What a great day out we had today. The day was cloudy to start with but as we travelled up the coast route to the Giant's Causeway the day improved and then suddenly the sun came out, no wind so it was very balmy and the views along the coast were lovely. We stopped first at Carrick Fergus Castle which we had visited on the Hop On tour yesterday before travelling further up the coast.
We passed lovely traditional fishing villages with their whitewashed frontages or of grey stone construction, they are very neat and tidy, some have pretty gardens and there is usually a pub or two with beautiful hanging baskets outside. The countryside is so pretty too,very green,no wonder it is called the Emerald Isle. Lots of farming communities with cattle and hay fields being based and some cropping happening. Everything is on a small scale compared to home.
The drive up the coast took a couple of hours and throughout the trip our bus driver Troy, regailed us with anecdotes and jokes in his Irish way,I think these guys have a different gene pool,anyway very entertaining.
We stopped at Carrick-a-Rede for keen folks to walk the rope bridge across to a headland. We decided we did not need to do this as we have plenty of experiences on shakey bridges!!!
This stop was for two hours so Brad and I went for a walk along the headland towards the next village which was lovely. We met a chap walking his dog and we had a chat about the area before walking back to the quarry area which turned out to be the site of a Game of Thrones scene so the place was packed with fans. This series has had the same impact here as Lord of the Rings had in NZ.
We climbed the cliff areas and looked out to Sheep Island. History says it was good for grazing 7 sheep and starving 11. Now days it is a bird sanctuary for cormorants and other search birds. Seals can be seen here too.
We had two hours here as it is quite a walk to the bridge along the cliff and back so a nice stop to get fresh air and see the local scenery.
From here we went to the village of Carrick-a-Rede for lunch at the pub. It was the best seafood chowder I have ever tasted,full of flavour and packed with fish bits. The pub was also involved in the Game of Thrones filming and the No 6 door was to be found here, plus you could sit in the throne and dress up in the costumes for photo shoots! Did we? No, but many did.
From here we continued up the coastal route with a brief stop at the Whiskey Distillery at Bush Hills. Not really my thing but we explored the shop and admired the wooden barrels before climbing on the bus for the eagerly anticipated visit to the Causeway.
We had booked for the tour so our guide appeared clad in his kilt of Causeway tartan. A fine specimen he was and he gave us a good insight into the geology and history of the area. His family had been here since the earliest times and had been shore dwellers rather than fishermen and life for the people had changed over the years. He was a third generation guide and his wife's family were Purdies and dated back to earliest times.
We got two versions of how the Causeway came about. One from our bus driver on the Finn McCool giant myth and the other on the volcanic origins over six hundred million years ago followed by an ice age and ice packs changing the landscape and revealing the basalt headlands.
Basalt columns are not new for us but this place is an amazing sight despite that. It covers a huge area, we only saw part of it but it was a gorgeous day and the sea very calm so we explored the site and enjoyed the whole experiencing of visiting the eighth wonder of the world. The whole sight was covered by people visiting the National Trust site and buses bussing people back wards and forwards.
Our last stop was at the Dunluce Castle ruins on cliffs overlooking the sea. This ruin dates back to medieval times but more recently has seen life in the Game of Thrones and it certainly had an impressive presence in terms of atmosphere.
Our trip back to Belfast followed the motorway route so we were about an hour plus when we reached the city. It had been a great day out.
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