Ireland

We started the day with a drive to the Dark Hedges. They were located on a small country road that used to be the entrance to a private estate. The current owners opened a parking lot, a cafe, and a walk through their land to avoid congestion on the roadway. The gardens and woods were beautiful but muddy from the many visitors. The old beech trees were remarkable, and I could understand why they have been used in films. There were quite a few visitors, and we watched a serious photographer set up his equipment to try and get shots without people. He was still trying as we walked back to our car. We then back tracked a bit to the Giants Causeway. We'd heard so much about this walk and weren't disappointed by the beautiful vistas. What surprised us was how developed it was. There was a huge visitor center built into the cliffside. It offered audio devices, a gift shop, modern toilets, and even a bus to take people to the bottom of the cliff and, more importantly, back to the top. This made the Causeway more accessible but also took away from the remote beauty. Inadvertently, we passed the visitors' center and wound up at an old inn. They offered to let us park for £10 and they had access to the walking trails. We weren't interested in the visitors center, so we took them up on it. The walk was easier than anticipated, even on the way up. We only did the walk to the bottom and back. There was also a west cliff and east cliff walk that you could do as well. Once at the bottom, you could climb around on the rocks. After leaving the Giants Causeway, the drive along A2, the Coastal Route, was spectacular. We spent the night at Ballycastle and then continued along A2 the next morning to Belfast. We took a quick detour to Torr Head on some pretty sketchy roads, but the short hike and views were totally worth it. On our way back to the A2, a farmer pulled us over and asked us to park on the side of the single track road while he moved some cattle. He said they were a bit crazy and didn't want them to cause any havoc. We gladly obliged and sat back to watch. First, a vehicle came by pulling a trailer with a big bull inside, and then about 5 minutes later, the rest came by. It was so fun to watch except for the last one. It had a crazed expression, and it headed right for the front of our car. It stood there staring at us until the farmer chased it down the road. Quite an experience. The rest of A2 was so beautiful. We stopped at Carnlough for a beach walk. It was a gorgeous beach and I found about 12 pieces of sea glass. South of Glen Glenarm Castle, we saw a school of dolphins swimming close to shore. We pulled over and watched. They even did a few jumps. We stopped in Larne for lunch and then in Carrickfergus to check out their castle. We had an interesting chat with a local in his campervan who shared some great insight into the area. It really was one of our favorite drives of the trip, and the road was almost all two lanes.Baca selengkapnya