After a great time in the southwest corner of Ireland we headed north. We stopped at the Cliffs of Moher and had absolutely spectacular weather. We're not sure what we did to be so lucky, but we know we were lucky! The Cliffs standing at their tallest point are 702 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. And we were right on the edge! Well Amanda was. I got a little scared of heights and stayed well back from the edge. But either way it was an amazing view and a gorgeous sunny Irish day. We stopped in Galway for a quick overnight and then continued driving north.
Our next destination was Portrush, where we would stay two nights. Both Amanda and I were picturing a small, quiet fishing village housing old fisherman with missing teeth wandering around. Much to our delight and surprise, Portrush was like the Vegas of Ireland! There were beautiful people everywhere - and everyone was dressed to the nines! (Making Amanda and I in our tennis shoes feel a little out of place). We went to a restaurant called Ramore which was inexpensive, had the best food, cheap wine, and spectacular people watching. Does it get any better than that?! Both of us were just speechless. We quickly learned from some research and our Airbnb host that the area houses several renowned golf courses (one of which will hold the British Open in 2018) and that Portrush is a resort community, so a lot of people come there from the cities once the weather starts to improve. Good to know!
During our time in Northern Ireland we saw the Giants Causeway, Dunluce Castle, Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge and the Dark Hedges.
The Giants Causeway, a World Heritage Site, is a series of 40,000 interlocking basalt columns which formed 60 million years ago as a result of slow cooling lava flows in what was a water-flooded valley. The stones have formed into the shape of hexagons, which is the strongest and most efficient shape (hence why bees create their honeycombs this way). We took a guided tour along the Causeway which I would highly recommend. We were able to hear about the different type of rock, science behind the forming, the history of access to see the rocks (a Lord in the area used to own the land and would charge for people to see them), and of course the legend of how the rocks were formed. Finn McCool, a mighty giant, threw the rocks into the sea as stepping stones to make his way over to fight his Scottish rival, Benandonner. Long story short, after seeing the size of each other they both got scared and Benandonner tore up the stones across the ocean on his way back to Scotland. We would later see where Benandonner lived in Fingal's cave on the island of Staffa in Scotland.
Dunluce Castle was a castle in ruins on the cliffs overlooking the sea. It was established by the MacQuillans in 1500. It changed hands many times and finally was left abandoned to ruin and in 1928 it fell into State guardianship. Back in the day it was a castle and town - complete with a brew house, stables, lodgings. The audio tour and placards took us through what the castle interior, town, and village would have looked like when it was in use as a residence. Here we were also on the very edge of a cliff. Yowza.
Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge was a bridge strung 30 meters above the sea for over 350 years to allow fisherman to have access to the best places to catch migrating salmon. It is used now as a torture mechanism for tourists. Only kidding. Kind of. The bridge leads to a small rock of an island and is terrifying to cross. Being semi afraid of heights (as you can see by now) and definitely afraid of unstable bridges (as my friends who traveled with me to Thailand can attest to) my legs were shaking and I was sweating, but I made it across. Along with about 100 other tourists. Luckily, I was not the largest person crossing so I figured my chances were slim to none that the rope would break when I was on it. Whew.
The Dark Hedges were awesome and said to be one of the most photographed areas of Northern Ireland. The avenue of trees were planted by the Stuart family in the 18th century to impress visitors as they approached the entrance to their Georgian mansion. And boy do they impress. It was a filming location for Game of Thrones (another TV series I need to watch...) and I can see why. The trees were absolutely massive - and do look like they were straight out of a movie. It was a quick stop, but definitely a highlight of the north.
We had an amazing visit in Ireland. While we saw a lot of sheep, rolling hills and farmland (how I pictured Ireland) we also saw some amazing and quite unexpected landscapes. The people were wonderful - so friendly, kind and jovial. It was a great visit. Now, onto Scotland!
Highlights:
- Giants Causeway - one of my top highlights in Ireland.
- Cliffs of Moher - couldn't have asked for a better day.
- Dark Hedges - these trees were magnificent.
- Portrush - an awesome little town with so much going on - and a really great restaurant! I would definitely come back here.
- Dunluce Castle - right on the edge of the cliff these ruins were worth a visit!
Lessons Learned:
- Go to Portrush and you will see some Irish glam. Most women were in heels and dresses and men were in button up shirts.
- Nature is just spectacular. From the Giant's Causeway to the Dark Hedges to the Cliffs of Moher - I was left speechless and in awe after seeing these locations.
- The Irish don't say th's - it's tank you very much!
- They are just the friendliest people here. We met a group of ladies in Portrush and they exclaimed 'oh we love Americans!' and proceeded to tell us all about their trip they had planned to Disney World. So cute.
- The Irish are quite chatty - they always have time to tell you a story. I loved them!
The Giants Causeway.
Dunluce Castle.
The Dark Hedges.