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).

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.

The greenery of a woodland clearing is a relaxing place to stop and admire the scenery of the natural environment.

Here, a mixed woodland of native Irish trees on the left gives way to imported, planted sitka on the right, the forest here becomes dark and uninviting.

But in this small boundary area, grasses and mosses grow in the light-filled clearing and of course I found my eye drawn through the scene deeper into the deciduous woods.

Here, an ancient Irish woodland: https://panoramicireland.com/photo-tours-blog/116-ancient-woodland-co-kerry-ireland

Autumn arrives, the clocks have gone back in Ireland and the daylight length is now quite short.

Here, the trees have lost most of their leaves those not carried by the flow of the water remaining on the rocks and riverbanks.

This bridge is large, more than 12ft to the centre of the arch from the river below designed to take traffic across the small but steep sided valley, seen here with low flow but a raging torrent in heavy rains.

For the moment, Ireland is in Level 5 lockdown which means that travel is limited to 5km except for work, school and essential purposes - much of the countryside is looking autumnal and winter will be here by the time we exit Level 5.

Enjoy the view and don't forget to check back for more posts regularly. Here's one of beech trees and an Irish waterfall in autumn.

This ancient, tree-lined, grass-covered lane hasn't seen much traffic except for hooves of sheep for many decades.

Here it is filled with sheep and lambs in spring, nibbling the hawthorn hedge and grass - flowers escaping their graze.

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What to photograph in Ireland when the weather isn't good? 

That's a question I get asked a lot, and it isn't difficult to answer. There is always a fine scene to photograph in any locality on any day.

On this occasion as the rain began to fall, it was this lake in the west of Ireland, the soft and rugged contours of the region and its conifer forest reflecting in the calm lake waters.

I have written about green roads and rural lanes here on Panoramic Ireland before. Here is one from a walk in the Irish countryside earlier this year, 2019: https://panoramicireland.com/blog-ireland-guide/irish-summer-green-rural-lane-trees-exploring

Here, stopping along the back roads of the Irish countryside - in the west we went exploring and photographed one of the most scenic lanes in the country.

The weather wasn't going to cooperate on this day that I had set aside for some photography in Sligo.

 And yes, the white specks are sheep on the mountain side.