Northern Ireland: The Antrim Coast

It turns out we arrived in Belfast, Northern Ireland just in time. A big storm was approaching Europe, in fact ferry service ended up being cancelled the next day. Fortunately for us there was minimal impact on our overall trip, as Ireland (the island which consists of Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland) avoided the worst of the bad weather.

I think there was an extra bit of excitement for the kids with the car ferry journey. Both Christa and I were impressed with how much there was to do on the boat. You know the planets have aligned when they're showing the Tintin movie in the theater. There was also a food court, casino, bar, gift shop, game room, tourist information section and a trucker rest area. I figured we would all just sit around in hard plastic seats and stare out the windows for two hours- I want to take the car ferry everywhere now.

Loading up Nessie for the big voyage!

Approaching Belfast

We disembarked the Ferry in Belfast, and immediately headed north. As we drove off the ship and headed up the motorway we noticed some of the Belfast murals along the road. Throughout Belfast there are a few thousand murals, which typically portray political and religious messages connected to the sometimes troubled history of Northern Ireland. We had thought about spending more time in Belfast and possibly touring many of the murals, but grudgingly decided against it. As good luck would have it, I found out after our trip that in June there is an end-of-year closing event at the British Consul in Belfast for the American exchange teachers and I will have a chance to go back for a longer visit.

Mural as we head towards the Causeway Coastal route

The Causeway Coastal Route is a beautiful stretch of highway that runs from Belfast to Derry. The drive takes you through picturesque villages, past small beaches, and provides plenty of gorgeous views. We stopped a few times to get out and enjoy the scenery a bit, finding some rocky beaches to climb and play on. We look back now at this being one of our favorite parts of the road trip.

Good to get out of the car for a bit of play time.

As we were loading up to continue our drive, I noticed a dad having his family pose for some pictures. I asked if he wanted me to use his camera to take a full-family shot and he graciously agreed. Even better, as a thank-you he offered me some chicken wings they had been cooking on the grill. Never one to turn down yummy looking (and smelling) food, I thanked him and headed back to the car with a skewer of chicken. I don't know if he saw or heard my reaction, but his son ran over a few moments later and offered us three more helpings. His son told me they had far more than they could eat and they were happy to share. Just one of the funny, unexpected experiences of traveling.

Sooooo yummy!

The fields and hillsides were often filled with sheep and their baby lambs. We just had to stop and get a few pictures. Too cute.

Another stop we made along the Causeway Coastal Route was at the Glenariff Forest Park. One of the "Glens of Atrim", there are a number of beautiful hikes you can take through the glen, including the Waterfall Walkway along the Inver River gorge. It was another great way to get out and stretch our legs, enjoying a different type of beautiful scenery.

Along the Waterfall Walkway

Maybe a three mile hike was a bit much.

The Forest Park

Crockatinney Guest House in Ballycastle

After spending the night at Crockatinney House and a traditional breakfast with yummy soda bread and potato scones, we set off for the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. This rope suspension bridge (twenty meters long and thirty meters over the sea) connects to a small island and was originally placed there by fishermen. It was cold and very windy, so Ainsley and I stayed back at the cafe sipping hot chocolate while Christa and Will braved the hike. There were 19 mph winds with rain when they arrived at the bridge. They described the walk as "terrifying",  the ranger even had to check to see if crossing was safe before they could go. About 30 minutes later the winds had increased to the point where the bridge had to be closed.

Coastal view from Carrick-a-Rede looking south

Northern view

The ranger checking to see if it's safe to cross

"Is it too late to change our minds?"

"The picture just doesn't capture the hissing, freezing, howling, rocking, slippery, windy, raining terror" - Christa

Approaching the Giants Causeway

The wind continued to howl as we made our way down the road to the Giants Causeway. The Causeway, the only Natural World Heritage Site in Ireland,  consists of rock columns left from an ancient volcanic eruption. There is also a fun legend about Finn McCool and the creation of the Causeway that you can read about here.

It was one of those times when you had to fight the wind just to walk down the path and we didn't linger too long. It was difficult to even take pictures because you couldn't keep the camera still. We made the best of it and climbed about for a bit before being whooshed back to the car.

The Giants Causeway

Holding on for dear life

As we left the Causeway we passed Dunluce Castle, a coastal fortification which dates back to the 15th century. We didn't take the coastal tour, but thought the views from the castle were stunning.

Now it's time to turn inland.....