Ireland the North 1. Portstewart.

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Ireland the North 1. Portstewart

The Downings Bay hotel can be recommended. Great meal last night and an early continental breakfast to get us on our way to make the first ferry at 10.40 after 32km over Lough Swilly at Rathmullen. This 1st section was vicious with a series of steep hills after 3km before our legs were warmed up. The views and the descent were a good reward for the effort but may upset a few riders so early in the day. After the 6km ferry we had more hills and after those hills we had, you’ve guessed it, more hills. This was the pattern for most of the day over open moorland with a dam and reservoir on its slopes and through dairy farming country. At one point we saw a peat harvesting machine pulled by a tractor with two sets of wheels on each axle. The first ferry was full of schoolchildren on their way to see a Wild Ireland in Dundrean. Wild Ireland is a 9-hectare (23 acres) site that opened as an animal and bird sanctuary in October 2020 and contains many indigenous and animals cast off from zoos etc. the next Lough Foyle ferry took us from Greencastle to Magilligan into the province of NI and back to pounds and pence. The first group of three on this ferry got to see a school of dolphins playing in the water alongside. How lucky was that. We then passed the Magilligan prison in the midst of a government firing range. This took us to a bit of unplanned rough road with ruts and sand traps for the unwary and unskilled. The long Seacoast road took us to the foot of yet another hill and a coffee stop for those who could find it. On the left was Mussenden Temple with several exotic entrances before turning east once more into the wind and to the town of Coleraine before our short leg along a good cycleway to our excellent farmhouse B&B, Carnalbanagh House. What a palace. We did a 15 minute walk to Tesco and local chip shop for dinner and then an early night after such a hard day. Rain is forecast tonight but hopefully dying away in the morning.

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Photos

Castle
Rathmullen