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Published: August 6th 2007
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Got up early and headed north (through occasional showers) up toward the beautiful Antrim coast. We got a little lost along the way, since we decided to take a more scenic route, but it only delayed us a few minutes. Eventually we made it to Glenariff, where there's a large national park; we didn't stop for long, other to take a few pictures of their waterfalls. Back on the road, we continued on up to the coastal road. That would be slowgoing up to Giant's Causeway, but the coastal scenery was fantastic. (It was especially so with the sun peeking through the storm clouds in the distance. Ireland has GREAT clouds.)
After a long drive (made longer by stopping at pullouts to take photos of the coast), we came to the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. Well, it look a bit of hiking to get there, but once we made it, it was an amazing view. Fisherman put up a rope bridge every year to get out to a nearby island to catch salmon, and it's open to tourists. Erin had to be convinced to go out, but it's really not bad. Despite the large number of fellow tourists out there, it
The Northern Irish coast
The shores of the Antrim coast, N. Ireland. was quiet, except for the sound of the seabirds and the waves crashing below. The nearby coastal caves were impressive, too. Unfortunately, we were caught in the worst rain of our vacation... out on the island, with no shelter. Even with our umbrellas, we got soaked. But that's Ireland for you. Once we made it back to the car, we cranked up the heat and put ourselves together. Luckily, we took dozens of great photos before the rain came... check them out below!
Next came Giant's Causeway itself. The Causeway is made up of 40,000, mostly hexagonal, basalt columns rising from the sea. The legend goes that it was once a bridge to/from Scotland used by giants, including one named Finn McCool (we decided that'd be the name of our future child). One day, the giant from Scotland came looking for Finn, and long story short, ran back home, tearing up the bridge behind him. (Who knows, maybe it's true -- over on the Scottish coast, there's a corresponding site at Straffa.) There's not a lot to say about it... while it was swarming with tourists, the natural beauty and symmetry of it was just incredible. The pictures don't
The view from Carrick-a-rede
On our way to the rope bridge... do it justice -- it really is an impressive thing to see. (For the geeks out there reading this, it's kinda like Donner's version of Krypton...) Fortunately the weather cleared up, and we got to enjoy the Causeway in the sun. (Trivia: if you have Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy album, that's Giant's Causeway on the cover.)
We drove through a little coastal town (that again, felt kind of New England-y) called Portsrush. Rick Steves is a fan of it, but there's not a lot to see. We did have to watch out for a few of the thousands of motorcyclists in Northern Ireland that weekend for some kind of tour/race... literally, they were swarming past our car all day long. They were everywhere. But we made it out, and since the day was still young -- only 3:30! -- Kevin wanted to stop at a site he had seen on an Ireland PBS special called Mussenden Temple.
Mussenden Temple is a rotunda built to be a library at the edge of a cliff just west of the Causeway. It's on an estate called Downhill, built many years ago by the Bishop of Derry. The main house
Look at that water!
You would think we were somewhere tropical! suffered a huge fire in 1851 which destroyed most of the interior, but it was rebuilt and survived until World War II, after which it was abandoned. While the ruins of the house are impressive, Mussenden is the thing to see here. It's so picturesque, we wished we could've moved in. And oh, what a view! It's almost magical. (Also fun: Kevin got to let loose and chase some sheep at a farm next door. If we ever have the time, Erin will upload the video...)
It was 5:30 by this point... but how often do you get to Northern Ireland? So we decided to swing through N. Ireland's other major city, Derry (or Londonderry as the Brits call it). Neither of us wanted to see much other than the Derry Murals, so it didn't need to be more than a quick stop. While Belfast is famous for their political murals, we both thought the work in Derry was much better and more meaningful -- you can judge the pics below. We also found the memorial to the famous Bloody Sunday massacre, in which 26 Irish civil rights protesters were shot (14 of whom died). [If you haven't seen
At the Bridge
Erin and Kevin get ready to take the walk... the recent movie "Bloody Sunday," we recommend it- very good.] This is a city, much like Belfast, that's just dripping with history. You can feel it everywhere you go. And for now, anyway, everyone lives in peaceful co-existence.
It was a long drive back to Belfast, but fortunately, Northern Ireland isn't that big. We made it back by 8:30, with time to go to a really good restaurant for dinner. It was a memorable day, and our next-to-last in Ireland...
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Jeanne
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Kevin chasing sheep?
Maybe he identified with Specs, his family's sheep dog, more than I realized when he was growing up. Hope he had more luck herding them than Specs did!