Blogs from Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, Europe

Today was a very full day: Carrickfergus Castle;Bushmills Distillery, Portrush, Giant's Causeway. Carrickfergus Castle: in the town of Carrickfergus: over 800 years old, sitting on the point so surrounded by water on three sides. In the 1100s, there was no ability to attack from water so thick walls and a thicker door with portcullises was the answer. Sounds good but the castle surrendered the three times it was actually attacked! Bushmills Distillery: only the water from the spring in town is used to make this whiskey. Nice tour and tasting (and gift shop) at the end. Bucketed down rain while we were in the packing area which had a metal roof but then let up as we were ready to move to the next building. Lunch in Portrush, a seaside resort which was packed despite the ... read more

Started in earnest the next morning (Friday) with an illustrated talk on Conflict and Murals in Northern Ireland by Bill Rolston. Very good speaker. Helped clarify a number of terms and groups for most of us. Main point: Ireland was conquered and colonized beginning in 1152 with the Anglo Normans. They built castles in eastern Ireland (the Castles of Ireland series on Netflix did a good job of this); these castles were considered “the pale”. Everything outside (The Irish) were “beyond the pale”. End of 1600s, end of Elizabeth I’s reign, Ulster was the center of resistance to the English. This prompted me to ask our wonderful tour leader, James Monaghan, about ”Ulster”. I kept hearing the place name but it’s not a county of town. There were four provinces of Ireland; Ulster was one of ... read more

Ireland the North 2. Banbridge Short day with the first 25 miles on cycleways following the coast and the river Lagan until we reached the south side of Lisburn. We had a moment when we encountered a fallen tree across the path and had to dismount and carry the bike over cyclocross style. After the great cycle path we met a small hill which seemed like a mountain after the earlier flat riding. Lorna’s gears were causing problems when we got to Hillsborough so a bit of fine tuning was required after coffee at the Owl and the Pussycat cafe. The rest of the route took us through dairy farmland and what looked like fairly prosperous farms with good farm buildings and modern machinery. The Banville Hotel was found just after lunch and a sandwich at ... read more

Ireland the North. Larne Today was a wonderful run from Ballintoy to Larne starting in the mist and climbing into the sun above Ballycastle. The first big climb took us to Tor Head from where you can see Scotland and the Mull of Kintyre nearby. We were above the mist, which gave the scene a mystical air. The route was very tough with several severe climbs and descents all the way to Cushenden where a coffee and cake was required for further progress to be made without the legs making a transition to floppy rubber. Another hill with appropriate views before a descent to Cushendall and the Folly at the crossroads. After this and a small climb out of the town we were on a flattish route all the way to the port of Larne. Many ... read more

Ireland the North. Day12 Ballintoy What a wonderful spell of weather we are having. Blue skies and little wind. The coastline north from Portstewart is a Mecca for holiday makers with many attractions for children and golf courses for others. This Antrim coast around Coleraine and Bushmills is also home to the North West 200 motorcycle race held each May on public roads. It is a really amazing place with rocky outcrops, rolling waves crashing onto the headland and a mixture of basalt and white limestone rocks. The waves have eroded some outcrops and formed some tunnels through which the sea is dashing through. Dunluce Castle, whilst in ruins,is quite large and quite photogenic, whilst some others further north like Dunseverick, are in a more dilapidated state. Giants Causeway is quite spectacular, consisting of mostly hexagonal ... read more