On The Road Again: Antrim Bound

It was now time to move on and explore another part of Northern Ireland. A bright sunny morning saw us set off on the road again, after we'd said our goodbyes to Peggy and Sue and given them an extra portion of carrots.

Saying farewell to Peggy and Sue

We were not due to check in to our next cottage until late afternoon so I plotted a leisurely drive north that logically went through Belfast. We had no desire to go into the city centre on a busy Saturday morning, but did think it might be worthwhile taking time to look at the Botanic Gardens which are just outside the centre, next door to Queens University. Parking was easy (and free) on a nearby street and walking through streets of old Victorian houses, now obviously student accommodation, quickly brought us to one of the park entrances. The Botanic Gardens are owned and managed by Belfast City Council. Unfortunately the two places we wanted to enter, the Tropical Ravine and Palm House were both closed so we had to satisfy ourselves walking around outside. It was pleasant enough with vibrant flower beds in front of the Palm House but the rest of the gardens were not as colourful as I'd expected and maintenance work had closed off the Rose Garden.

The Palm House, Botanic Gardens

We exited via Botanic Avenue and walked towards an area crammed full of independent shops, cafes and restaurants as well as an old music venue, the Belfast Empire.

I suggested to Mrs B. we take an early lunch or brunch before we continued our journey - and she unsurprisingly agreed - so we tried to get into a cafe called the French Village that had been recommended by Paula the host of our last cottage. Unfortunately plenty of other people in Belfast had the same idea and after 5 minutes of queuing, with no prospect of being called forward for a seat, I gave up. I wanted to walk back past the Lanyon Building of Queens University, named after the Victorian architect Sir Charles Lanyon who was responsible for designing many Belfast buildings including the Custom House, the previously mentioned Palm House and Crumlin Road Gaol. We walked through the quiet university courtyards - most students had not yet arrived for the new term - and took in the Victorian architecture. The Lanyon building is a classic statement of gothic Victorian design and pretty impressive in terms of scale.

The Lanyon Building, Queens University

On the corner of the campus next to the Botanic Gardens is the Ulster Museum, a modern building with an impressive new mural above its entrance.

We really only wanted to nip in and use the facilities, but I spotted the cafe (run by a social enterprise) was quiet and had some outdoor seating looking out onto the Botanic Gardens, so we implemented plan B, and ordered two bowls of Irish stew, packed full of vegetables and absolutely delicious. After finishing off our bowls we thought we might as well have a quick tour around the museum, which is free to enter, and despite not having pre-booked, we were able to muask up and get straight in to see the exhibits. It was a well laid out museum, bright and spacious with a variety of things on display. As you might hope and expect the museum did an excellent job of telling the story of Ulster history, including the Troubles, and had also got in on the Game of Thrones mania with a wicker throne and dragons.

Two different posters - showing the variety of displays at Ulster Museum

Here be dragons...

Not iron...a wicker throne

To continue the Game of Thrones theme we carried on our journey towards our next holiday cottage, detouring very slightly to a country lane outside an unassuming village called Armoy. The Dark Hedges is an avenue of beech trees planted by the Stuart family in the eighteenth century. The producers of Game of Thrones used the location to double up as 'the Kings Road'. Notwithstanding the GoT connection it is an unusual and atmospheric lane.

The Dark Hedges

We walked from the car park from one end to the other, coming across a wedding party who had two vintage cars and had stopped to have photographs taken. We tried our best not to get in shot!

A Dark Hedges wedding photo shoot

After leaving the Dark Hedges it only took ten minutes to reach the nearest town to our next holiday cottage, Ballycastle, an Antrim coast seaside resort with a sandy beach and small harbour. On a warm Saturday afternoon it was bustling, the cafes and ice cream sellers were busy and families were enjoying a day at the beach. Before checking in to our cottage we had time to get orientated with a walk around the harbour and promenade taking in the views. On a cottage by the harbour was a striking mural and a large lump of rock which turned out to be a memorial to Marconi to commemorate his visit in 1898 when his assistants contacted Rathlin Island (just offshore) by radio from Ballycastle to prove that wireless communication was viable.

Ballycastle beach

The Marconi Memorial

Ballycastle mural

After messaging the owner of our cottage, Eleanor, we arranged to meet her at the property which was on the coast road about two miles away. We got a lovely welcome and the cottage was superb, Over 100 years old, extremely spacious and renovated to a high standard with panoramic sea views and, best of all, an enormous hamper of food with fresh eggs, home made wheaten bread, butter, home made marmalade, cereals, tea, milk, chocolate biscuits and chocolate. We could tell it was going to be a lovely base from which to explore the Causeway Coast - and we wouldn't be going hungry.