Photos and the City

Tag: roadtrip

  • Giant´s Causeway

    giant´s causeway, northern ireland, county antrim, uk, basalt, ocean

    On the next morning, I got up quite early, had a quick breakfast at my B&B and off I went to Bushmills to visit the main reason I came to Northern Ireland: the Giant´s Causeway – declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.

    I remember looking through a book at Waterstones in Cork many years ago and seeing the first picture of this place and instantly fell in love – it took some time but finally, I was going to visit it!

    giant´s causeway, northern ireland, county antrim, uk, basalt, ocean

    Some logistics:

    The Giant´s Causeway is one of the most visited tourist’s attractions in Ireland, be there as early as possible. There are some parking spaces around the visitor centre which were slammed when I left around 11 – I was very pleased that I choose to park at the park & ride in Bushmills and take the free shuttle bus from there, way less stressful! And even helps save money!

    When you arrive at the Giants Causeway there are two ways to enter, one for free via the path or the second one via the visitor centre, which costs £10,50 (or £9 if you´ve used the bus!) and offers an audioguide, exhibitions, toilets, coffee shop and a souvenir shop.

    The path (Coastline & North Antrim Coast Path) is open from dawn to dusk, the visitor centre from 9 to 5. (spring & summer until 7 or 9 pm)

    giant´s causeway, northern ireland, county antrim, uk, basalt, ocean

    From that point, it´s about one-mile walk down to the Giant´s Causeway – you can either walk or take the Bus for £1 – also know as Translinks shortest and probably most profitable bus route.

    The Grand Causeway

    giant´s causeway, northern ireland, county antrim, uk, basalt, ocean

    The area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption thousands of years ago is probably the most known feature of the Giant´s Causeway:

    The columns may even continue under the sea as there are similar ones in a place in Scotland.

    giant´s causeway, northern ireland, county antrim, uk, basalt, oceangiant´s causeway, northern ireland, county antrim, uk, basalt, oceangiant´s causeway, northern ireland, county antrim, uk, basalt, oceangiant´s causeway, northern ireland, county antrim, uk, basalt, oceangiant´s causeway, northern ireland, county antrim, uk, basalt, oceangiant´s causeway, northern ireland, county antrim, uk, basalt, oceangiant´s causeway, northern ireland, county antrim, uk, basalt, ocean

     

     

  • Seaview B&B

    Refreshed and awakened by my tea time at Glenarm Castle I decided to make my B&B in Bushmills the next stop and explore the rest of the coast from there – it was only about an hour away. Approaching it I was greeted by the stunning White Park Bay beach and by some cattle having a nice walk on the beach.

    Seaview B&B 1Seaview B&B 2

    I found my B&B via the Northern Ireland tourism site and was super happy with staying there. It was right in the middle of everything, Bushmills or the Giant´s Causeway were just a short ten minutes drive away. The view was lovely and on the second night there was a meteor shower and I´ve never seen so many shooting stars in my life! The sky was clear, there was no light pollution at all and I almost run out of wishes!

    Seaview B&B 3Seaview B&B 4Seaview B&B 5

    Just some minutes from the B&B is (was) Dunseverick Castle  – or at least the remains of this castle built somewhen before the 5th century AD and was visited by Saint Patrick in the 5th century where he baptised Olcán, who later became a Bishop of Ireland. The castle was destroyed in the 1650s – today only the remains of a gate lodge still stand.

    Seaview B&B 6

    A little further up the coast is Dunluce Castle located on the edge of the cliffs (and when a part of the kitchen went down into the sea the lady of the house decided it was time to move.)

    Seaview B&B 7Seaview B&B 8

    Built in the 13th century it got into the hands of the McQuillans family in 1513 who were the Lords of Route until they were displaced by the MacDonnell in the late 16th century. Dunluce Castle became the home of the Chief of the Mac Donnell clan until 1690 when the MacDonnells were diminished.
    Adjacent to the castle the town of Dunluce was built around 1608 by Randall MacDonnell but razed to the ground in the Irish uprising of 1641.

    It may have contained the most revolutionary housing in Europe when it was built in the early 17th century, including indoor toilets which had only started to be introduced around Europe at the time, and a complex street network based on a grid system. 95% of the town is still to be discovered. (Dunluce Castle)

    Seaview B&B 9

    25 metres under the castle is a huge cave in the cliffs, the Mermaid Cave.

    Seaview B&B 10Seaview B&B 11Seaview B&B 12

    My trusty companion for these few days on the Causeway Coast.

    Seaview B&B 13

    And the view from my room at the B&B.

  • Along the Causeway Coastal Route

    northern ireland, uk, causeway coast, route, roadtrip

    I continued on the Causeway Coastal Route towards a little detour on the peninsula Islandmagee, but first a little stop at Whitehead beach.

    northern ireland, uk, causeway coast, route, roadtripnorthern ireland, uk, causeway coast, route, roadtripnorthern ireland, uk, causeway coast, route, roadtrip

    The route around the little peninsula is supposed to be very scenic and beautiful but I didn´t see that much. Shortly into the drive, it started raining cats and dogs – it was pouring until I reached the top at Larne when the sun came back.

    northern ireland, uk, causeway coast, route, roadtripnorthern ireland, uk, causeway coast, route, roadtripnorthern ireland, uk, causeway coast, route, roadtrip

    While I was heading back on the other side of the peninsula towards the Gobbins, a spectacular cliff path, that the Victorian travellers loved to visit and was used in “Game of Thrones”, the pouring cats and dogs already waited for me… So no Gobbins for me (later I read that they are temporarily closed anyway and will be reopened in Spring 2018.

    northern ireland, uk, causeway coast, route, roadtrip

    Instead, I decided it was about time for some tea and made my way towards Glenarm Castle, where I kind of ignored the famous walled garden and just enjoyed an afternoon tea on the terrace (of the Glenarm Castle coffee shop – not the castle itself).