Dragons from Ireland and Scotland Trip

As I mentioned in a previous post, I like to look out for dragons whenever I travel. This recent trip was no exception!

I spent a week in Ireland with my mum and sis, after which I spent a week in Scotland mostly by myself.

Both Ireland and Scotland were magical and I’ve always had a thing for medieval history and castles 🏰 I’m grateful I got to see a few.

Blog Post Thoughts

I spent a while thinking about this post before I started working on a draft.

Questions on my mind included:

How many photos should be in the post? (I took a great number on my phone…)
Should I share just the dragon photos?
Should I cross-post on my personal blog?
Should I narrate this post or talk off the cuff about highlights of the trip on my microcast?
Should I have a small series of posts about related topics (i.e. “Viking Ship Art,” “More Dragons in Ireland,” “More Dragons in Scotland”), to keep things more organised?

I’ve been leaning towards #3, #4, and #5.

Part 1: Ireland

The weather was unusually sunny when we landed in Dublin. The only other time I’d visited the region was back in 1997 (London).

A very friendly taxi driver got us to the hotel. We met my mum’s cousin and her husband for tea at Bewley’s Cafe, and had a quick look around of the streets nearby.

Dragon Photos from Ireland

The first dragon item I spotted was this Celtic knot dragon collectible coin!
This was a cool statue near the Cork English Market. My sister took the pic as I was on my way to Glasgow that day.
Dragon / animal headed handles at National Museum of Ireland (Archaeology Collection, Kildare Street).

READ MORE: European Dragons

A Few More Dragon Pics

A viking ship on a door on the way out of Dublin (towards Glendalough / Wicklow).
Book cover of a coat of arms featuring a knight and dragon (carving on whale bone, 16th century).
- From Donabate, Co. Dublin, Ireland.
- Displayed at The National Museum of Ireland – Natural History.
Book cover description.
An interesting hand-sewn item spotted at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
The second symbol on the left has a dragon (from Knights of St. Patrick).
Dragon art on the wall at M&L Chinese Restaurant.

Other Ireland Photos

Pics 1 to 4 = Blarney Castle (the castle as well as castle grounds were awesome)
Pic 5 = Glendalough around Wicklow Mountains
Pic 6 = Me next to the “Virgo” symbol of a Zodiac mosaic tile floor at the museum
Pic 7 & 8 = A closeup of a dragon in a painting (shared by my relative)
- Painting Info = Das Weltgerichtstriptychon (The Last Judgment Triptych) by Hieronymus Bosch / Lucas Cranach (around 1520-1525, Lucas Cranach painted an extremely faithful copy after the Bosch painting)
Pic 9 to 11 = At Cobh, County Cork (last port of call for the Titanic in 1912)

Things I Did & Recommendations (Ireland)

Highlights include:

Bewley’s Cafe (Dublin)
a William Butler Yeats free exhibition at the National Library (it had nice tarot and occult / Golden Dawn / occult items on display)
Blarney Castle 🏰, where I—
- possibly had mild histoplasmosis from exploring a damp section in a small, dark cave at the entrance… (it was still fun)
- went all the way up to kiss the Blarney Stone (you have to lie down and kiss it upside down)

NOTE: I included more castle photos and recommendations on my personal blog.

Part 2: Scotland

I stayed at Holiday Inn Theatreland that was about a 3 to 5 minute walk to Buchanan Street.

It was a great location and the staff were lovely, too!

The Dragons of Wardrop’s Court, Royal Mile

wardrop court dragons — Photo by Zar Antonov

I walked down this street when I visited the entrance of Edinburgh Castle. There was some heavy road construction right at this area so I didn’t get a great photo.

If you’re there, look up to see a pair of blue dragons facing the Royal Mile.

The dragons were carved by JS Gibson in the 1890s. A second pair of dragons can be seen at the back, which were created in 1911 by Arthur Geddes when he was 16 years old.

Wardrop’s Court leads into what used to be student housing for the University of Edinburgh.

References: The Unseen Edinburgh, Edinburgh’s mythical dragons