Ireland 2019 Day 4

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Up early because today we will cover a lot of ground. Buffet breakfast at the hotel and then on the coach, heading north. We drive through a sizeable town, Larne, then a series of smaller, extremely picturesque towns. Most of them have "bally" (town), "glen" (valley), "lough" (lake), or "castle" in their names.

The weather is very changeable. Violent blasts of rain alternate with brief sunny periods. The force of the wind may be felt inside the coach.

We take a detour to visit Glenariff Forest Park. This beautiful 1185-hectare park has several mountains and two small rivers that cascade through narrow gorges on their way to the sea. The coach climbs to the summit of a mountain where there are great views of the surrounding landscape. Walking trails lead off in several directions. And there's also a small café where we enjoy scones and Irish coffee.

Apparently, grey squirrels are an invasive species in these parts. I am amused by a sign that encourages you to call a hotline to report a grey squirrel sighting. I can imagine a SWAT team parachuting down from helicopters in response to hunt down the poor critter.

We descend the mountain and continue along Ireland’s northern coast. It is magnificent and unlike any coast I have seen before. It consists of rocky, jagged bays originally carved out by glaciers and then tortured and sculptured by relentless wind, rain and surf. On the land side, steep hills and cliffs are covered by grass, heather and scrawny trees, similar in appearance to the Scottish moors. And, indeed, Scotland is as close as 15 miles away in places.

The steep slopes of grass and heather are dotted with sheep. They are decorated with splashes of colour: blue, pink, green, etc. These are used by farmers to keep track of which sheep have been vaccinated, bred, and so on.

We have a photo stop where we can walk down to a headland and get great views of the sea and rugged coast. To the right on an adjacent headland stand the desolate ruins of a castle. To the left is a huge rock or island (depending on how you define it) with a small white house clinging to the side facing us. A rope bridge leads from the mainland to the island. Apparently, for a few you can cross the bridge and visit the island. It strikes me that it's bit windy for that today, but we can see people making their way across.

The weirdest and most famous section of this coast is the Giant’s Causeway, a place I have long wanted to visit.

There are two explanations of the creation of the Giant's Causeway. The first, recounted to us on the coach by Tony, is that it was created by a legendary giant named Finn MacCool. The second more scientific explanation is that great expanses of lava were covered by water and earth that forced them to cool slowly over thousands of years so that they formed five- and six-sided balsalt columns of great length. These were subsequently unearthed and smoothed by erosion to form in places what appear to be rough stepping stones, like a causeway extending into the sea.

Unfortunately, by the time the coach arrives at the Giant's Causeway, the weather has turned really nasty. The rain has become a deluge, and the wind is shrieking in from the sea, turning the raindrops into a million stinging bullets.

We enter the large, modern visitors centre and watch the introductory film about the formation of the Giant's Causeway, which includes the legend of Finn MacCool. Violet takes the optional shuttle down to the Causeway, but of course I elect to walk. This turns out to be a mistake. The wind is so strong that it staggers you and within a matter of minutes I am as wet to the skin as if I had jumped fully clothed into the sea. My fellow pedestrians are in dire straits. Umbrellas are being ripped from hands or simply shredded. Nonetheless I push on and make it down to the ocean. I try to keep the camera relatively dry while taking some pictures but it is difficult to even see anything. I locate Violet, who has found partial shelter behind a mammoth rock. We decide that staying here (much less continuing on) is madness and queue up for the next shuttle back.

Back inside the visitors centre, I discover to my horror that my camera is malfunctioning. Obviously it is because of the water, so I shut it off and hope that the problem will resolve itself.

Another photo stop at the ruins of Dunluce Castle, nestled into the rocks of a promontory as though trying to escape the wind. The castle is famous and immediately recognizable; you have likely seen it yourself. It's featured on one of the Led Zeppelin album covers.

Our next stop is the city of Derry. The coach stops at the so-called Guild Hall, which is really the city hall. Most of us embark on a walking tour with a fascinating gentleman named Roland, as much philosopher as tour guide. He takes along the top of the defensive walls of the city. Besides pointing out architectural highlights, Rolland engages in an in-depth discussion of the divide between Protestant and Catholic. No greater absurdity than the fact that the city has two names: Derry, if you're Catholic, and Londonderry, if you're protestant.

The walking tour ends back at the city hall. Rolland takes us through the various rooms. The stained-glass windows are fantastic. There are windows celebrating many countries of the world, including Canada and Newfoundland (which was independent at the time). The large ballroom has, of all things, a 3000 pipe organ, one of the largest in the country.

We arrive in the small town of Stranorlar, close to Donegal. Our home for tonight is Kee's Hotel, one of the oldest family-owned hotels in the country. The current building dates from 1892. It has what you might call “character”, which means it is definitely showing its age but is carefully maintained. The foyer in particular is very beautiful. We freshen up, which today means taking off our wet-through clothes and showering ourselves warm.

I air out my Canon and recharge its battery, but to no avail. I believe the battery has shorted out and will not hold a charge, but I'll have to investigate further.

Nice supper at the hotel. We both have local salmon with vegetables and “champ”, which seems to simply be mashed potatoes.

After supper, we wander over to the hotel’s pub to see who is there. Of course, the answer is the Newfs and Labradorians. A one-man-band guy is providing music. We have a great time singing along, and the musician puts up with us quite professionally. He even comes up with Canadian content in the form of “Did She Mention My Name” by Gordon Lightfoot. I enjoy an Irish whisky named Powers. We leave about 11:30 but the party is still going strong.

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Photos

Café at Glenariff
Glenariff Forest Park, Northern Ireland

Grey Squirrel hotline
Glenariff Forest Park, Northern Ireland

House and rope bridge
Northern Ireland coast

Northern coast
Northern Ireland

Basalt columns near Giant's Causeway
Northern Ireland coast

Giant's Causeway
Northern Ireland coast

Kee's Hotel
Strangler, Northern Ireland