The Causeway Coastal Route (or NE Ireland)

After a couple of busy days picking up and stocking the van we headed off to Ireland. We travelled through North Wales to Holyhead to catch the ferry to Dublin. The ferries are rather like Qantas and the defunct Ansett as several ferries left within a short period of one another to travel in one another’s wake. Here the Stenna ferry can be seen on the horizon as we are leaving Holyhead on Irish ferries.

We had a site just to the west of Dublin for a couple of nights as we were keen to see the Giants Causeway in North Ireland and this meant a fair bit of travel via Belfast. We stopped near the North coast in a town called Coleraine for some lunch. Many of the towns and houses had wonderfully colourful garden displays – a benefit of the wet weather (as well as some hard work).

The North East coastline is spectacular with dramatic cliffs and heritage sites. This is Magheracross which started life as a fort back in 1500 AD. This part of Ireland is very close to those dastardly Scots so fortification was needed. The information board for the fort gives some great insight to Ireland’s background.

“Prehistoric Stone age and Iron age settlers, kingdom-building warriors and raiding clans, exiled Holy men and seafaring saints, ruthless slave traders and plundering Vikings, conquering Normans and fleeing Spaniards, whiskey smugglers and countless fishermen, busy coasters and grey warships and an endless stream of Scottish and Irish emigrants have helped to shape the Ireland of today.”

This diversity remains today. We experienced wonderfully charming people with that softly spoken Irish lilt through to women whose every second word was a foul expletive which would have been excessive on a building site. However when you add the context that they were talking to their young children it is very confronting.

Further along we arrived at the Giants Causeway. This was formed by a giant called Finn MacCool placing rocks so he could walk to Scotland. There is also some geological reasoning but it is too boring and unlikely. The causeway comprises a large area of hexagonal columns. They are remarkably similar in size. Of course not to be outshone the girls wanted to star in the ‘photo.

The tops of the columns are not flat but either concave or convex.

The columns create a series of steps down to the sea.

Further round the corner there are more columns forming the cliff face.

The size of the causeway is difficult to appreciate until viewed from the top where it may be compared with antlike people.

A little further up the coast is the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge that links the mainland to a small island which was used as a fishing base. It is interesting to watch the various approaches to crossing the bridge. These two look confident enough but..

In reality one could not get across fast enough..

While the key focus for the second walker was to get as many photos taken of herself as possible.

We followed the coast road towards Belfast. It is the longest most picturesque sea shore drive I have been on. Part way down we decided to stop for dinner at a place called Carnlough. It was like all the towns steeped in history. The bridge is for a small 1 km railway that carted limestone from a nearby quarry to a wharf for shipping largely to a Glasgow chemical plant for use in steel making and other ventures. The railway was called the “Hurry Head”. It is not known why it has this name but it could be because of its steep incline or the way the stevedores had to work.

On this trip Helen and I logged up 37 years of marriage so when the girls were out shopping I erected the awning and arranged for champagne on ice. The campsite operator helped by supplying an ice bucket which had PLH on it which he assured me was from the Park Lane Hotel where Princess Diana spent some time and that she had used this very ice bucket. Of course this impressed Helen no end and who are we to question the story of a reliable Irish man (blessed with the Blarney)?

The park owner was really helpful and pointed us to an excellent local restaurant in the village called Bates. He also gave us a lift there as it was up quite a steep hill and then I did not have any drink drinking concerns. Jo joined us and although I had booked for 3 the fact I had also said it was our anniversary is what stuck with the waiter. As we arrived a third place setting was quickly laid (which also happened last year)!

The meal was exceptional and we had lobster for the first time for many years (as opposed to crayfish which we get in Australia – it’s the claws you know).

The following day we decided to explore some of the local area and went inland and over Sally Gap. It was wonderful country with great views.

I suspect the winter up here would be a different story and pretty bleak. What took us all back was the extent of the heather which was in flower.

Moving back to the coast we visited Powers Court. The colour of the gardens and pristine lawns were a site to behold.

Each side of the garden had many paths through trees and gave plenty of scope for some to practice their map reading skills.