Northern Ireland weekend

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Monday was a UK Bank Holiday, also memorial day in the USA. The Church shut down its finance systems for the day. The President invited us to take Monday off, so we made a few bookings and dashed across to Northern Ireland.

We overnighted in Cairnryan on the Scottish West Coast, and then hopped onto the ferry very early next morning. The ferry trip was breezy and cool. We stayed indoors for most of it and enjoyed the view through the windows.

We were on the road in Ireland before 10 AM and followed a glorious coastal road up northwards. Just watching the passing scenery and the waves breaking on the rocks reminded us why it is called the Emerald Isle. 
















On the way we passed through Ballycastle, where they were celebrating summer with a festival on the green near the beach. This had the same feel as all the summer "days" in Utah--you know "Strawberry Days", "Lamb Days", "Rodeo Days" etc.  We loved the seafront and the excellent food, and a local told us what “Balley” means—it means 'place of’. That’s why there are so many of them in Eire. The swan sculpture reminded us of our own early morning flights of swans over Holyrood Park



Ballycastle: Seagull












We made it up to the famous 'rope bridge' on the north coast (connecting the mainland to an island), but we didn't cross as the wait was about 90 minutes; beautiful weather brought out people in hordes, so there were long queues.

The views of the bay were excellent however, so we don't think we missed much.



















We also made it to the Giant's Causeway. The curious hexagonal shaped rocks stretching out into the Irish Sea, and matched by similar ones on the Scottish coast, give the causeway its name. We heard the legend of the giant Finn McCool who challenged a Scottish giant to a fight and built the causeway to reach Scotland. Visiting the Giant's Causeway was a check-off item on Louise's bucket list (along with visiting Lake Louise in Canada, which we achieved a few years ago.)

The Lord's Prayer
Ballymena Dining room
We found one of the best Bed & Breakfast places we have ever been in, Marlagh Lodge in Ballymena. The woodcut of the Lord's Prayer was done by the proprieter's grandfather-in-law over many years and hangs in the dining room. The house was filled with books. It was tempting to stay there for several weeks and just read through the library.
Ballymena

Ballymena


















That gave us a very peaceful respite overnight. Early morning Sunday Richard wandered the fields near the lodge. Lots of green, cautious cows and friendly sheep. 

Sunday we delivered mail to missionaries, passed briefly through Belfast and crossed the island to Londonderry, where we walked the aged city wall.

Londonderry, (or Derry--depending on your politics), like Belfast, has many memorials of the "Troubles" between unionists and republicans (Protestants and Catholics), but the wall dates back a few hundred years. Derry claims to be the only city with a complete city wall remaining. It is very walkable and provides snapshots of history and great views of the city. If Ireland has Highlands, they are around Derry.  We noticed the scenery change as we climbed. The bright green patchwork of fields gave way to much less green rolling hills. Sort of like Utah in the spring.

Derry City Wall





Derry barber.
Would you let this man shave you?










A couple of people recommended Carrickfergus Castle as a stop. It is a big castle and very prominent in Irish history. We didn't visit it but we did review the BBC “Great British Castles” episode on it on Netflix. Having watched this again, we decided that we did not actually need to visit.

We overnighted at a very modest B&B in Larne and then caught the early ferry back to Scotland We treated ourselves and went back "Club Class"; Private lounge, lots of space, free snacks and waiter service for anything you want to order.

That was enough for this short trip. More next time. 

Comments

  1. MitchMay 30, 2018 10:00 PM

    I am sorry to say I do not look forward to your mission ending. I just love the way you write about everything. I've never been to the Emerald Isle, so that was of particular interest to me. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experiences with us!

    ReplyDelete
  2. ShanaMay 31, 2018 1:24 AM

    Beautiful!

    ReplyDelete

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