In the footsteps of giants

So today was North Antrim Coast day. We started with an Ulster fry breakfast at a nearby restaurant then drove north to Dunluce Castle near Portrush. Here are Meade & Erin at Dunluce:

While Erin looks tiny, it’s all relative: Meade is 6’7”. We enjoyed wandering through the ruins, which are pretty impressive given they date to something like 500 A.D.

The architecture was pretty impressive.

I got lost twice going to Dunluce with Jane and Assunta but I didn’t get lost today, a point of pride since I have no sense of direction and there are a lot of roundabouts.

Next up, Giant’s Causeway. Meade & Erin went for a 90-minute hike while I killed time in nearby Bushmills. Then I collected them and we went back to Bushmills for lunch at this pub:

Finn MacCool is the giant for whom the causeway is named. Something like he had a fight with a giant in Scotland and he smashed the causeway in between the two countries in anger. Meade & Erin took the Bushmills Distillery tour while I continued my exploration of Bushmills, which has more antique and art shops than I realised. I may even have bought a painting to add to my gallery--given that sterling is tanking, everything’s on sale (thanks Brexiteers!).
From there we made whistle stops at Whitepark Bay Beach and Ballintoy Harbour then we went to Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. While they did another the 90-minute hike to the bridge and then around the island and back, I planned to listen to the Northern Ireland match against Wales. As it happens, there was no radio reception, so I hung out in the cafe and chatted with a woman from Coleraine who was also waiting for a group of American visitors.

By this time it was 6:30 p.m. and there was still much to see along the Antrim Coast. I cut out Torr Head, which is a nightmare of a drive, and we caught the coast from Cushendun to Larne. By this time the sun was out and they had a lovely view back up the coast. The patchwork green fields were shimmering in the sunlight. By the time we got home, we weren’t long for our beds.
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