300 The Irish Naturalist. Novembef, 



Thursday, September i8. 



The Gobbins. — One of the most pleasant and interesting 

 excursions was that organised by the Vice-President of the 

 Field Club(W. J. Fennell) to the Gobbins Cliffs on Thursday, 

 September i8th, now accessible by means of the path con- 

 structed by the Northern Counties Railway Company, which 

 has already been described in these pages. The number of 

 places available (sixty) was applied for more than three times 

 over. The party were the guests of the Railwa}^ Company, who 

 conveyed them to and from Ballycarry station by special 

 saloon train, and provided a sumptuous tea in one of the sea- 

 caves at the Gobbins. Mr. Fennell and Mr. Wise (Engineer 

 to the Railwa}^ Compan}-) conducted, and the former pre- 

 sented each member of the party with a booklet containing 

 an illustrated scientific account of the neighbourhood. At 

 tea-time hearty votes of thanks were passed to both gentle- 

 men, and on returning to Ballycarry an unusual and pleasant 

 feature was a vote of thanks to the car-drivers, who, with the 

 Railway Compan}^, were joint hosts of the day. The weather 

 was delightful, and everything went without a hitch. 



DowNPATRiCK. — Conductors — W. Gray and J. J. Phillips. 

 A party of thirty-one attended. On arrival at Downpatrick, 

 cars were taken to the fine stone circle of Bally noe, which 

 w^as examined. Thence to the once-famous holy wells of 

 Struell. At Ballyalton farm a .stone circle and avenue were 

 visited at the foot of Slieve-na-Griddle, and near Lough Money 

 a small cromleac and a very fine example of a standing stone. 

 Passing the ancient village of Raholp, the party drove to 

 the site of the primitive church of Saul, the first founded by 

 St. Patrick, and on the slope below the church, a pilgrimage 

 was paid to the Mearn holy well. Driving past Quoile Castle, 

 they proceeded to Inch Abbey, where Mr. J. J, Phillips, 

 B.N.F.C, gave an interesting descriptive address. After re- 

 freshments, the party visited the Cathedral. Leaving the 

 church, a rapid survey w^as made of the huge earthen fortifi- 

 cation known as Dun Cealtair, and then the party hurried to 

 the railway station. 



Tardree. — A party of seven geologists took a morning 

 train to Templepatrick, whence they walked to Tardree 



