Ireland - Day 14 (Wednesday 4/12/2006)

Click this link to view photos.

Well, I’ve been waiting for this day, the day where I get to see the two things I’ve most wanted to see: the Giant’s Causeway and Carrick-a-Rede. And, guess what? It’s raining! Yeah, that sucks, but I’ll go anyway.

I set off from Londonderry about 8:00 AM heading through Limavady on the A2, switching to the A37 into Coleraine. From there I pass through the town I’ll be spending the night in, Portrush, on my way to my first stop, Carrick-a-Rede. The coast road puts me back on roads that I like most. Countryside is nice, but sheer cliffs and crashing waves do it best for me.

I arrive at Carrick-a-Rede only to find that I’m early. Now, Carrick-a-Rede is this rope bridge, suspended 25 meters above sea level, that is used every year for the fishermen to get to the best spots to catch salmon. You see, Carrick-a-Rede is the basalt “island” that you are walking to, and the name stands for “rock-in-the-road” and the “road” is the path of those pesky salmon. Go get ‘em, fishermen.

So, anyway, I’m early, so I walk around the other way down to the coast. I’m glad I did; the waves crashing against the rocky shore was quite a site, and luckily, the rain let up enough so that I wasn’t slipping and sliding all the way down to the shore. There were even these little caves to explore, though I didn’t go too far; the tide was coming in. Last thing I need is to get stuck in some cave, by myself, without any tequila. Besides, the rope bridge was opening.

Quite a crowd for a stormy Wednesday morning. The trek to the bridge is about a half-mile, but affords you nice views of the shoreline. And, once you get to the bridge, you cross one at a time across this bridge. What a rush, looking down 82 feet to the crashing waves as the bridge hops and swings. Nice. Unfortunately, much of the “island” was closed off so I made my way back to the shore and headed for my second stop, Giant’s Causeway.

Giant’s Causeway is a series of hexagonal basalt columns, formed by volcanic activity some 60 million years ago. Quite a site, despite the rain. Another long, downhill walk and I was there. Unfortunately the rain chose this moment to pick up, so getting some photos was a bit difficult. I will say it was a bit of a letdown; it is, after all, just a bunch of rocks. But mostly I think the letdown was due to the weather. Maybe next time.

On the way back from the Giant’s Causeway I stopped at an old castle perched on another small island. Pieces of the castle fell into the sea years ago, but much of it was left, so that was quite a sight, walking through the old hallways, and exploring the small cave beneath the foundation.

Back in the surf-town of Portrush, the place was deserted. And it stayed that way, all night. So I don’t have much to give you. But I will say this: I’ll bet this place is bumpin’ during the, um, surfing months. The waves roll right up to the town, along nice beaches, and there’s a small “amusement park” in town. It’d be a nice place to visit later in the year, but I’ll bet a bit expensive.

Tomorrow, the Old Bushmills Distillery and the rest of the Antrim Coast…