Blogs from County Antrim, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, Europe - page 2

From Overland Ireland Tours: “Introduction – Sure, have you never heard of an Irish half hour? It can stretch out for days and 10 is what you’ve got to experience this guided ‘road trip’ along the Antrim Coast, through The Wild Atlantic Way. From ancient Newgrange, it’s full tilt ahead to The Titanic Experience in Belfast, an award-winning interactive adventure about the most tragic ship in the world. We’ll walk in the footsteps of Fionn McCool at The Giant’s Causeway, where a volcanic eruption forged this Wonder of the World some 60 million years ago and look! Is that Jon Snow in the ‘dark hedges’? We’ll be heading to the iconic beech trees to find out. From Derry; the last walled city to be built in Europe, to sinking oyster and champagne shots in Ardara in ... read more

Ireland the North 1 Belfast On the road again at 8.30 with an overcast sky, a strong westerly wind and occasional drizzle. Just past Ballygally we saw some cormorants basking on a rock, unlike some other miscreants taking an early morning dip in the bay, maybe as penance for some wrongdoing. This appeared just as crazy as the Bungee Jumpers on the Belfast Quay. The riding was pretty average for most of the way but this was because I jibbed at the steep hill out of Glynn and went around the coast via the A2. The section to Larne was good and the wind was mostly behind us. The Carrickfergus leg was more difficult as we headed into the wind but a cycleway took us away from much of the traffic, especially after the town where ... read more

For me, it was a day of tears as well as laughter. We HOHO’d it again today. Walking to the bus stop along the Falls Rd, we passed many murals remembering those that died in the Troubles or shouting out against Government, police and the British army. The tour guide on the bus spoke very eloquently, informatively and objectively about the history of the Troubles. I certainly learnt a lot! I think we both did. I remember watching TV news in the 70s and 80s, hearing the names of places and the names of some of the people, but at the time not really having an insight into what it must have been like living in the situation. I know I still don’t have a good insight, but certainly more than I did, now I’ve visited ... read more

Ireland the North 1. Ballintoy. A little drizzle at breakfast time in our cosy accommodation near Portstewart. We set off under a grey sky but dry along the National Cycle Network No 93 through Portstewart and Portrush admiring the bays and harbours before stopping briefly at the remains of Dunluce Castle and chatting to a couple from Sheffield. That is the good thing about cycling where you are always open to chat to people from all over the world. I stopped briefly in Bushmills to photograph the important Irish inventors of the 20’th Century such as Marconi and Bell. The weather brightened up as we arrived at the National Trust visitor centre and the Giants Causeway was waiting for us in splendour with its unique blocks of stone and pillars. I took many photographs of the ... read more

Now a full week in to our trip, we really needed rest so we slept until 10:00. This was a good day to choose to sleep in as it was a full day of walking tour with no tickets or timed entry. After we did get up and ready for the day we took a cab to the Crown Liquor Saloon, perhaps the most famous pub in Belfast. The Crown is actually owned by the National Trust of UK (official conservation organization), it is across the street from the Europa Hotel (the most bombed hotel in the world). The first floor is your standard pub setting, but there are “confessional boxes,” booth built in the style of a confessional with a door so you have total privacy This was our spot for lunch, so we headed ... read more