Whiskey and a Hitchhiker

Before leaving Derry this morning, we drove through the Bogside and looked at some of the political murals. Murals like the ones in the photos are numerous in Derry and Belfast and were all painted to educate those who did not live through The Troubles.

We headed toward the northern coast and made our first stop at Downhill. Julie wanted to see Mussenden Temple built on the edge of the cliff. Stopping in the small village of Downhill, we were entertained by some harness racing horses and their drivers. The strand of beach offered a training ground for the horses. Still looking for breakfast at 9:30 AM and the coffee shop not opening until 10, we took the horse trainer's advice and drove up to a lookout point.

After a lovely tea and scone bite to eat, we were off again! Arriving at Dunluce Castle, we encountered parking issues and were facing some time constraints as we soon had a tour booked to get to. Julie jumped out to go on in and get photos while Richard dealt with the car. Not realizing it, Julie entered the castle grounds with a tour group and failed to pay. 🤦‍♀️ Oops.

Built on an outcrop of basalt rock, you reach the castle via a small bridge. It is easy to see why this spot was chosen given the views. This castle has quite a tale to tell - including the legend of part of the kitchen falling off one night and into the ocean below! This was one of the filming sights for Game of Thrones.
More here: https://www.theirishroadtrip.com/dunluce-castle…

That booked tour we had to get to was at Bushmills Distillery - the world's oldest licensed whiskey distillery. Records date to 1608!! The tour was very interesting. The difference in Irish Whiskey and Scottish Whiskey is the number of times it is distilled. Irish = 3 for a smoother finish. Scottish = 2 for a smokier finish. Enjoyed the tasting room at the end of the tour. 🥃

Heading back through the town of Bushmills, we found a cute little hitchhiker and decided to invite her to join along with us. 😂 Anna, our neice, had spent the morning traveling up from Dublin to Belfast to Bushmills via train and bus. The first item on our list was the Carrick-a-Rede Bridge. This is a rope bridge 100 feet above the sea below that crosses a 60 ft chasm. The original bridge used only a single rope for fishermen to hold onto as they crossed. The views were beautiful, and we had a closer view of some of the birds nesting on the cliffs. Got a few good shots of some razorbills!

Time for a pint! The Fullerton Arms fit the bill as we left Carrick-a-Rede. It sports a great Guinness mural on the end of the building. It also has a very special front door. In 2016, there was a storm that felled a couple of trees in the Dark Hedges, a location closely associated with The Game of Thrones. HBO and Tourism Northern Ireland decided to have the trees turned into 10 doors. They are beautifully carved doors, and one is at the Fullerton Arms.
More info: https://discovernorthernireland.com/blog/read/2…

After finding our B&B for the night, we had an early dinner at The Smugglers Inn. It was an appropriate stop for a couple of ECU PIRATES! 💜💛

The coast line was so beautiful we stopped for a few more photos on the way back to our B&B.Read more