On the way home ...

Up early to drive to airport in Dublin. Overcast - mist on the Mournes! Porridge for breakfast - no wine for us!!

We continued our chat with Colm and Francis over breakfast about this, that and everything! He told us more about the local golf course - the Royal County Down which apparently costs £60 a round!! And every 12 minutes a new round starts! It opened 127 years ago in 1889 and is one of the oldest golf clubs in Ireland. For the golfers out there, the fourth and ninth holes are featured in the book The 500 World's Greatest Golf Holes and Rory McIlroy named Royal County Down his favourite golf course in the world.

We followed a complicated route inland to Newry and through Newry in order to join the M1; changed Tom-Tom back to kms just south of Newry.

We pass through County Louth then County Meath. We see the turn-offs to Drogheda and Newgrange. I would have liked to have done these to round off our education of Irish history but there wasn't enough time. We could easily have spent more time up north too around Ballycastle and in the Glenariff area.

We managed to successfully navigate our way to Terminal 2 where My Friend left me with the bags while he returned the car. Then through the usual routines of airport check-ins - but pretty efficient apart from having to remove boots, i-pads etc. through the screening - it's like getting undressed!

I think this is our plane in the background.

We have had a great time here in Ireland. Ireland is a wonderful country: lovely scenery; green; polite, helpful and friendly people; clean toilets (and free!) everywhere; neat houses and gardens; ruins and rock walls everywhere. I think it ticked ALL my boxes!

So have Peter and Kate enjoyed Ireland. I spoke with Kate this morning. Peter is cycling in Tuscany in Italy and having a great time. The Reillys have completed their Camino in Portugal. The Robbs are meeting up with the Harpers in Nice. And I haven't heard from Prue and Deirdre re their Spanish Camino although I know Tony has been sick with the 'flu. And news just to hand is that the Western Bulldogs have won - not that I follow the AFL. POSTSCRIPT (we are transferring in Dubai) - just had word from Prue - they walked 25 kms today and 26 kms yesterday and it is VERY WARM!

I enjoyed one film on our return, but mostly watched the golf (the Ryder Cup). The film was The Dresser about the relationship between a domineering and self-centred actor and his dresser; it has a stellar cast: Emily Watson, Ian McKellen and Anthony Hopkins who were absolutely superb and Edward Fox in a wonderful cameo role.

 

Walk to Slieve Donard

While you guys were tucked in in bed on Friday night, we were walking Slieve Donard. Slieve Donard is 850m high and part of the Mourne Mountains; it is the highest peak in Northern Ireland.

We awoke to a SUPER day and the weather matched the absolutely sensational scenery today.

I had hoped to do a walk in the Mournes which is why Newcastle was chosen as our last stop in Ireland (also to give us a launching pad for a 2 hour drive into the airport on the north side of Dublin in the morning tomorrow).

We had a delightful walk through woods along a lovely stream then out into an open valley leading up to the saddle high ahead of us. The colours were beautiful: clear blue sky, lots of flowers as well as holly and pines and rhododendrons (although these weren't in flower). There were several waterfalls and attractive pools which must be tempting in summer - but not today!

From the saddle we turned left for the last very steep climb up to Slieve Donard. Here the Mourne Wall stretches for miles in both directions. Boy, do the Irish know how to build a stone wall!

The Mourne Wall was constructed by the Belfast Water Commissioners between 1904 and 1922 to enclose a water catchment area from the effects of cattle and sheep on the water course. It was built from natural granite stone using traditional dry stone walling techniques. On average the wall is about 1.5 m high and 0.8 to 0.9 m thick and it is 35 kms long and passes over 15 mountains. Some wall!

It was a very tough climb and at one point I thought the heavy breathing I could hear was that of another walker coming up behind me, but it was mine!

Sensational views - 360 degrees - at the top with just a few sheep for company. And bitterly cold!

The grey clouds scuttling in were a reminder that the weather here can change on a whim.

It was an even tougher walk back down and as we glanced back over our shoulders the grey cloud folded in behind us. The walk took us 5 hours and we had to be careful not to trip on the many tree roots and slippery rocks, particularly as we progressed through the woodland at the end. Still, it was quite enchanting. Apparently the Mournes were the inspiration behind the magical land of Narnia crafted by C.S. Lewis in his book the Chronicles of Narnia.

We picked a few blackberries to eat as we went but there weren't many left and I regretted leaving the pack of snacks back in our B&B.

We were very pleased to finish and go back for a nice hot shower. We packed ready for our flight tomorrow and had an early dinner and a stroll along the promenade alongside the beachfront before heading off to bed.

Our legs will be sore tomorrow.

 

Ballintoy - Belfast - Newcastle (UK)

We woke early to beautiful dawn skies over the bay. It was so lovely that we popped out quickly before breakfast to walk across the field opposite the house to get a better view out along the coast stretching forever to both our left and right. It was windy and very fresh!

We enjoyed a lovely breakfast in the conservatory looking out over the beautiful garden, tiny birds outthere pecking away at the bird feeders. We had what is known as 'The Ulster Fry', Northern Ireland's equivalent of the Full Irish Breafast that you get down south - sausage, bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms, eggs. We asked for the small version! Yum!

We had decided to make a dash back for the first tour of the day at the Old Bushmills Distillery that we had missed out on yesterday. It was a very interesting tour. My Friend particularly enjoyed it. I learnt interesting stuff about how whiskey is made and things like that Scotch Whisky is distilled twice and Irish Whisky is distilled 3 times; also that in the making, the barley is heated over peat for Scotch whisky and over hot, clean, dry air for the Irish. The tour ended with a free whiskey; My Friend had a 12 year old single malt and I had a hot toddy. Hmmm - interesting at 10:30 in the morning ... for someone who had never drunk whisky before coming to Ireland, I'm not doing too bad.

Next stop today was to be the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge further along the northern coast road. Grey clouds had built up to the west of the bay and after buying our tickets, we raced along the path trying to beat the fast-approaching weather but a squall of rain and wind hit just as we approached the bridge. Nevertheless, with our parkas zipped up close around us and despite being buffetted furiously by the wet wind, it was a huge amount of fun - more so on the return crossing when the weather started to clear again as the weather passed over.

The bridge links the mainland to the tiny island of Carrickarede which is an old volcanic plug and spans 20 m and is 30 m above the rocks below. It is thought salmon fishermen have been building bridges to the island so they could check on their salmon nets - for over 350 years, but there are very few salmon left now. The area is exceptional in natural beauty with stunning views of Rathlin Island and Scotland.

Stunning views -

We then took the Causeway Coastal Road A2 towards Belfast. It was a beautiful drive south along the east coast and it was now a beautiful day once more (!) although it was very windy still, and we could see white caps on the bright blue water of the bay near Cushendall and water spray scurrying across.

We veered off on the inland route from here, following Tom-Tom which had been instructed to get us to Belfast the fastest wat as we had to be there by 2 p.m. We drove through lovely green valleys zipping around slow tractors on the narrow roads as we went. This area is the Glenariff Forest Park, home to waterfalls and walks; it would have been lovely to have the time to explore - but we had to push on through to Ballymena where we picked up another squall of rain.

We parked at the Titanic Quarter where we had arranged with Paddy of Belfast Black Taxi Tours to be collected at 2 p.m. for our Black Taxi Tour for which Belfast is famous. This area was used for many years by the shipbuilders Harland and Wolff and has been converted into a huge visitor attraction at a building cost of £77 million with an additional £24 million spent on pre-planning!

First we drove along Shankill Road which runs through the loyalist working class area known as 'the Shankill'. During 'the Troubles', the Shankill was a centre for loyalist paramilitarism. This was the scene of much vigilante activity and there were several bombings and shootings with many deaths. On 23 October 1993, a bomb exploded in Frizzell's Fish Shop, below the UDA's Shankill headquarters. The bomb exploded prematurely as it was being planted. Nine people were killed in addition to one of the bombers, Thomas Begley. None of the loyalist paramilitaries targeted were hurt, as they had postponed a planned meeting. Begley's accomplice, Sean Kelly, survived and was imprisoned.

Everywhere, there were memorials to those who had died - some simply innocent civilians who just were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

We stopped next at the Peace Line - a wall constructed as a border barriers to separate Catholic and Protestant neighbourhoodsmade of iron, brick and/or steel and are up to 7.6 m high. There are gates sometimes staffed by police that allow passage during daylight but are closed at night - unbelievable!; still today, they are shut at 6 p.m. and opened again at 6 a.m. - every day except Sunday, when they remain closed. These still have the barbed wire over them; during the Troubles, people crossing from one area to the next were searched.

Next was the Catholic area - the Falls Road area. Several streets around the Falls Road were burnt out by loyalists in August 1969. In response to the worsening situation, the British Government deployed the British Army on the Falls Road. Several streets around the Falls Road were burnt out by loyalists in August 1969. In response to the worsening situation, the British Government deployed the British Army on the Falls Road.

There was the story of Philomerna the pharmacist who was delivering medication to someone in the Protestant area and who was followed by 2 men as she returned to her pharmacy in the Catholic area - the men followed her in and shot her 5 times in the chest and once in the face - sobering.

On 15 August 1969, a loyalist sniper shot dead Gerald McAuley (15), a member of the Fianna (IRA's youth wing), as he helped people flee their homes on Bombay Street.

Our last mural was the Bobby Sands one. I'm sure a few other Baby Boomers remember this story. He was an Irish member of the Provisional Irish Republican Army who died on a hunger strike while imprisoned at HM Prison Maze. He was the leader of the 1981 hunger strike in which Irish republican prisoners protested against the removal of Special Category Status. During his strike he was elected to the British Parliament as an Anti H-Block candidate. His death and those of 9 other hunger strikers were followed by a new surge of IRA recruitment and activity.

So the Black Taxi Tour was a great success - thanks Jenny I !!

The Titanic Exhibition brings together (if out of order) our Titanic history tour which started in Cobh down south which was its last port of call before its fateful journey across to New York. Here in Belfast was where it was built. It was a tremendous exhibition - it really gave you an insight into luxury ships at the time and the building process involved and then the unfolding of the terrible tragedy when it struck an iceberg. So thanks Trish! Well worth it!

It was terrible traffic getting out of Belfast but we were rewarded with a very pretty road south to Portaferry. It was a beautiful afternoon. Superb.

We passed through the wee village of Greyabbey and saw a shop with the name Milliken Bros on the front - a stretch canvas maker!

We arrived at Strangford Lough as the ferry was approaching the port. It was an absolutely picturesque crossing with beautiful evening light. Both Portaferry and Strangford townships on each side of Strangford Lough are super pretty.

Once we reached Strangford on the other side, we continued south to Newcastle (UK) on the Mourne Coastal Road. We had sensational views of the Mourne Mountains ahead in the setting sun as we came into Newcastle, trawling slowly behind tractors at times as they made their home at the end of the day.

It had been a very long day and we topped it off with a terrific Italian meal just around the corner from our B&B. We are now in County Down.

Two nights here!

 

 

Into Northern Ireland

Wet, grey start. Glad we went to Slieve League yesterday and not leave it to this morning!

Near Castlefin, we passed under a huge flock of blackbirds swirling in the grey sky - like a scene out of Hitchcock's film 'The Birds'. Wet all the way to here and then the sun tried to poke out from behind the grey mist. Not holding my breath.

Cross over the border at Lifford - over the river to Strathbane and we are now into Sterling for currency and Miles per hour. Might need a converter app! We stop to adjust the Preferences on Tom-Tom so we don't exceed the speed limit.

The weather hasn't changed though. Nor the slow tractors on the road. Lovely green countryside.

The traffic is stopped by 3 motor cycle police roaring through in the opposite direction, lights flashing, followed by 3 trucks each laden with a propeller for a wind turbine - they are HUGE!!!

Derry/Londonderry (depending on your political persuasion) - we spent several hours here. Did a Martin McCrossan walking tour, run by a passionate local called John. Martin, I am told later at our B&B died about 28 months ago suddenly - aged 51, didn't smoke or drink, and he was fit (ran and swam - presumably walked too ...). As Bob at our B&B said laconically - 'Everything in moderation'.

Martin McCrossan was known as 'Mr Derry' and much loved in the town.

The tour was interesting - around the city walls:

I was particularly interested in the Bogside, the neighbourhood outside the city walls. This area has been a focus point for many of the events of the 'Troubles': in 1969, a fierce three-day battle against the RUC and local Protestants - known as the Battle of the Bogside - became a starting for the 'Troubles'. Between 1969 and 1972, it became a no-go area for the British Army and police. It is here where the famous People's Gallery of street murals can be found - these depict the 3 decades of the conflict of the long struggle for Catholic civil rights.

A highlight was stopping at the original Presbyterian Church where we were treated to a song 'Wind in the Willows' sung in a nice tenor voice - by an 89 year old! Still in good voice! The rain held off. It was a very grey day, befitting the gloominess of the history here.

We visited the Museum of Free Derry - they are waiting to move into new premises; they certainly deserve better ones!

This museum chronicles the history of the Bogside, the civil rights movement and the events of Bloody Sunday through photographs, newspaper reports, film clips and the accounts of first-hand witnesses, including some of the original photographs that inspired the murals of the nearby People's Gallery.

It was a very interesting exhibition - particularly about Bloody Sunday (30 January 1972); this is when a march by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association through the streets of Derry was fired upon by the British Army killing 13 civilians and injuring 14. This part of Northern Island's history - the Troubles (the late 1960s to 1998 when there were outbreaks of violence between the loyalist/Protestants and the republican/Catholics resulted in the deaths of 3466 people and over 30,000 were injured) - is very sobering, very disturbing.

We then visited the Guildhall with its beautiful stainglass windows originally built in 1890. There was a good exhibition here also - exploring how the concept of 'Plantation' has shaped the history of Ireland. It underwent a major renovation starting in 2010 both internally and externally at a cost of about £8 million!

I found it to be a despairing sort of place - terrible unemployment - and trying to rise above The Troubles with cautious optimism. On 10 April 1998, the British and Irish governments and most of Northern Ireland's political parties signed up to the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement. The UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, made a landmark apology in June 2010, saying: 'The Bloody Sunday killings were unjustified and unjustifiable'. This has been a big step in repairing UK-Irish relationships.

Now for something a bit lighter - in the window of a cafe:

We finally got away from Derry. We took the Causeway Coastal Rd north to the Old Bushmills Distillery but we knew we wouldn't make the last tour at 4 pm. Too bad. So we continued on to the Giant's Causeway, an area on the northern coast of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption.

They charged 'an arm and a leg' for entry. We did the walk around the top towards a rocky outcrop known as the Chimney Stacks; the walk provides views in all directions over the ocean below and over the Causeway and then loops back to the site itself. Waves were crashing over the rocks. Quite tremendous really. The light was failing fast; but it wasn't raining!

Our B&B for tonight is just 5 kms down the road at Ballintoy. Bob had a lovely fire going plus tea and biscuits. Lovely place. This is County Antrim. We could have spent a few days here!!

We had dinner 10 or so minutes drive along the coast at Ballycastle at The Central, a wine bar. Nice food; had an Old Bushmills whiskey sour. Nice music - solo singer on guitar. A really nice night.