh Road on this, his first visit to Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland's Giant's Causeway is a place that I have photographed often.

Read more about the history, mythology and geology of the unique coastal geographic feature in one of my previous posts here - it's an interesting read.