Just four miles from our cottage was the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, one of the iconic sights of the Causeway coast. We decided to make this our first destination for our week long exploration of the Antrim coast, in part because it would mean very little driving being 'just down the road'. We were one of the first visitors to arrive on an overcast but warm and dry morning, and made our way along the cliff top coastal path from the National Trust car park taking in some wonderful views between hedges of rosehips and birdsong.
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| Views from the coastal path |
We knew in advance that we wouldn't be able to walk across the bridge - Covid had prevented the National Trust from carrying out an annual safety assessment. Seeing the bridge up close, anyone in their right mind would definitely want to know a safety assessment had been carried out before venturing onto it.The rope bridge was originally constructed over 250 years ago by salmon fisherman to gain access to a small island. It is only 20 metres across stretches across a drop of 30 metres above unforgiving looking rocks below. We were able to get some good views and visibility was good enough for us to be able to see the Mull of Kintyre, Jura, and Gigha about 50 miles away.
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| Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge |
We returned to the car park I made a short detour to an old limestone quarry, Larrybane which was another film location for Game of Thrones.
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| Larrybane Quarry |
In fact it is very hard to find somewhere in this part of Northern Ireland that hasn't been used as a film location. I suggested to Mrs B. we walk along the coastal path to another Game of Thrones location, Ballintoy harbour. It was just over a mile away and the path brought us out onto a narrow road opposite a whitewashed church that stood halfway between the village and the harbour.
A bend or two later brought the harbour into view and it was very picturesque. Rocky coves, small sandy beaches, and large limestone caves made it easy to see why it is popular with artists. The contrasts of the light, rock and sea produce the perfect conditions for atmospheric artwork.
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| Ballintoy harbour and coastal scenery |
On the harbour was a small cafe serving coffee and cakes and we broke our explorations to sample the very tasty rhubarb and spice scones they had on sale. Carrying on along the coast path we came across more rocky coves and a rock arch. It was all lovely but we thought we had better turn back and look for somewhere for lunch. Our host Eleanor had recommended a pub in Ballintoy that offered outdoor dining - but we had reckoned without a coach load of day trippers who are drawn to a Game of Thrones connection. Some of the beech trees at the Dark Hedges were blown down some time ago and the wood used to make GoT doors that are located in different pubs across Northern Ireland. This pub had one of the doors so was a magnet for coach parties, and had installed a replica 'Iron Throne'...which of course I had to sit in.
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| The GoT Pub Door |
The pub couldn't offer us a table - they told us they didn't provide outdoor tables even though people were clearly sitting in them eating in their pub garden. Unimpressed we returned to our cottage to make our own lunch before venturing out again to walk along a stunningly beautiful beach called Whitepark Bay. After a short walk through dunes we set foot on soft golden sand and by this time the sun had broken through so everything looked glorious. The beach is at least a mile long - and we walked all the way to the end - only stopping so Mrs B could have a paddle.
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| Whitepark Bay |
The day had been a perfect introduction to the Causeway Coast, fabulous beaches and cliff top scenery, great coastal walking and not too crowded or over commercialised.
The weather on the next morning took a turn for the worse. It was drizzling with light rain but the forecast was for showers and then dry spells. We planned to visit the most visited place on the coast, the Giants Causeway which is run by the National Trust. Pre-booking is currently required so, despite the weather, we went ahead and arrived as planned at 10.00 am, aiming to see everything before the daily coach parties from Belfast arrived. It was reasonably quiet but very damp. When visiting you are offered either the chance to just walk around, take a talking handset or join a small tour with a National Trust guide. We chose the latter option and it turned out to be a good decision. At normal speed it would take about 10 minutes to walk from the visitor centre to the Causeway but with out guide, James, we took a leisurely 45 minutes as he stopped frequently on the way to tell us about the geology, history and mythology of the area. He was engaging, funny and knowledgeable. As we reached the Causeway the rain stopped and rather than go straight onto the main causeway we continued along a lower coastal path to see some of the other rock formations.
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| Views on the Causeway cliff path |
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| The famous basalt columns of the Giants Causeway |
The central character is a giant, Finn McCool. According to legend, Finn created the causeway to challenge another giant in Scotland to a fight but realising his rival was bigger he retreated back to Ireland. Some trickery ensued and Finn was able to survive. These are charming folk tales and I'm sure they entertain visitors but equally marvellous is the geology and the incredible natural forces that helped shape this landscape.
After exploring we left just as it was starting to get busy with more visitors and headed to the nearest seaside town, Portrush, just along the coast, in search of somewhere to have lunch. Fortunately it had stopped raining but lunchtime options were limited as Portrush had all the life of a seaside resort out of season on a damp Monday afternoon. It is of course a golfing town - the links course on the edge has hosted the Open Championship, but strangely this hasn't translated into an obvious economic boost. We did find a friendly little cafe and ordered some toasties and a hot drink but didn't linger too long as there wasn't a lot to detain us. Had we gone straight to the next door resort, Port Stewart we would have had an abundance of choice. Right by the harbour there were three cafes/delis and, even better, further along, a branch of Morelli.
Morelli make gelato and were founded in the 1900's by Italian immigrants. The company has outlets along the Antrim coast and elsewhere in Ireland and another branch of the family has established itself in England. Port Stewart was one of the seaside resorts where it all started. Unable to resist the temptation we headed in and ordered 2 scoops each, before taking a seat on a bench on the seafront to see if it was deserving of the awards. It was. In fact it was the best ice cream I've had in years. We were converts and made two more visits to outlets in the following three days.
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| Morelli gelato - not to be missed! |
After that we needed to walk a bit and followed a path around a headland on the western side of the seafront, dominated by a large white building - which was a Dominican college built in 1834 and bought by the Dominican order in 1917. Beyond this there was a path to Port Stewart strand a two mile long beach but we decided to save this for another day and returned enjoying the bustle of a prosperous sea front, although, as in many Northern Irish town, there are also signs of economic problems. Away from the seafront there was a mish mash of buildings with run down older property close to expensive apartments and grand homes.
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| Port Stewart coastal path and the Dominican college |
Our final stop of the day was to a viewing platform on the coast. By late afternoon the sun had come out and it was a completely different day. Magheracross viewpoint offers cliff stop views along the coast and a chance to see Dunluce Castle, perched on the cliff edge, now a ruin, but the former home of a mediaeval chieftain of Scottish descent called Sorley Boy MacDonnell. His clan controlled large parts of Ulster in the 1500s.
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| Looking west at Magheracross viewpoint. |
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| Dunluce castle perched on the cliff top |
It had been another day of contrasts and although we hadn't travelled any great distance after soaking up the views we headed back to our cottage to prepare a meal and plan a trip to a city the following day.
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