Northern Ireland; A Nice Place to Visit

Thursday 5 - Monday 23 June 2008

We exited the ferry terminal and were greeted enthusiastically by Sean’s nieces, three-but-nearly-four year old Cara and two year old Emer, who informed me that she was wearing new sandals. We had arrived specifically on the 5th, because Sean’s big sis, Catriona, was able to pick us up and also because Catriona and Canice had booked us all a weekend away at Westport in County Mayo.

Westport is a holiday town on the west coast of Ireland, about five hours drive from Magherafelt. We stayed in a great three bedroom apartment that overlooked a park and was close to Clew Bay and lots of restaurants. Unfortunately, my two week cold /flu from hell started on our first night in Westport; just as Sean was starting to feel better. Despite this, we managed to spend a session in the apartment’s spa and sauna and trek up Croagh Patrick. A gruelling, rocky path winds its way up the side of the mountain Croagh Patrick, reputed to be the site where Saint Patrick built a church in the fifth century. Annually, thousands of people make the pilgrimage up to the top, often doing so in bare feet. The trip up and down took us three hours and was very hot work.

Marty and Dan also flew over from Edinburgh for a long weekend in Northern Ireland. We met them in Belfast and spent a cold and windy day wandering in and out of pubs. The highlight (or perhaps I should say lowlight) of the day was our Black Taxi Tour. At the beginning of the year, the travel section in one of the Australian newspapers listed Northern Ireland as one of the new top travel destinations, saying that Black Taxi Tours and viewing the murals were one of the best things to do in the UK. I had talked the tours up (particularly to a sceptical Sean), but started to have doubts, when our Black Taxi Tour Guide turned up in a modern silver taxi and stated that the tour would only be about 60 minutes (instead of the advertised 90 minutes). Anyway, we got to see the murals of West Belfast (the rough end) and the Peace Wall, which divides the Shankill (Protestant) and Falls (Catholics) Roads, and which still has its gates locked every evening. I think we probably would have been more impressed with it all if we were seeing and hearing about it for the first time, but thanks to Sean we already had an idea of the pointlessness of the Troubles.

We also all went to Sean’s Uncle Colm’s 60th birthday bash at Glenravel. This was probably my sickest day; I couldn’t speak at all and really should have stayed home. Nevertheless, I got to meet Sean’s huge extended family and had a peek around Margaret and Colm’s absolutely gorgeous garden. A marquee with fairy lights was set up for the occasion and with the stream running around the perimeter of the yard, the whole place was magical.

The rest of the weekend with Marty and Dan was spent doing day trips from Ballycastle (first travelling West, then East). I believe that as far as Irish weather goes, we were very lucky. The sun was out the whole time, visibility was good, although a cold northerly breeze blew most of the time. Sean took us to White Rocks Beach, where people were swimming and sunbaking, while Marty and I were getting around in our jumpers and jackets and still feeling the breeze. The Northern Irish Coastline is spectacular; we visited Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge (where Salmon fisherman crossed in often dangerous conditions to earn their living), the clifftop Dunluce Castle, Giant’s Causeway (unique hexagonal rock formations) and Torr Head (at 12 miles, the closest point to Scotland). Sean was our chauffeur and seemed right at home navigating his way around the narrow, winding roads, even though I winced every time we passed another vehicle. In fact, at one point a campervan had scraped along the side of a small red car as they tried to pass on one of the coast roads.

The evening of the Summer Solstice, was spent at the Cargan Rock Festival. When Johnny first mentioned this, I thought it was one of the hundreds of Festivals that seem to be held all over the UK during the Summer months. In fact, it was a gathering of mad keen surfers who love the Irish beaches (apparently wetsuits have come a long way) and their family and friends, at Kieran’s place. The stage was set up in an old barn made cosy with candles, heaters and lots of people. My personal favourite performance was ‘Uncle’ Ray and Kieran’s Johnny Cash renditions. Sean had a great night, despite being unable to muster a crowd to trek up Cargan rock with him at midnight in the rain. The next day, although Sean was not feeling the greatest (to say the least) we visited his old friends Olcan, Maria and their gorgeous, thirteen week baby boy.

Most of our time was actually spent staying with Catriona and Canice in Magherafelt. We’d arrived without any further travel plans, so spent days on the computer searching for cheap flights and travel ideas, and catching up with other paperwork that we’d put off for the last six or so weeks of travelling. We certainly made ourselves at home and say a big thanks to Catriona and Canice and Cara and Emer for having us.

While it was great to stay in Magherafelt and for Sean to catch up with familiar faces and places, the lure of warm weather and travel further afield in Europe made our departure from Belfast International Airport that little bit easier......

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