United Kingdom
Larne

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    • Day 21

      Ankunft Nordirland

      September 24, 2022 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

      FAZIT SCHOTTLAND:
      Natürlich wieder super schön!
      - noch gut besucht im September, besonders Skye. Im Juli August wohl nicht empfehlenswert.......
      - ideal für Campervans
      - B&B lt Schildern meistens belegt(man müsste vorab buchen), Hotels gibt's auch nicht so viele, also wer keinen Kasten hat, mieten! Stellplätze immer gefunden.
      - Keine E-Bike-Terroristen, gibt auch keine Fahradwege
      - Diesel wie bei uns, ansonsten alles geringfügig teurer
      Sanitäranlagen auf den CP genügen oft nicht Deutschen Ansprüchen....,dafür meistens super Lagen, oft kein WLAN, aber meistens Strom
      - Schotten nett
      - mir hat das Fahren viel Spaß gemacht, mehr als in Deutschland, keine Probleme mit Linksverkehr. Dabei sind die großen Spiegel beim Kasten sehr hilfreich. In den Highlands nicht immer einfach.......
      - Bargeld kaum erforderlich, Kleingeld für WC Besuche ab und an nötig. Heutiger Stellplatz in Larne musste mal in bar bezahlt werden
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    • Day 9

      Causeway Coast

      September 11, 2022 in Northern Ireland ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

      Wir sind wie immer recht früh und bei gutem Wetter gestartet. Dies sollte sich aber später leider noch ãndern.
      Zuerst haben wir den Dark Hedges einen Besuch abgestattet. Man kennt diese spektakuläre Allee durch die Fernsehserie Game of Thrones.
      Auch hier haben wir Glück gehabt und waren fast alleine dort.
      Anschließend ging es ein paar Meilen hoch an die Küste, zunächst zum Dunluce Castle.
      Danach haben wir eine etwas ausgiebigere Wanderung am Giants Causeway unternommen.
      Nicht nur die Touris waren dort zahlreich vertreten, auch der Regen wurde etwas stärker.
      Mittlerweile steht dort ein recht großes und nicht ganz so günstiges Visitor Center. Vor 30 Jahren gab‘s da grad mal einen kleinen Parkplatz. Wir haben das Center natürlich links liegen gelassen und sind an der Küste entlang gewandert.
      Geparkt haben wir natürlich auch billiger, etwas abseits auf einer Wiese. Hier haben wir anschließend noch einen sehr unterhaltsamen Plausch mit dem Wiesenbesitzer gehalten.
      Weiter ging es dann zur Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge.
      Schöne Wanderung, kaum Touris, dafür mächtig Regen auf dem Rückweg zum Auto.
      Insgesamt sind wir übrigens stolze 13 Km gewandert.
      Neben uns hielt dann auf einmal ein irischer Reisebus.
      Wir dachten kurz, jetzt gibt’s Mecker, weil wir auf der falschen Straßenseite gingen.
      Er hat uns aber kurzerhand aufgefordert einzusteigen und mitzufahren.
      Er lud uns noch ein, bis Dublin mitzufahren, da er am Causeway 2 Leute verloren hätte 😉
      Wir sind dann aber doch an unserem Camper ausgestiegen.
      Auch hier mal wieder sehr nette und freundliche Leute.
      Den Rest des Nachmittags sind wir dann gemütlich an der Küste entlang nach Larne, kurz vor Belfast.
      Zum Abschluss des Tages wartet wie üblich ein kühles Guinness.
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    • Day 17

      Heute gings gleich z. Hafen v. Larne 🚢

      May 23, 2023 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

      Hallo, Ihr lieben Alle ☀️,
      vielen lieben Dank für Eure herzliche Anteilnahme. Aber es ist tatsächlich keine Freude 😒. Gestern Nachmittag bekam ich Schüttelfrost, Husten und Schnupfen dazu 🥵. Ich bin ziemlich k.o. Deshalb haben wir Londonderry ausfallen lassen, haben noch eine Nacht in Sligo verbracht und sind dann heute morgen gleich auf einen Campingplatz in die Nähe des Fährhafens gefahren, wo wir morgen unsere 3. Etappe starten werden 🥴. Heute Nachmittag verbringe ich in der Koje, aber bei all Euren lieben Wünschen, bin ich morgen bestimmt schon wieder topfit (oder zumindest fitter 🤦‍♀️).
      Nun aber noch einmal zu unserer Fahrt heute: fast die ganze Zeit begleiteten uns rechtsseitig die Tafelberge. Auch hier war die Landschaft einfach schön. Immer wieder lösten kleine Seen das Landschaftsbild mit den Bergen ab und da die Besiedlung sehr schwach ist, einfach nur NATUR 🌱🏵🪴🌺🌳🌸🌴🌼!!!
      Erstaunlich fand ich, dass es keinen offiziellen Übergang nach Nordirland gab. Wir hatten zumindest eine Passkontrolle erwartet 🤷‍♀️!?! Das einzig spürbare ist der Wechsel der Währung, die ich morgen wohl in Münzen zum Duschen brauchen werde € => £. 😃🤞
      Gerade kommt Wilfried vom Einkaufen und bringt noch ein paar Fotos mit, die ich Euch nicht vorenthalten möchte. Er hat nicht nur den nächsten Lidl gefunden, sondern auch einen kleinen, aber sehr schönen Wasserfall (Gleno-Wasserfall) 😃👌
      Habt einen schönen Abend, alle miteinander, ich mach jetzt gleich die Augen zu 😴🌟🌛
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    • Day 5

      Slipping through my fingers

      September 6, 2022 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

      We said goodbye to London this morning and flew off to Belfast. We’ll be spending the rest of our vacation in Northern Ireland. Unfortunately, the start to part two of our vacation was a little bumpy. Our flight was delayed a couple hours, my bag got completely mangled, and I had difficulty connecting with the rental car agency in Belfast...until I saw their sign in the airport. The information they emailed me stated they were off-site, so I was stressed that I couldn’t connect on my phone. I was about to bust a gasket (as my mom would say), when I saw their sign, just across the arrival hall. Disgusted, more than relieved, I approached the counter and unloaded the hundred documents that they required of me. Since I was declining their insurance, in lieu of the insurance coverage with my credit card, I had to have a letter from my credit card company verifying that I did, indeed, have coverage. As I signed the paperwork, the agent was less than reassuring, “You understand that you’ll be responsible if anything happens to the car, all the way to replacing it?” Yes, I understand that, but he kept pestering me about coverage and I realized with each comment, my confidence in driving Irish roads, was slipping through my fingers. When his assault on my self-esteem was complete, the agent next to him asked if he could check something. He said, “Is your petrol marked, where you come from?” I had no idea what he meant, which must have been obvious from my facial expression. “They are green and black here. You want green.” Got it, thanks buddy. I’m sure he smirked a bit.

      We left the airport and found our tiny clown car. I tossed my broken bag in the bag but had to rearrange to fit Kim’s little suitcase in, too. It’s been a while since I’ve driven a stick shift, so I took a moment to get oriented. The agent’s voice wafted in my head, “You’ll need to push the clutch in to start it.” Right. I got it started and immediately rolled down the wrong window. Everything is oriented differently, when driving on the left. We got on the motorway and took the wrong turn in less than five minutes. After a tense, but loving, exchange, we eventually got on the correct road. Our first stop was Carrickfergus, where we popped into a little store to get change. Channeling my inner Sherri Hufford, I inquired where I might find a local lunch. The cashier told us to go next door, so we did. We both ordered the salad with chicken. The refrigerated case proudly displayed a bed of greens with a healthy scoop of egg salad on the top. I assumed that ordering a salad with chicken would mean getting the same thing, but with chicken salad on top. I knew something was amiss when she said, “Do you want (couldn’t understand), mayonnaise, or cole slaw on top?” I politely ask what my choices were again, and she politely repeated the same information. Since I could not understand all my options, I thought that Sherri would ask for a recommendation, so “What do you recommend?” And that’s how I ended up with cole slaw on top of a bed of greens, with some corn, a side of mayo (which I thought had been optional), and sliced chicken. It was odd but pretty good.

      We took a look around Carrickfergus castle, which sits right on the edge of the water. It’s a large fortress but has little in the way of surrounding grounds. Just the ocean. The wind coming off the water was a bit much, so we hustled back to the clown car and drove up to the Chaine memorial. I’m still unclear if we saw a lighthouse or just a memorial, either way it was a huge brick structure that stands at the end of a walkway right at the edge of the sea. Chaine lived in the 1500’s and served 11 years in Parliament. Through his effort, the Port of Larne was built and the town grew, so there’s a good reason to memorialize him. Fascinating fact: Chaine was buried standing up in he Larne Town Park.

      The coast of Northern Ireland is gorgeous. The weather was mild today, and the sun peaked out regularly. As we drove northeast, we detoured briefly to take a walk in Clements Woods. The heavily treed area is about 10 acres that have been put into a trust to prevent their loss from logging or other hazards that befall trees. The walk has large stands of oaks that were planted decades ago by school children in honor of the Queen Mother. When we came to the little wooden bridge, I threw down a Pooh stick challenge. Thanks to our friend Nick, in Manchester, we have found it impossible to walk over a bridge in the woods without racing sticks in the river. (For the original Pooh stick challenge, see the previous Hiking the Moors and Highlands.) Anyway, I lost the two out of three races, despite my best efforts. Our walk included heavy overgrowth that blocked the sun. With the mossy rocks, moist air, and restricted sunlight, it felt as though some mythical animal might appear at any moment. Luckily, we made it out safely and drove back to the Coastal Causeway, where we passed the madman’s window; a large rock formation that perfectly frames the sea. Local lore tells of a heartbroken an who came here every day to stare blankly at the sea, after his beloved died in the waters of Glenarm Bay. We had to do some scrambling to get up and over the hills to get to the rocks, but we flexed our agility and managed to avoid falling off the cliff. After a few quick photos, we headed to our final destination for the day; Glenarm.

      Glenarm is home to Glenarm Castle, where we were looking forward to staying in the Barbican. Whilst in Lewes, we learned that a barbican is a castle gate or guard’s tower on the outer perimeter of a castle. So, technically not a castle, but a part of the grounds. As we drove up to it, I got more excited. It’s kinda creepy, but in all the good ways. I’ve stayed in unique places before (such as the yurt in Mongolia , as seen in the previous trip Across the Steppes or the masted ship in Stockholm harbor, which does not appear in a blog, since that was 1984 and the internet wasn’t invented), but this was something. Entering the creaky door, the spiral staircase invited us up...and up, and up, and up. The first stop is the bedroom, furnished with antique bed, armoire, and chair. Circling upward, the next room is the kitchen and sitting room. All of the place has been tastefully remodeled, while still retaining is castley charm. But wait! There’s more. The staircase winds up to the roof, where another staircase leads up to the top of the tower, overlooking the whole valley below. A meandering river passes by quietly, directly below, and I notice two boys dropping their lines in, hoping to catch something.

      As we got settled, the bell rang. I was worried that Alison, the caretaker, would leave before I could get down the stairs. Almost dizzy from descending from the kitchen (third floor) as quickly as possible, I opened the door and explained, “I was in the kitchen and that’s a lot of stairs to come down just to answer the door.” She responded with “69.” OK, 69 corkscrew steps take a minute to run down. Alison was very helpful in getting me oriented with the ins and outs of castle living. Before she left, she gave me recommendations for a good chippy in the next town, as well as a nice walk nearby. “Just go around that wee corner there, and on the left is a wee gate. Go on through there and it’s a nice walk by the river, but mind the cows.”
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    • Day 67

      Irischer Abschied in "The Gobbins"

      July 11, 2023 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

      Regen noch in der Nacht, heute Morgen etwas Sonne, Vorhersage: ab Mittag wieder Regen - wir wagen es, wir kaufen Tickets für "The Gobbins". Das ist der 2015 wieder eröffnete restaurierte Klippenpfad, den der Eisenbahningenieur Dean Wise 1902 anlegen ließ, um den Tourismus in dieser Gegend anzukurbeln. Über steile Treppen und Hängebrücken soll es entlang der rauhen Steilküste gehen. Wir erhalten eine Einweisung und chicke Schutzhelme und fast pünktlich 09:00 Uhr (noch 3 Stunden bis zum Regen) geht's mit dem Shuttlebus zu den Klippen. Wir steigen alle aus, laufen die steilen Wege hinab Richtung Küste und hin und wieder hält der Guide an, um seine Erläuterungen an Frau und Mann zu bringen. Wir zwei verstehen kein Wort und warten eigentlich, dass es bald weitergeht. Dann öffnet er das Eingangstürchen zum gut behüteten Klippenpfad. Und gleichzeitig öffnet noch wer was - der Himmel seine Schleusen!
      Steile Stufen haben wir tatsächlich genug, die "Hängebrücken" entpuppen sich als monotone Stahlgebilde und Klippen haben wir auch schon anders erlebt! Wenigstens unterhalb der Möwenkolonien (von den angekündigten Papageitauchern leider keine Spur) hat man den Steig überdacht, sonst hätten wir genauso ausgesehen wie die Felsen hier.
      Nach über zwei Stunden sind wir nass und ernüchtert (und das lag nicht am Regen) zurück. Gut vermarktet ist eben halb gewonnen. Na gut, nicht Jeder kann einen Caminito del Rey vorweisen.
      Zum Hafen nach Larne ist es nur noch ein Katzensprung, so dass wir am späten Nachmittag wieder die englische Küste erreichen, von wo wir uns erstmal ein Plätzchen zum Feierabend suchen.
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    • Day 70

      Flucht aus Dublin

      July 26, 2022, Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

      Auf nach Schottland!
      Nachdem Andor zum vereinbarten Termin beim Repairshop war und nach 20 Minuten- in denen Mohammed sein Fahrrad in aller Seelenruhe reparierte- von Mohammed sein Handy „unrepaired“ nach drei Tagen und etlichen Rückfragen („Soon , i give my best, i hope so, …“) zurück bekam, machten wir uns auf zur Fähre.
      Andor reichte es mit Irland und Dublin. Für ihn nie wieder Dublin.
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    • Day 90

      Belfast

      September 29, 2023 in Northern Ireland ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

      Sunny drive north toward Belfast. With no fanfare, enter Northern Ireland. Hit some highlights of the city including the St. George”s marketplace and Botanical gardens. Real mix of newer buildings and much older. Continue on, along the coast to our second home in Carnlough. Catch the full moon.Read more

    • Day 92

      Giant’s Causeway

      October 1, 2023 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

      Promise of sunny weather has us out early. Opt for a coastal walk to the Giant’s Causeway. Lovely weather. Though many people exploring the Causeway there was enough room to spread out. Amazing views. Slow meander back along the coast.Read more

    • Day 6

      No doubt about it

      September 7, 2022 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

      We didn’t have morning plans today, so we slept in for the first time since arriving last weekend. We decided just to enjoy our accommodations and take it easy. I found an Upton Sinclair book (The Way Out), among the other dated items on the shelf, and started reading over a hot cup of tea. It seemed like the appropriate activity when staying in a castle.

      Louise was kind enough to meet us at the Barbican. She lives about 20 minutes from here and suggested we go to Glenariff for lunch. After I opened the gate, she proceeded over our bridge and onto the castle grounds. I gave her a quick tour of the place and then we drove in a convey to Glenariff. I followed Louise, who was driving a little slower than usual. I found it much easier to concentrate on her car, rather than try to navigate the road on my own; it’s a lot to pay attention to!

      The Antrim mountains are carved by a series of glens (valleys) that run down to the sea. There are nine glens along the northern coast; we’re staying in Glenarm, and Louise was leading us to Glenariff. We turned off the Coastal Causeway and headed up toward the Glenariff Forest Park. Before entering the park, there is a restaurant along the river, where we sat by a window and caught up with Louise. Unfortunately, she had to collect her wee son after school, so our visit was only about 90 minutes. Once we shared a brownie and toffee pudding (separate deserts), we made our way outside. It had been raining on and off throughout lunch, but just at that moment, it was dry. Following hugs and pictures, Louise pointed out the preferred trail to view the waterfalls in the glen, and we started off. Within minutes, we took shelter under the heavy canopy as the rain came down hard. Small streams formed in the walking path, and we began to get wet...and wetter. Eventually, Kim noted that we couldn’t stay under one tree all afternoon, so we forged onto the open trail, where the rain almost immediately let up.

      The trail took us across one side of the valley, where we could see six to eight waterfalls dropping from the top of the opposite hill, over several shelves, down to the bottom of the glen. The benefit of the recent rain was the torrential runoff, enhancing the already beautiful falls. We came to a resting area, where we sat on the benches and listened to the crashing water of one of the falls across the valley. I couldn’t imagine how deafening that fall would be up close. Those thoughts drifted away, as we got back up and on the trail again. After momentarily wishing we had taken a picture of the trail map, our panic subsided when we figured out where we were again. We walked along a wooden path that led us to a large fall. No doubt about it, this was the most beautiful one in the Park. The top tier fell mightily into a pool, kicking up mist that filled the air. Bouncing down another level, the water crashed into the side of the mountain, stripping the moss from the rocks and rubbing smooth the river’s banks. The river, and its falls, almost looked the color of strong tea or coffee. We assumed that there was some kind of mineral running in the water, creating the dark and distinct color. The google says it is brown from running through upland bog. Ick. Despite the color, the falls and river were beautiful. It’s no wonder Glenariff glen is known as the “Queen of the Glens.” It is the largest and most spectacular of the glens running along the coast. If you ever visit, it’s just a few miles inland from the coastal village of Waterfoot.

      We followed the waterfalls with a peek at the Cushendun Caves. These sea caves have been created through the ocean’s erosion of the coastline over millions of years. They even caught the attention of the Game of Thrones, and the site was used in filming. Apparently, the show spent a great deal of time filming here, so we’ll be visiting a few other spots as well. I think I’m most looking forward to the “dark hedges” but more to come on that.

      We stopped at a local chippy on the way home and had the most enormous piece of cod ever. We ate our wrapped up fish in the car and then made our way back to the Barbican for our final night. We tapped off the evening in the sitting room, enjoying the special kind of quiet that only comes from having walls that are three feet, separating you from the outside world.
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    • Day 6

      Antrim Coast and Glens

      August 22, 2023 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

      Dä Tag het miteme feine Zmorge imne Kafi agfange, witer zure chline Wanderig wos üs bizi verrägnet het und mir vom Scenic Trail eigentlech grössteteils nur dr Trail hei gse. Es het hüt aber immerhin e witeri Seehundsichtig gä und es Eichhörnli heimer o atroffe. Imne Hauebad heimer üs de no chönne früsch mache, drmit mer morn ab id Stadt chöi.Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Larne District, Larne, LRN

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