Touring the Antrim Coast
The northernmost coast of Northern Ireland, somewhat in between Derry and Belfast, is known as the Antrim Coast. In certain spots, it is only 12 miles away from Scotland. The coast is chock full of goodies, not even counting the many random places we stopped to take in the view. I don’t normally bore you with a play by play of our days, but some days are so awesome they are worth checking out step by step. Come along on a tour with us:
1. First up is Dunluce Castle. Perched on cliffs that tower over the sea, the castle has lain in ruins since it was pillaged in the 16th century. If you own the actual record recording of Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy, flip open the album. The picture in the centerfold is Dunluce Castle. When I was younger, I hung the album cover open to the center picture on my bedroom wall, never realizing that I would someday visit the castle depicted.
2. Next, we toured Bushmill’s Distillery. Naturally, the perfect start to a day of driving is drinking whisky. Since neither of us are whisky fans, we just tasted small amounts of the 10 and 12 year reserves. Smooth, but not smooth enough.
3. Then, we took a short walk along the ocean to visit the most visited attraction in Northern Ireland: Giant’s Causeway. The causeway is a bizarre series of basalt formations. The most famous part is the formations that are shaped like octagons (?) and jet out of the ground at various lengths. Flat on top, you can hop from one to the other. Legend has it that they were created by Finn McCool, a giant who used them as stepping stones to get to Scotland to resuce his Scottish love. The Causeway was rather crowded when we visited, but a really cool sight nonetheless. Again, please refer to your Houses of the Holy album cover. The controversial picture on the front of naked children climbing on rocks is the Giant’s Causeway. I had no idea when we decided to tour the coast that I would see places I had seen before in these pictures.
4. After Giant’s Causeway, we stopped at a cute gift shop in a sheep pasture to buy a certain sister’s 30th birthday gift (Happy Birthday, Julie!).
5. Then, despite a certain nameless someone’s dislike of heights, we crossed the Cede-a-Carrick rope bridge. Spanning a chasm 30-metre deep and 20-metre wide, high above the Atlantic Ocean, the rope bridge was originally used by salmon farmers for better access to the ocean. The views were spectacular.
6. Our last stop is 20 km south of the coast, to a lane in a small farm village. You’ll have to excuse our stop for a cow crossing, but this is farm country. You may be wondering why we are veering away from the coast. We’re lured by the Dark Hedges, an enchanting country road covered by intertwining trees.
And that’s the Antrim Coast. Pretty fantastic, huh?
Absolutely beautiful!
Wasn’t that my Led Zeppelin album hanging on your wall? 😉
So neat for your sister to see where you bought her birthday present ~ she will love it!
And finally, my heart is palpitating to see the road of intertwining trees. I would feel like I was in heaven to walk that road. 🙂
Thanks so much for the tour!
I agree with Joan. My thought exactly when I saw that picture of the trees! Enjoying your blog and living vicariously through you guys. Amy, you have one great mom, which I’m sure you know.
Hi Amy!
I finally got a chance to catch up last week. Today I enjoyed these lovely pics…
I saved a couple of them hoping to paint them in the future……(I am a budding artist, for sure!!!) LOL .
You are taking gorgeous pics and you will have a lifetime of memories. So GREAT for you and Sean. Your journal/blog only intensifies this. Can you imagine anyone having a blog 20 years ago? Or even 10??????? Amazing when you think about it.
I love seeing and reading where you and Sean have been.
Many blessings to you both……(white light of protection around you)…
Sandy in OH
As the wife of someone else who doesn’t like heights, I’m simply AMAZED that you got Sean to walk on that bridge! Matt would have had a heart attack about half way over.
The pictures of this particular day were GORGEOUS…. at least the ones you posted on the blog. I’m behind on the pictorials, as you can tell by my lack of comment 😉 However, I hope to be able to catch up some time soon.
Miss yinz 😉
Thanks for the birthday wishes, and the present. I am anxiously awaiting its arrival. I hope it’s not sheep related. Whatever it is, I’m sure I’ll absolutely love it! That is too awesome about the Houses of the Holy castle…so gorgeous…I adore castles! Also exclaimed in awe of the twisted tree lined street…so beautiful! Great post. I would’ve totally freaked out walking on that bridge thing.