less than an hour from Dublin city centre.

Rathlin Island, Co Dublin Antrim by Random Ireland Photos.

‘Random’ writes:

“Look up Rathlin Island, head there at the ‘right time of year’ and you’re as likely to bump into a Puffin as you are some twitcher wheezing under their camera gear. A haunt for bird watchers and wild life enthusiasts as it is dedicated followers of hiking. But when you arrive the week after (D’oh!) just about every remotely interesting species of bird has buggered off, you have to make do with the standard sights on an island that is so far off the mainland that one would do well to check one’s mainland ways before entering.
So, there’s on-shore boat wrecks, well-preserved ruins, fat cattle, rather large seals lounging around in groups in secluded inlets, a single solitary red (was it for this?) paint-peeled phone box, and the truly awesome landscape spectacle that is as spectacular in sunshine as it is in dull cloud, wind sweep and rain.
If you want to hire a bike off-season, don’t arrive on a Thursday, as the main bike hire provider is closed because, you know, Thursday.
When arriving off-season – bring a sandwich and some tins as the island’s only pub keeps odd opening hours. It is, for example, known to open as late as a 30 minutes before the departure of the final night ferry back to the ‘mainland’.
Should you find yourself along a very remote part of the island on the way to one of its lighthouses you may be greeted by the sight of dead ferrets hung with blue string from barbed wire fences.
And when you – after having got over the initial shock of seeing in an idyllic setting the little fellows trapped in what looked like the same struggling/fighting stance they had on death
A local flying by in their 4×4 explains: ’To scare off other ferrets.’
It takes a while to get a decent Google search result to Ferrets don’t attack cattle, they do not appear to be hugely into sheep and they tend not to make a point of adding humans to their daily menu.Indeed, they appear to be more interested in eating rabbits, brown rats and dead . . . livestock.
If curious, it takes a while to get a decent Google search result to finally understand what this might be all about.
Ferrets don’t attack cattle, they do not appear to be hugely into sheep and they tend not to make a point of adding humans to their daily menu.
Indeed, they appear to be more interested in eating rabbits, brown rats and dead . . . livestock. So far so understandable. Why the fuss, one might be tempted to ask.
The answer might be in something that not a lot of people might might know.
Global warming is affecting Rathlin Island.
It affects the habitat of the worms Puffins thrive on.
And apart from the other stuff listed above that ferrets like, birds also feature on ferrets lists of ‘likes’. Begs the question: were the strung up ferrets last week strung up for the benefit of the island’s flagging tourist trade (due to global warming, don’t you know) or something else?”

FIGHT!

Ransom Irish Photos