Travels With Wesley

We took an early morning walk around the village of Ardara waiting for another Irish breakfast.

 

Our hotel:

 

Gina in front of the hotel with our beloved Vagatron.

 

Owenstock River.

 

What is the old saying? “Keep your horse close and your enemies closer?”  Maybe not exactly, but as we walked up by this house, a man in his bathrobe was loading a horse into a trailer.  I left him his privacy.  But here is his house.

Some other shots around Ardara.

That is Doug Collins and his BIGGER camera in the shot above.  Nancy’s is where we had dinner the night before.  Below, John, Chris and Gina at breakfast at the Nesbitt Arms.

 

Here is the group, a motley looking crew indeed, waiting for Eddie Doherty to open.

 

The master weaver at work:

 

Handsome devil wearing a Doherty hat.  Sean ain’t too bad either.  Unfortunately, I could never wear a wool cap in Florida, so Gina wouldn’t let me buy one.

 

After watching the master at work, off to the Cliffs of Sliabh Liag (Slieve League).  http://slieveleaguecliffs.ie/info

The Giants Chair below, and his giant screen HDR TV.  Actually the rock formation center right is the Giant’s Chair and Desk.

 

We embarked on the Nuala Star for a boat ride to the cliffs, sorrowfully leaving behind our beloved Rob and Kristinia.  They missed a great ride.

The little settlement of Tieleann behind and a rainbow:

 

A pretty view below, actually the first photo from Ireland that I’ve sold at an art show.  There is no accounting for taste.

 

Some of our group listening intently to Paddy Byrne, in the blue tee, giving instructions.

 

Three girls holding on for dear life.  It was a little rough, not too bad tho for us old salts.  One lady on the boat, not of our party, spent most of the trip with her head in a bag.  

 

Signal tower on top of the cliff.  http://homepage.eircom.net/~signaltowers/carriganhd.html

 

Paddy tried his best to steal my wife, but she wouldn’t agree.  Sometime you just can’t win.  Just kidding, Gina.

 

This old rock building caught my eye.  Like I said, no accounting for taste.

 

We met up with Rob and Kristinia at the Ti Linn cafe, and continued our adventures for another full day.

After leaving Grianan of Aileach and our instruction in Irish fire fighting tools, We arrived at the Glenveagh National  Park.  Getting there, we crossed back into the Republic of Ireland.  Sean’s border trick didn’t work the second time.  On the way up from Dublin to Belfast, Sean warned us to  have our passports ready as we approached Northern Ireland.  As we were rooting around looking for them, he announced, “we are in Northern Ireland,” of course we didm’t need passports, open border.  Groans all around.  

Back in the Republic, Glenveagh is one of six national parks of Ireland.

 http://www.glenveaghnationalpark.ie/ 

The castle on the property was built by John Adair, who evicted some 244 Irish from the homes and destroyed their dwellings so they would not interfere with his views.  A well loved individual.  Mr. Adair died relatively young, maybe divine retribution? http://www.movilleinishowen.com/history/moville_heritage/land_lords/john_george_adair.htm 

http://www.monikie.org.uk/jamesmurrayassassination.htm  

http://www.ireland-fun-facts.com/derryveagh-evictions.html

A beautiful walk up to the Glenveagh Castle..

 

Some views of the grounds of the manor house or castle as the case may be:

 

Jeannie tiptoeing under the arbor.  

 

From Glenveagh, we rode to the quaint village of Ardara, still in Co. Donegal.  We spent the night at the Nesbitt Arms Hotel and had a very nice dinner at Nancy’s Pub.  Next a nice morning walk around Ardara, a weaver and the cliffs of Sliabh Liag.

 

Leaving the village of Carnlough behind, we drove to the Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge. 

 http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/Carrick-a-Rede-Rope-Bridge-Antrim-Northern-Ireland-Ballintoy-Ballycastle-P2829

The stop at Carrick-A-Rede was our introduction to the dramatic coastal line of northern and western Ireland.  Combine the many shades of green of the countryside with the spectacular cliffs and ocean views, you have unsurpassed beauty.  The rope bridge itself is a sturdy affair and not much to write home about unless you suffer as I do from acrophobia.  So, needless to say, i hurried across the bridge without stopping to take pictures.  Here is less timid Gina coming across the bridge.

 

A couple of views of the coast line of Carrick-A-Rde:

 

Gina taking a break after the harrowing trip across the rope bridge.

 

A boat sitting on the path to the rope bridge.  It was probably used to recover the bodies of people who fell from the rope bridge.  You think?

 

After leaving Carrick-A-Rede, we stopped for a few minutes at the pretty little Ballintoy Harbor nearby.  http://www.ports.org.uk/port.asp?id=332

The beach was recently used for filming of an episode of the Game of Thrones.
 http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/film-tv/news/gory-game-of-thrones-scene-filmed-at-wellknown-beauty-spot-ballintoy-beach-29653592.html

 

Reluctantly leaving the harbor at Ballintoy, we were faced with a decision.  There was a stop scheduled at the Bushmills Distillery.  Those discerning folks among us who didn’t particularly want to do the distillery tour were offered a surprise by Sean.  Having been to the finest distillery in the world, in one of the prettiest sports in the world, The Makers Mark Distillery in Loretto, Kentucky, USA, we chose to see what Sean had up his sleeve.  We dropped the less discerning at the distillery, and Sean took us to the Dark Hedges.  The beech trees creating a canopy over the lane were planted by the Stuart family in the eighteenth century as a dramatic entry to their home.  It is one of the most photographed sites in Northern Ireland, and was used for a scene in the Game of Thrones series.  http://www.visitballymoney.com/the-dark-hedges.aspx 

The figure in the scene above may be the Grey Lady gliding along the lane. Or maybe not.  Interesting structure on a beech tree below pointed out by Kathy, fellow Vagabonder from Oregon.  

 (

Kathy also introduced me to the word soughing (pronounced suffing), which was quite appropriate in the location.  Look it up.  Oh, ok …..  defined as “a soft murmuring or rustling sound, as of the wind or a gentle surf.”

We picked up the group dropped at the Bushmills Distillery, and spent the rest of the trip having Rick worrying about the 200 year old whiskey he bought.  Well, maybe not two hundred years old, but apparently a pretty special brew.  Luckily, nobody drank it, so I guess Rick got home with it.  Then, on to the Giant’s Causeway.  We first drove by the spot where Sean would meet us, then he drove out to a spot for us to start a scenic walk along the cliffs.  Maybe five kilometers, Sean says.  Right.  

What a spectacular walk, though. Walking along the edge of the cliffs from Dunseverick where he dropped us to the Giant’s Causeway took a solid 2 1/2 hours, up and down, but worth every step.  

Dunseverick was the site of a castle probably originally constructed around 1525 BC and finally destroyed by the Normans in the 17th century.  http://www.castles.nl/eur/ie/ds/ds.html  http://www.coasteeringni.co.uk/coasteering/venues/dunseverick/

Following are some shots taken along the way.  I could post a lot more, but with our modern short attention spans, these should suffice.  A little background, scientists claim that the Giant’s Causeway is the result of geological forces, volcanic upheavals.  We know better.  http://www.causewaycoastandglens.com/Folklore-and-Legend.T1153.aspx.  Finn McCool is the reason for this tourist attraction.  When we reached the Causeway it was covered up with those despicable types of people sometimes known as tourists, so not much photography there.

 

The couple on the left are Doug and Kathy Collins from Oregon.  The picture was taken by an Irish couple who stopped to talk with us, the photo below, Brenda and Michael.

 

A little artistic look at one of the scenes along the walk.  For the more discerning among us.  That is Rathlin Island in the distance, I believe.

 

Rugged landscape.

 

A look away from the water.  Notice the sheep in the picture.  This was a rarity, to see sheep in a field.  Actually, they were all over the place.  More sheep the Irish one might imagine.  To be precise,  there are almost 2 million sheep in Northern Ireland.  http://www.dardni.gov.uk/sheep-2012.pdf   Although we were not there as of yet, we would also see evidence of sheep farming in the Republic of Ireland. There are almost 3.5 million sheep in the Republic.  http://www.agriculture.gov.ie/media/migration/animalhealthwelfare/animalidentificationandmovement/NationalSheepGoatCensus2011100512.pdf 

No wonder lamb stew is so popular.

 

Another view away from the water.

 

More rugged coastal terrain.

 

Reaching the end of the trail so to speak, Gina still looked pretty good after a good 2.5 hour stroll up and down the hills.

 

And this could well be called “The Beauty and The Beast.”

 

Our next stop was the Dunluce Castle, I believe the only remaining coastal castle after the Normans cleared out the coastline in the 17th Century.  Here is a short history of the castle:
http://www.northantrim.com/dunlucehistory1.htm 

 

After a brief stop at the castle, we went on to Port Stewart and a night at the Strand Hill.  One of the nicest of our many nice accommodations.  More coming.

 

We left Belfast for the coast of County Antrim, arriving in the village of Carnlough (from the Irish Carnlach, which means Place of Cairns) late afternoon.  Dropping our luggage at the hotel, we set off on the first of many hikes/walks we were to take during the next twelve days.

A view from above of the main street in Carnlough (Vagatron hiding in the lower corner:)

On the walk up to Cranny Falls, one of the many scenic treats Sean would subject us to over the next several days, wet got our first real introduction to the many shades of Ireland, the Emerald Isle.

We would see many abandoned homes during our travels.

Another abandoned home on right and the North Channel in the distance.

This young lady is happy to hiking in Northern Ireland.

Cranny Falls, and a stream flowing from the falls.

 Walking back through the village of Carnlough, we saw a reminder  of the Troubles:

The IRA political wing is very much a part of Northern Ireland politics.  Here is their local office.

We spent the night in Carnlough at the Londonderry Arms Hotel, an historical old place with loads of charm.  

The Arms was once owned by Winston Churchill through inheritance.  http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/Londonderry-Arms-Hotel-Carnlough-Ballymena-P3958  Getting to our rooms that night was interesting, first a tiny elevator up one floor, down a corridor, up three steps, further down the corridor, down three steps, turn a corner, up three steps through a door, then down seven steps to our room, which was back on the ground floor.  Had I been able to open the window completely the next morning, I would have put our suitcases out the window rather than back through the serpentine hallway.  Very pleasant room nonetheless.

The dinner was very good and in a very pleasant environment.  The group having dinner: 

Sean, our guide and leader is the young man standing at the end of the table.  Yours truly took the picture so you miss the pleasure of my image.  The beer belonged to Sean by the way.

 After a restful night, Gina and I set out for a early walk around the little town before loading up in the Vagatron.  We didn’t have long as slavedriver Sean would have us loaded up by 9 AM most mornings, sometimes even before.  Gina in front of the North Channel:

Carnlough has a pretty little harbor, originally built by the owners of nearby quarries.  It is now used for pleasure boating and fishing.

Signal lights in the harbor:

Old building with two doors:

Sunrise between the buildings:

 

 Carnlough was a neat little village, a great way to start our tour of the countryside of Ireland.  After a good Irish breakfast, Sean loaded us up and off we went for a new day’s adventures.  Of course, because we were on Vagabond Adventure Tours of Ireland.