Rainy Ireland and Home Sweet Home

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On Saturday morning we were up relatively early and after a tasty breakfast we drove to The Giant's Causeway. We were there about 10 minutes before opening time at 9am. It was a very windy, overcast day but fortunately the rain held off while we made our visit. The Visitor Centre is very modern and we found a park easily and waited at the door with a few others. Once inside we paid our entrance fees, collected our audio guides and started walking down the path. The first section is known as the Bay of Cows. The legend behind this section of the Northern Ireland Coast revolves around the giant, Finn McCool, who challenges a Scottish giant to a duel but runs away when he sees how large the other giant is. Finn was supposed to have grazed his cattle near this rugged bay. There is certainly some spectacular scenery here. We continued our walk down the hill, passing through a gap which is supposed to be the windiest point in Ireland. I can certainly testify that on this day it was blowing a gale!!

As we descended, we could see ahead of us the camel shaped island that nestles in the bay. That is also part of the myth. There are three parts to the Causeway itself, the small causeway, the giant Causeway and the Wishing Chair. The Causeway itself was formed from hexagonal basalt blocks which were once buried under volcanic lava but over the centuries have emerged through weathering. These amazing ,hexagonal towers look man-made but are the result of natural rock formation. We walked out onto the smaller section. Fortunately it was not raining, as some of the rocks were wet and slippery. The section called the Wishing Chair does indeed resemble a high-backed chair at the front of the bay. The larger section of the Causeway towers over this. It was more challenging to climb up onto this section as it was very high and the wind was so ferocious that it could almost blow you away. However, we managed it, albeit I didn't go too far out onto it..Around the farther side there are more rock formations, one known as the organ, as the basalt pillars resemble pipes . The trail goes further along the coast, but we were happy to just explore the closest sections.

Though we had walked down, we decided to take the bus back up the hill, which cost us an extra pound each. Howeve,r it was worth it. Back in the Visitor Centre we looked at the interesting displays explaining the geology of the place and also some of the people who had explored it. It also had historical photos and videos of how the experience for visitors had changed over time. A fascinating place to see and one to tick off the bucket list.

We drove on from here along the Causeway Coastal road and through the town of Portrush. We also stopped at Dunluce Castle, now a ruin, which is perched on a clifftop overlooking the sea. We didn't pay to go in, but instead walked down the path and under the moat which would have made a great defence for the people living here. The remains now date from the 16th and 17th centuries and it is a splendid sight, although in ruins. We then decided to head for Donegal back in the Republic of Ireland. Our first stop was at Londonderry. This is an historical walled city and the second largest town in Northern Ireland. It was also a major battleground during the Troubles. We drove into the main square and then found a park on one of the steep sloping side streets. We walked through the square and down Butcher's Street to the walls which are still intact though the town has now outgrown them. From the top of these we could see the memorial to Bloody Sunday and some of the murals which are very popular here.This is in the area known as Bogside where there was al lot of fighting. There were some beautiful buildings here such as The Apprentice Boys' Hall. This commemorates the boys who locked the city gates during a seige in 1688. There was also a small church which was very old and is now called St Augustine's. We walked back to the car and decided to grab a quick lunch from a bakery near where we had parked the car. Steak and Guiness pies went down a treat. We drove on.

The rain had started to fall and it was a scenic but wet drive. Our Sat Nav lady also decided to lead us off the main road and through very narrow country lanes. We realised that this was NOT the way to Donegal and met another driver who stopped and asked us the way. She was also following her Sat Nav and had got way off track. I turned back to my trusty map and we were soon entering the town of Donegal. However, there was so much traffic and we could not see any place to park, so we didn't stop and just kept driving.We headed for Lanesborough where we had booked a B&B for the next two nights as it was situated in the middle between Dublin and the West coast. Our route took us along the Wild Atlantic Way, the coast road along the west coast . We passed through Sligo and then on to Roscommon. The Sat Nav kept trying to take us off the main road so we ignored her and followed the map. She kept recalculating and finally decided to go with our route instead. We stopped once on the way for Fletcher to have a rest and had a beer in a pub in a small town. We got some curious looks from the locals but after a short while we were on our way again. We got into Lanesborough about 6pm and easily found the Convent B&B. This is a guest house situated in what was once a Mercy convent. It was very comfortable and the owner, Chris, was very hospitable. He told us the one place to eat was at a restaurant over the bridge (which spanned the Shannon River) in Ballyleague. We walked over there but the place was fully booked out for the night. We booked a table for Sunday night and walked back across the bridge. It was now 6-50pm and the only other place seving food which was not a take-away was Adie's Bar. We went in there just before 7pm and were told that they had stopped serving meals and the chef had gone home. At my expression of incredulity the barmaid checked with the kitchen and fortunately, the chef was still there and was willing to cook us some food. Given a limited choice we opted for the chicken curry and chips!! This was, in fact,. very edible and tasty with good chips on the side. We finshed our meal and returned to our lodgings with a quick stop at the Off Licence for some supplies.

The next morning we woke to pouring rain. After an excellent breakfast we set out on the road to Galway. It was nearly a two hour drive via Athlone and the Motorway to the city of Galway. The rain did not let up the whole way. When we arrived we ran into a traffic jam as cars were trying to find parks and many people with umbrellas were making their way on foot along the edge of the road. We later discovered there was a big Gaelic Football game on. We managed to extricate ourselves and then found a park in a shopping mall car park. Galway is an attractive city, especially the old part of town, which is mainly a pedestrian area. Despite the constant rain we enjoyed meandering along the streets and down to the water's edge on Galway Bay. We browsed and bought in the many souvenir shops and saw the Spanish Arch which had been built in the 16th century. As it was Sunday, few eating places were open until 12pm. Needing a loo, with no public toilets in view, fortunately we found a pub opening just before 12 and went in. This was the King's Head and was the house given to the executioner of King Charles 1, who had been hired from Ireland rather than have an Englishman do it. We decided to have lunch here. Though the pub was open, they could not serve alcohol until 12-30pm so we ordered our food and had to wait half an hour before we could accompany it with wine. The food was excellent. We both started with Wild Atlantic Salmon chowder which was hot and delicious, following that with Crab claws from local sources. All excellent but as always too large a serve. We had a very nice Sancerre to go with it. We spent a pleasant hour or so enjoying that. When we emerged it was still pouring. We had planned to drive along the coast and see some of Connemara but the clouds were low and vision was limited, so we gave up and drove back to Lanesborough. The drive back was shorter, as the Sat Nav for once found a more direct route.

After a couple of hours relaxing in our room and watching the Athletics from Birmingham we walked across the river to PS Red, the restaurant. Here we had one of the best meals of the whole trip. The menu was interesting and indicated a real foodie place. Fletcher had a Duck leg as an entree, while I opted for the scallops with peas and mint. For main course I had the Confit duck while Fletcher opted for their version of surf and turf. All were excellent. My scallops were tasty and the mint complemented the peas. The Duck was excellent, cooked medium rare as I asked and with a fabulous sauce.They had a great wine list as well. We eventually settled for dessert as they had a creme brulee on the list which was very nice. We chatted to the Maitre D' who was the wife of the chef and gave her Fletcher's La Chaines card. We wandered back to the B&B very satisfied that our last meal in Ireland had been a memorable one.



Next morning we were up early and packed before breakfast. We said farewell to our host and set out on the road to Dublin. It was pouring rain and this did not let up the whole way. We followed the Sat Nav instructions and arrived at Dublin Airport with time to spare. Once we had checked in we were able to access the Dublin Airport Lounge and await our Emirates flight. I cashed in my TaxFree purchase vouchers and then we weer on the flight from Dublin to Dubai. This was a six and a half hour flight and I managed to sleep for a couple of hours of that. In Dubai we had a few hours to watr but spent them happily in the Lounge. Then it was onto the 12 hour flight to Adelaide. Here we were lucky as though we had someone in the window seat next to us the seats in front had only one occupant so our neighbour changed to the aisle in front and we had three seats to ourselves. I must admit I slept most of the way until the last few hours. It was probably the best flight home I have ever had. Sam met us at the airport and we were soon home. A memorable trip with many good friends met and interesting places visited.

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Photos

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Bay of Cows

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Small Causeway

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Small Causeway views

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Fletcher on the Causeway

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Fletcher and I on the Causeway

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Dunluce Castle

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View of Dunluce Castle

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Fletcher near the sea cave under Dunluce Castle

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St Augustine's church