We started our morning with a pit-stop at Belfast Castle. Originally, the residence was built in the late 12th century, but was rebuilt in 1708 due to a fire. The owner, 1st Baron Chichester, decided to construct the new castle closer to Belfast’s city center. Today, the building acts as a popular venue for weddings.
Our second stop was at Carrick-A-Rede Bridge (Ballintoy, County Antrim, Northern Ireland). Roughly 350 years old, the bridge was created by salmon fishermen for a safer passage to neighboring islands. The bridge is ~100 feet above sea level, 66 feet long, and can only hold 8 pedestrians at a time (although people only went two at a time when I was visiting). When we first arrived, the bridge was closed due to weather. Since there are few safety measures past the bridge ropes, the bridge can easily be shut down due to inclement weather. Luckily, by the time we parked and enjoyed the Atlantic Ocean scene, the bridge was back open! Tickets were about 7 euros for each adult and 3.50 for children- well worth the price! If you’re not one for heights, you can still accompany your friends to the bridge. Those who crossed, presented their ticket to the bridge keeper. The walk to the bridge is ~1 km from the ticket stand. It turned out to be a gorgeous day for the attraction!
When I crossed the bridge, the wind had started to pick up a bit, and the bridge swayed along with the gusts. My hair was all over the place.
On the other side of the bridge, was a nice green island. After some nice landscape gazing and photo ops, my family and I returned across the bridge to grab lunch at the onsite bakery (hello sausage roll & wild elderflower bubbly). The bridge was one of my favorite parts of this trip and I highly recommend this experience to anyone who can brave the height. Check out the video below to see what my walk back across the bridge was like! Thanks Laura for the great video!
Since the next location was relatively close, we continued on for the day. We stopped at the Giants of Causeway (Country Antrim, Northern Ireland). Here, 40,000 interlocking basalt columns stand dating back almost 60 million years! They were created by ancient volcanic fissure and fluid molten basalt to chalk beds. While most are hexagonal in shape, there are a few columns that have 7 or even 8 sides! As a science gal, I could not get enough of the bizarre phenomenon! I’m always amazed at Earth’s ability to create such beautiful sights! But you don’t need to be a science buff to appreciate the wonder. Most (if not all) tourists had fun leaping from each stepping-stone (I know I did!).
The Legend: The scenery viewed today are the remains of a causeway created by a giant, Finn MacCool. Finn built the causeway through the Northern Channel to connect with another giant, Benandonner, who had challenged him to a fight. When Finn discovered the other giant was much larger, he ran home and disguised himself as a baby. Finn’s wife cradled him when the larger giant appeared. When Benandonner saw the large “baby” he imagined the father, Finn, to be the tallest of giants. As a result, Benandonner fled back to Scotland and destroyed the causeway as he went. On the other side, in Scotland, there are similar columns, which produced the imagination for this creative story.
After observing the causeway, we hiked the nearby trail. When we reach the top, we saw the coastal views at a higher elevation- breathtaking!
It started to get dark, so my family and I set out to find a place to stay. On our way to our hotel: Inn on the Coast (Ballyreagh, Northern Ireland), we stopped at Dunluce Castle. Sadly, the attraction had just closed before we arrive (but we still grabbed a photo!).
After we dropped off our bags at the hotel, we went across the street to Tides Restaurant. We were impressed with the decent prices, great atmosphere, and delicious foods. This location is directly on the water and beside a few golf courses. If you’re a golfer, you may recognize the Royal Portrush Golf Course, used for The Open Championship.
Tomorrow we stop by an iconic Game of Thrones location!
