Jine 7 -- Belfast to Ballymoney

Got down the steep stairs from my tiny room (barely room to move) for breakfast today, which was eggs and beans, hot chockie, and OJ.  I’d gotten some directions from Kevin upon arrival, and he gave me some more specifics this morning.  I was double-checking his directions using my big format, spiral bound maps of the British Isle that I’d bought in Bristol at least 5 if not 7 years ago.  In planning part of this day’s route, I had used the street view of Map Google, but I always allowed for serendipity, new routes to go on a whim, or recovery from a missed turn.  On my way to the motorway, I passed by a long line of wall murals, which had to do with “the troubles”, all from the Catholic/Republican point of view.  I’d learned that my B&B was just off the Falls Road, which to those who know recent Northern Irish history, was a stronghold for the IRA.  It was easy to pull over and shoot some pictures.  As I did, from across the street, I realized this was a regular stop for tour buses.  Two were there with gawking, photo snapping tourists.

Without incident I got up the M2, M5, and to the Antrim Causeway coastal route (signed in brown, just like the previous day’s Mourne (mountains) coastal route had been.  Though I hadn’t been planning to, I saw a sign for the Carrickfergus castle in a roundabout, so stayed in it one more turn, got out and took pics of the castle.  The word Carrick (anglicized version of Carrig in Gaelic, meaning rock) is everywhere.  The coastal road started out normal, a two lane, and I took numerous opportunities, finding pullouts, and taking photos of the quaint villages and farms on the coastline.  Scotland was now in view.  At one point, yet another scenic route to Island Magee was signposted, I found myself a little off track, but it was pretty looking back at the mainland.  A little ways further, I stopped again to watch a giant ferry coming into Larne from Stranraer, Scotland.


 And again to admire the rocky coastline with green algae and orange lichen on the rocks.  It was a nice long drive right along the rugged coastline, with one lane tunnels, and where the road would sometimes rise up steeply along mountainsides

The geology kept changing, sometimes metamorphic, and sometimes bright white chalk and limestone.  There were quaint towns nestled at the foot of mountains, right along the coastline.   There were fields of blue and yellow flowers (buttercups) going down to the sea.



Thanks to my having ridden some of the route before on streetview of Map Google, I saw the critical turnoff for the Torr scenic road and took it.  The road, built onto the mountainside, became even prettier, but narrower and steeper.  Cars could barely pass.  I took a pic of a school bus (!) heading into the hedge as a car approached.

The road was not only narrow but also extreme in pitch, climbing and diving, back and forth.  There were lots of sheep and cows on the green hills, decorated by yellow-blooming gorse bushes with hedgerows and farmhouses.

The Mull of Kintyre in Scotland, where Paul McCartney and his clan lived and wrote the first few Wings albums, came into view.  I found out later that the underlying rock is Precambrian, metamorphic, very hard rock.  This makes sense (fits in with the topography being anything but gentle).  I passed some extremely strong bike riders, and got some pix of them coming up a steep hill.  They weren’t all that pleased with their progress, but even the car was straining to get up some of these hills; their performance put my cycling abilities  to shame.  Decided to switch from Raspberries to Herman’s Hermits on the CD player.

Getting back on the A2, I stopped in Ballycastle (no castle) for photos of the interesting geology and river in the distance, with a sculpture of flying geese in the foreground, and a soft ice cream.  I find it hard to take the time to sit down and have a proper meal when I am on the go like this.  One ponders (not for long), should I do the rope bridge or have dinner somewhere?  The answer is obvious.  I considered ordering the quiche, but it would have taken 10 minutes to heat (!) so I had the cone, admired the view, and was off again.

Just shy of Ballintoy, I got to the turnoff for Carrick a Rede rope bridge.  it's just a short steep ride down to the carpark.  There is an entry fee. This involved a kilometer hilly and very scenic walk.  The cliffs was just gorgeous on this day.  Here's a video I shot:

Approach to Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge



Getting to the bridge, the fellow manning it (the traffic cop who makes sure no more than 8 people would be on the bridge at one time and makes sure that no big lines in either direction would form) graciously helped me take pictures of myself.  Eventually, I set up the tripod and did some myself, using time delay, with various angles.

Though there had been a lot of build up, compared with some other similar rope bridge adventures, two in British Columbia, including the Capilano suspension bridge over a deep gorge, the Carrick a Rede was shorter, but the scenery was, by far, the best.  The shoreline and offshore island, connected by the bridge, are cliffs with lots of little nooks and crannies for birds to hang out.  And there were Lots.  They could be heard far away as we walked towards the bridge.  Got some shots of a trio of guillemots (razorbills.. protected in the US since 1918).

There were lots of gulls as well.  After crossing the bridge and climbing to the top of the offshore island, I captured a 360 video from the top.  It was not easy footing, with lots of rocks to navigate, steep trails, and I was a bit surprised to see a large Arab family, with the father hanging onto a tiny infant totally wrapped, not even strapped to his body.  He said the baby was 3 or 4 pounds!

By this time I was in shorts, the temperature having risen and still no clouds in the sky, no wind.  The Irish were knocked out by the string of really nice days, and I was quite happy it was that way, and not foggy or rainy.  It made the photography so spectacular!

Here is the 360 degree video I took from the top of the Carrick-a-Rede Island.

Carrick-a-Rede Island Video

Upon returning to the carpark, getting close to 6pm, I had a cloudy apple cider and a raisin scone at the cottage (that was dinner) and raced along the causeway route to The Giant’s Causeway.   This is a geological formation where intrusive molten rock (basalt) formed hexagonal columns upon cooling.  The perfection of the columns and extent of the formation make this a pretty rare occurrence on earth.

I got there after 6, too late to get into the visitor center with the geologic history about the rock formation, but the rocks, themselves, are always open.  In the US, they’d close it off, put an entry fee on it, put fences around it, allow ice cream trucks in, and pretty much trash it.  I appreciated how the areas around the rope bridge and these rocks, parking and tourist stuff is kept 1 km away, leaving people the beautiful unspoiled view.  To get to the rocks entailed another walk, not quite as hilly with the waves crashing on the shore, and colored cliffs above.  They have a bus to take people along the special road, but that stopped running before I got there.  No matter, it was a lovely walk.



The sun sets at 10 in this part of Ireland near solstice, so the sun was in the northwest.  I clambered onto some of the rocks, and did another video – about 270 degrees.  The basalt was not uniform in color.. some grey, some brown, some off-white, indicating variations in composition.

The Giant's CausewayThere is also an oral history involving giant Finn McCool, and Scotland, which I can’t quite remember.  That’s why it’s named Giant’s Causeway.  It was quite enjoyable hanging out on the rocks.  I had 1/5 of a chocolate bar and some water, watching the waves crash on the rugged shore.  I did attempt to get out onto the “point”, but it wasn’t clear how to get there.  I tried scaling rocks going around the edge, where water met the rocks, and then climbing to the top, at the recommendation of a young fellow who said it got flatter on top (no, it didn’t!).  Here's a video to give you a feel for the landscape.

The Giant's Causeway Video

But I couldn’t tarry a really long time, I probably spent an hour there, but had to come back to find my way to the Pinetrees B&B in Ballymoney.  It was maybe 15 miles away inland, and the phone I’d bought came in handy to call them and get directions… three times.  It seems in the British Isles, because the roads wind around so much, and signage often leaves out critical information, you can go off in a wrong direction, and then you’re done without map or other help.  But I was told that the people are particularly helpful in Ireland, and I’ve gotten lots of good quality help from other drivers and pedestrians.. much moreso than I remember getting in Scotland or England in similar situations (people didn’t even know local geography sometimes – like the street they were standing on…  ).  Tonight, a lady not only knew how to direct me to Ballymoney, a few miles away, but even knew the new police station that was a block from the Pinetrees B&B.   It was still light out around 9 when I pulled in, and the place was gorgeous.  Wood, decorative glass doors, lovely furnishings, and in the morning, the blooming trees out front and back, just breathtaking.  The hostess, I knew, was a gem from the day I booked telling me her place wasn’t that easy to get to from Giant’s Causeway without a car.  So after arriving, this night she gave directions for me to go on foot to one of the few places I could still get some dinner, as I was running on empty at this point.  Got a veg burger as I was decidedly low on fruits and veg at this point.