Farewell to Ulster

 A 5.00 pm ferry departure from the port of Larne meant we had lots of time to spend on our final day in Northern Ireland. After checking out of our cottage we started a stop start journey east, keeping close to the coast and our first stop was Murlough Bay. Narrow country lanes and then a long descent with hair pin bends brought us to a wild, remote, long limestone bay, east of Fairhead. Unlike much of the coast which is backed by moorland or dunes, here trees and foliage came down to the sea shore with green fields and wild fuchsia. It was a beautiful spot and although we didn't stay too long, just taking a short walk, it was a great place to breath in some fresh sea air and feel alive enjoying the solitude (apart from the grazing sheep).

Murlough Bay

A short distance away from Murlough Bay is Torr Head, another remote headland reached by driving along narrow undulating roads that require concentration as there's not much room for cars to pass each other. Fortunately we didn't come across any other cars and arrived at a small parking area just below the headland. Torr Head is the closest point on the Northern Ireland mainland to Scotland and we could see the Mull of Kintyre once we had made the short climb to the abandoned coastal signal station. Before parking our car we'd passed the ruins of an old accommodation block that housed the men who worked here.

Torr Head: Looking back at the accommodation block

The ruined signal station

The Mull of Kintyre in the distance

No attempt has been made to preserve the buildings which have been vandalised and are decaying - and not the safest places to explore, but its a spot that has far reaching coastal views. After exploring Torr Head (and avoiding falling through the floorboards) we carried on to our next stop the coastal village of Cushendun.

Cushendun is a small village of white painted houses, a lovely beach, a small harbour and some impressive caves. Parking on the edge of the village, welcomed by bright sunshine, we walked along the beach and then around the harbour crossing a bridge to get to the other side.

Cushendun Beach

Cushendun Bridge

Just beyond the harbour are the much visited caves. The attraction is that this location was also used in Game of Thrones, as the Red Caves, (several times), but even if they hadn't featured in a TV blockbuster they are impressive and geologically very different from the dolorite, basalt or limestone seen elsewhere on the Antrim coast. The rock is a sedimentary conglomerate formed from rounded gravel and  pebbles, cemented together in red sandstone. There are several caves and they are large enough to walk into with views out to the coastal scenery beyond.

Cushendun Caves

It was a dramatic spot with fascinating geology but with more to see and the sun shining we left the caves and headed back around the harbour passing a man who was taking his goat for a walk.

I'll get my goat...

On the opposite side of the river by the bridge was a lovely looking pub with a welcoming mural and some verse painted on the end wall.

A neat village centre of whitewashed cottages added to the charm and it was all achieved by design. In 1912 the first and last Lord Cushendun commissioned the architect Clough Williams-Ellis to design a new village. He is better known for designing Portmerion. In Cushendun his design was influenced by seeing Cornish fishing villages. What was built is almost a pastiche of an idealised Cornish village - but the houses were neat and tidy and had weathered well over a hundred years. He also had a new larger house built for himself - Glemona House - after the original was burnt down in 1922, by the IRA. Lord Cushendun was a fervent Unionist.

Clough Williams-Ellis designed houses in Cushendun

Glemona House

We'd lingered long enough in this very pretty village so moved on a little further along the coast to have a quick look at the slightly larger village of Cushendall. Gaelic football is big in this part of the world, as evidenced by large colourful mural that greeted us at the entrance to the village and another painted on the side of a pub. 

Cushendall was a compact little place with a few gift shops and takeaways (all closed) in a main street of very colourful houses. We walked around the village and along the river bank spotted a heron sitting still in the centre of the flow of water, aware of our presence but unperturbed. 

Cushendall 

We'd hoped to find a cafe for lunch in the village but the only place that we could find was a busy coffee shop with a queue out the door and we didn't fancy waiting. After a visit to the beach we decided to move on and eat outdoors - fortunately we'd packed a picnic lunch and there was a forest not far away that seemed like a good spot.

This part of Northern Ireland has some beautiful inland scenery - the Glens of Antrim and we wanted to spend a few hours exploring this part of the province. Glenariff Forest Park was only 20 minutes drive away and seemed a good place to walk and picnic. The Glens of Antrim comprises nine glens or valleys that radiate out to the coast. Glenariff is the most central and the forest park is a great place to walk. A series of waymarked walks radiate from the visitor centre and car park, but first we had a picnic lunch taking in the scenery which, in the sunlight, was looking picture postcard perfect. 

Glenariff Forest Park

As we only had a limited time to spend there we set off on one of the shorter walks to see some waterfalls. The winding footpath wound downhill with the sound of rushing water getting louder and louder as we descended. As we reached the bottom we came upon the first waterfall - a roaring force of peaty brown water coming down in a double cascade with tremendous force.

Crossing to the other bank over a wooden footbridge we carried on using a boardwalk as the water crashed through a tree lined gorge beside us, water disappearing over more waterfalls until, downstream, we recrossed using another footbridge and began the steep climb uphill, pausing periodically to forage a few blackberries and admire the fungi growing at regular intervals in the damper parts of the forest.

Glenariff Waterfalls

Glenariff was the sort of place that you could spends days exploring but with only a few hours left in Northern Ireland we thought it best to head towards the ferry port, but found time en route for one last stop in the small coastal village of Carnlough.

With a pretty little harbour (also a GoT filming location) and a hotel where Winston Churchill once stayed Carnlough was clearly a popular destination for day trippers and holiday makers and, joy of joys, there was a Morelli gelato outlet on the main street.

Carnlough Harbour

Unable to resist a last try of this delicious treat we sat outside with tubs savouring our last taste of Northern Ireland. After a last little explore we set off for the last stretch, filling up with petrol before arriving at the P&O ferry terminal and departed on time for our two hour crossing back to Scotland - leaving Northern Ireland bathed in late afternoon sunlight.

Leaving Northern Ireland...

We'd had a fantastic time in Northern Ireland and we'd seen some beautiful places, got a real sense of past and more recent history and been bowled over by the friendliness of people. Our travels were not quite finished though. Before heading home we were going to spend a few more days in Scotland - what one of our daughters described as our 'never ending holiday'.