Belfast to Derry via the Causeway Coast

Waving goodbye to Tara Lodge we set out in busy morning traffic from Belfast yesterday at around 8.00am heading north to Ballymena before a drive through the Glens of Antrim to the coastal town of Glenariff on our way to the Causeway Coast. 

From Glenariff we headed due north through Cushendall and on to Ballycastle, right up on the far north coast of Northern Ireland. The landscape changed noticeably from here with this rugged range of mountains forming a spectacular backdrop to the lush green fields - as we caught glimpses of jewel hued ocean every now and again along the coast. We were so lucky to be doing this spectacular drive on a perfect Spring day - sunny, warm and plenty of blue sky.

Not too far from Ballycastle we were rewarded with a spectacular view of the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge joining the mainland to the tiny island of Carrickarede. The bridge spans 20 metres and is 30 metres above the rocks below. We thought it was a beautiful thing to look at from this distance (but not to walk it today!!)

These bright yellow gorse flowers are blooming everywhere at the moment. They just radiate sunshine all over the landscape!

Just past spectacular White Park Bay we had this spectacular view of the (tiny) ruins of Dunservik Castle, which possibly dates from the 5th century AD. Its believed that St Patrick visited Dunservik Castle at some stage, where he baptized a local man who later became a Bishop of Ireland.

We were keen to see Ireland's most famous UNESCO World Heritage Site on the Causeway Coast - the natural wonder that is the Giant's Causeway. There's a mass of around 40,000 interlocking basalt columns on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean on this part of the coastline - resulting from an ancient (60 million years ago) volcanic fissure eruption - quite amazing to see up close.  We got to the very modern and expansive Visitor Centre by around 11.00am and joined a walking tour of this geological wonder a short time later.

The Irish have told stories and legends about giants feuding over this area for generations - it's no wonder myths evolved with such unusual landforms clustered together like this.

This is what fractured basalt rock looks like up close.

The basalt columns are so regular they look like they could have been machine made. Most of them are 6 sided - at an angle of 120o.

Once we finished the guided walk we decided we'd go further - on the so called red path - an extra 2 klm or so where we could climb the basalt cliffs and gain a good overhead view of this amazing coastline.

 

At one stage it involved climbing 165 narrow stairs.

We caught our breath after this climb.

........ before heading back towards the Visitor Centre.

We had lunch at the Visitor Centre, rewarding ourselves with dessert of Irish scones with handmade jam and clotted cream - very yummy!

It was around 2pm when we set out, westwards through the busy town of Portrush then navigating the big loop skirting Coleraine before heading to the coast again at Downhill. We stopped here for a while and walked along Downhill's expansive sandy beach.

In this picture of Rob walking you can see Mussenden Temple behind him - close to the cliff edge above the beach. This small temple dates back to 1785, and was once part of an Earl-Bishop's property..... apparently it was built as a library - a very nice spot to read a book by the ocean. 

Mussenden Temple with train emerging from the tunnel below. 

We were struck by the way beach goers brought their cars (and bikes) to the beach - setting up camp for the day. We wondered what happened when the cars got bogged in the soft sand (as we saw one had yesterday afternoon).

Its nearly 50 klm from Downhill to Derry-Londonderry, a lot of it following the shores of Lough Foyle. We arrived at our Rose Park B&B on Rosemount Avenue here in Derry around 4.00pm. The best part of our B&B is its location near Brooke Park. We enjoyed a stroll through the park in the early evening to find a bite to eat in the old part of town.

We found Paedar O'Donnell's Pub in the town centre - very busy on a Friday night in Derry .... but with a great old pub vibe.

Two older guys were playing Irish folk songs extremely well - including a rousing version of the The Black Velvet Band - made famous by the Dubliners back in the day - very appropriate on this occasion with its Van Diemen's Land connection, which they acknowledged.

......... great with a pint of Guinness ........

..... and a walk back to the B&B through that beautiful park.