The Gobbins

I did nothing today b/c I was so tired from swing dance lessons. So I’ll get a jump on tomorrow, when I spent the day at The Gobbins, an engineered coastal walk. I took this photo on the walk from the Ballycarry train station to Islandmagee, which isn’t exactly an island.

The path was built in 1901-1902 to attract tourists from Belfast, which at the time was heavily polluted. Families would take the train up the north coast to get some fresh air and go to any number of attractions--beaches, waterfalls in the Glens of Antrim, amusements such as those pictured Saturday in Portrush. This photo is of the first bridge on The Gobbins trail.

And this photo is looking down the coast to Blackhead lighthouse barely visible in the distance.

Here we have a Raven and a sailboat.

Our tour guide said it was the first raven he’d seen this year. We also had a grey seal accompany us on our walk. The fishing boats feed him so he doesn’t leave the coast. He bobbed up and down as we made our way along the path, keeping an eye out for any fish tossing. Our guide said the way to tell a grey seal from a harbour seal is the facial profile. Greys look like Labradors and harbours look like Cavalier King Charles Spaniels.
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