CÚIG GHRIANGHRAF-Ireland Day 20

We took the opportunity to explore the northern coast today after breakfast at our B&B. We woke up to another overcast day, but we held out hope that the weather forecast for sun later in the day would be accurate.

Our first destination was Malin Head the northern most point on the Emerald Isle. At times the drive was a bit foggy which added to the navigation challenges along narrow roads.

We enjoyed the overlook at Malin Head. The turquoise waves crashing over the rocks below along with the gulls dancing against the strong winds made for a great vista.

Our next destination was to the Giant's Causeway. Jim C discovered that there was a ferry that would shorten the trip. We took the tiny Greencastle Ferry. The sun started to appear and it really "pops" the landscape. Ireland is beautiful during dreary weather, but it's quite a treat when the sun shows up for the day.

On the way to Giant's Causeway we noticed an interesting structure on a cliff overlooking the ocean. We decided to pull over to explore the area. It turns out that this site is the Mussenden Temple and the Downhill Demesne (House). We entered the property through Bishop's Gate and we enjoyed our walk past the gardens and through the woods.

The pasture gate opened to beautiful sloped grassy field reminiscent of Andrew Wythe's "Christina's World". The field revealed a mausoleum and the ruins of the Downhill House. The house was built in the late 1700's, and it was gutted by a fire a century later. The window structures framed a beautiful beach below as well as the Mussendem Temple, the structure overlooking the cliff that we noticed from the road.

We left the grounds next and proceeded to Giant's Causeway. My reseach of this site is that the Causeway features of colums of hexagonal pillars was formed between 50 and 60 million years ago. The Causeway takes its name from the legends of the giant Finn MacCool. One could see how early explorers to this space would think that it was created by giants. The hexagonal basal rocks are estimated to have formed 6 million years ago by a flow of basaltic lava. As the lava cooled it formed these shapes.
It really was quite spectacular and we enjoyed our walk in the area.

After we left the Causeway, we headed back to Derry where we had a great Indian dinner. We enjoyed a beer at the Pub with a local acquaintance, and we called it a night. It was a really enjoyable exploration of the north coast.Read more