The Giant's Causeway

Driving alongside stunning coastline, over high moorland,  through another stone arch that  had no historic monument status (!)  and through colourful villages we arrived in Bushmills, famous for its Whisky. 

As you may know Ian really enjoys a whisky, and I have learnt to appreciate it, however Irish whisky really doesn't do it for Ian, so we avoided the spirits and shared a flight of local drinks. An IPA, a stout and a larger, if you know us well, you know we love an IPA, and true to form, it was our favourite, but all went down well with a spot of lunch between us (we’d parked up for the night and got the bus, before you worry about us driving after this!).

Deciding to spend a few days on a campsite we stopped at Portrush (home of the North West 200 bike race) so we could do the washing, empty out and top up Agy with essentials and visit the Giant’s causeway.

Technically I have been before, but to my shame, I didn’t actually see it when I went before. It was my birthday when I last visited with my BMYC friends on our Ireland choir tour. In fact, I’m fairly certain it was my 18th birthday! It was a rainy day all those years ago and for some reason I didn’t fancy a windy, rainy walk to see an iconic location, so I had stayed on the bus, watching Faulty Towers with Martin, our bus driver (BMYC friend will remember him well!), while everyone else headed off to visit the rocks!

However this time I was keen to visit. We skipped the extortionate price to park and visit the visitors centre, and instead simply walked past them down the self same public path for free as those who had paid £34 to the National Trust.

This time it was a sunny day and the coastline looked stunning. You walk downhill for about 15 minutes spotting several areas with less prominent, but equally stunning basalt rock formations before turning the final corner. And there they are, the stepping stones over 39 ft (12 m) high, that you can scramble over, take a seat on to soak up the atmosphere, and of course, take a selfie. 

The legend tells us that these are the remains of a causeway built by an Irish giant who was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant, and so built the causeway across the channel so they could meet.

High above the causeway you can see the Organ, so named because this section looks very like Organ pipes. I’m just sad none of my organist friends were here ( this time -several were last time!) to have a go at playing them!  

From here, after dinner at a stunning location overlooking the coast we headed further east to Derry/Londonderry. A very different experience to the open vistas along the way.  

Carrickfergus Castel - The Causeway Coastal route

 The Causeway Coastal route connects Belfast to Derry via the stunning northern Irish coast. It’s definitely a rural route, but it’s stunning. I suppose it’s a bit like the NC 500 in Scotland, or for us (we thought) a precursor to the Wild Atlantic Way.

Leaving Belfast our first stop on route was at Carrickfergus. A small fairly run down little town just a little up the coast from where we’d stayed for Belfast, but it felt a million miles away. 

After a spot of lunch we headed to the main attraction, the Norman castle. It’s an impressive building jutting out slightly into the sea. The castle dates back to 1177 and has been through a lot since it was built! It’s held off sieges by the French, the English, The Irish and the Scots!

Still standing tall you are treated to a fabulous tour by a very knowledgeable guide who guides you through the history of the castle, the people who lived there and how they defended the castle.

The castle has been beautifully restored, including a new roof using the techniques used when the original one was built and is dressed with props to help you imagine what life would have been like. They even offer you the chance to take away some medieval recipes to try! I shall give them a go when home and report back on Facebook! 

 

A fun couple of hours and well worth a visit if you are visiting Belfast (you can get the train there). 

Leaving Carrickfergus we continued up the Antrim coast, aiming for the Black Arch, a historical monument we’d read was well worth a visit.

It’s a beautiful road and the arch… Well, here it is, I’ll leave you to decide if it is worth a diversion (it was on our route, so no diversion needed for us). I can say it wasn’t quite what I was anticipating! 

Belfast

Belfast is a city we’ve visited before. I first visited in the late 1980’s on a choir tour, when a strong military  presence was evident, the tension high, but the welcome was warm. More recently I’d visited for work, fortunate enough to meet fabulous people, host conferences and events in some of the famous tourist attractions and take a little time to explore with Ian who occasionally joined me. We’d both enjoyed our time here, but knew there was plenty more we wanted to do, so decided to stay for a few days before setting off to explore further.

The docks are so central in Belfast, within 20 minutes we’d arrived at our council run camping park, on the edge of the Lough. A perfect base to get into the city and further afield.  

Heading into the city we met a fabulous American lady at the bus stop, she was in Belfast with her daughter who was just starting university. She lives in Cairo and has spent her life teaching around the world. A fascinating person who inspired us to consider visiting Egypt soon (it’s been on the list for a while).

Having done many of the usual tourist attractions, we headed out to Crumin Road Goal. It’s a formidable building that housed prisoners from1845 until 1996. Most recently known for housing  prisoners through the Troubles, its history is chilling. Women, children, lunatics, political prisoners, and hangings, you hear about them all as you visit.

From the tunnel where prisoners were walked from the jail to the courthouse, to the central area where the Wings connected (based on Pentonville Prison).

You learn about the children held here, how things changed over time. The Suffragettes, the medical facilities and the political prisoners. There are some interesting interviews with recent prisoners held during the Troubles (from each side) who now work towards ensuring lasting peace together, but were most definitely the strongest of opponents when inmates. When the prison opened it held 106 prisoners. In the 1970’s the overcrowding became so acute that the International Red Cross were allowed to inspect the  prison, finding 864 prisoners, in a jail built for 475. 

The whole place certainly has an atmosphere, it may have been me, but standing in the execution chamber where Thomas Pierrepoint acted as the gaol's most regular hangman was extraordinary. The last execution took place in 1961. It feels so recent, and yet so alien. Somewhere certainly worth a visit, but not one to do if looking for an uplifting experience.

To lighten the mood, we headed back into town, had a wander around the murals we passed and headed for dinner at The Dirty Onion. Expensive, but delicious!

The city has certainly changed even since we last visited about 8 years ago, it feels lighter, less of an undercurrent, in fact, I’d say no undercurrent was felt in the city. Hopefully a sign of continuing peace as the younger generation who haven’t lived through the troubles live their lives without division. 

It was good to get back to our campsite, admire the view and prepare to travel the Causeway Coastal route.