We said our bittersweet goodbyes to Mrs. Barron in Carrickfergus, and made the short drive to Carrickfergus Castle. This castle was built in 1130 and has seen much fighting. (See photos). The tour of the structure was a bit cheesy with the fake British soldiers and all, but I managed to get some great photos of canons and weapons for Trevor.
We then headed up the rugged eastern coast of the Irish Sea toward the jagged rocks of the Giant’s Causeway. These rock formations jut out into the sea and are found nowhere else on earth “The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. It is located in County Antrim on the northeast coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (4.8 km) northeast of the town of Bushmills,” (yes the whiskey distillery is there). The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. Most of the columns are hexagonal, although there are also some with four, five, seven and eight sides. The tallest are about 12 meters (39 ft) high, and the solidified lava in the cliffs is 28 meters thick in places” (see photos). The causeway was Steven’s number two spot in Ireland to see. We arrived on the farthest north shore of the island and made our way down the very steep, wet, and windy road to the rock floor below. The power of the surf pounding the shoreline could be felt in the rocks beneath our feet. The wind, rain and desolate shoreline gave the impression of being on the very ends of the earth. Mom even made the walk with us, which was no easy feat.
After our world’s end adventure, we stopped at a little restaurant in the town of Bushmill, and had a little lunch of fish and chips (of course) and hit the road again for the drive to our night’s logging. It is very obvious to us that the folks up here in this part of the island are far less friendly and more reserved that the Irish in the south. Though I very much want to see the politically fueled town of Derry; it will be nice to cross back over the border into the Republic of Ireland in two days. On the drive up, Steven and I realized there were no longer any rock walls separating the fields like in Ireland. The fields whooshing past our car windows were lined with scrubs. Then it came to us; Mrs. Barron (lovely women from our last B&B), had explained to us that the land in the north is “heavy soil.” She meant the land is too hard for plowing so it is used for the gazing of: cattle, sheep and lamb. Because the fields are not being planted, there is no clearing of the rocks that make the infamous Irish walls. We felt very proud of ourselves for figuring this out. Hahaha.
Our arrival at the B&B for tonight was challenging even with the use of our handy GPS. There are no words to describe the road, sign and layout of the houses here. (Right Rob?). We are staying in the town of Coleraine tonight, about 25 KM from our next destination, Derry. The house was the birth place of the famous illustrator, Hugh Thomas. Thomas illustrated novels for Austen and Dickens during his career. Cool huh?? http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/Breezemount-House-Coleraine-P4248. (photos on blog too).
Steven and I were given access to the laundry by the very lovely night manager of the house. We have to walk through the giant kitchen to get there (can you say scene from the movie “The Shining.” No really! Well I have been writing this in Steven’s living room, yes living room (because we are the only three guests in the giant house with fourteen guest room). A bit creepy I must say. :0 (Notice: lovely, bit) yep its catchy.
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