Anyway, we were on the road headed north about 11am, but a little turned around in City Centre, so probably not REALLY on our way til closer to 1130! We went up the interior and went straight to Giant's Causeway. We had a quick lunch at the cafe there and then off for hiking! It was another absolutely stunning day weather-wise, and the views were stupendous. We could see all of the islands off the coast, best visibility I've experienced up there. We walked down to the main part of the Causeway, explored some really cool tide pools where we saw shrimp, fish, and anemones, and then past the Giant's Boot and along the path to the amphitheater. Really grand... We came back up the ~130 steps to the cliff-path back to the visitor's centre. SUCH gorgeous vistas, can't say enough about it. I had only been to GC one other time, back in April, and it had been pretty cold and windy that day and Watson hadn't wanted to walk. So, I had only gone as far as the Boot that day and then taken the bus back to the centre with Watson. This was a very different experience! Interestingly, I'd guess that there were the same number of visitors during both visits... Really not an overly busy place.
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| the "boot" |
Anyway, Holly bought a blanket there and I picked up a print of the rocks that Jubin, Watson, and I had all admired on a previous visit. Back in the car, and off to Dunluce Castle. I've already been twice, so I sat outside at the neighboring cafe, had a capucinno, and wrote parts of my blog while Holly explored. I cannot remember the last time I sat outside and thought and wrote, uninterrupted - so nice!
Next stop - Rope Bridge or bust! I love this short, hike...Only 1 km each way, a rope bridge from the mainland to a little island that has amazing views of the Sea and birds nesting in the cliffs. So very cool. The past times I had been there, I had had kids with me, so was pretty conservative about how close I got to the edge of the cliffs (no railing on the island) and how much time I spent there. This time, I sat down and looked through Holly's binocs at the Guillimots and Gulls and really took in the experience. Holly really enjoyed it too, and we just kept saying how lucky we were to have had such amazing weather three days in a row.
About 7pm, we piled back into the car totally exhausted. What an amazing day! Luckily our B&B was close by. We stayed at the Kinbane Farmhouse B&B (http://www.kinbane.com/) near Kinbane Head. Derek Moy found this B&B when he was doing research on accomodation on the Antrim Coast. It is between Ballintoy and Ballycastle, so in a very good location for those wanting to do Rathlin Island while up North. The B&B is a working farm (seemed like a large one!) with lots of cows, tractors, etc... The woman we dealt with (Nan) was very nice, the room was clean and had its own bathroom, and the breakfast was great. The only parts that weren't great? Hard, hard beds and bad internet/phone coverage. But, again, can't have it all! And, hard beds are really common in the UK/ROI.
We were SO tired...but, after checking in, we jumped back in the car and got supper at the Central Wine Bar in Ballycastle - this place was suggested to us by Grace's parents (her Mum grew up in Ballycastle) and by Nan. It was good - we got traditional./local fare and watched the World Cup before limping off to our B&B for some shut eye. Unfortunately, we both got a 2nd wind as we were getting ready for bed, so we didn't go to sleep until nearly midnight and then didn't sleep all that well on the hard beds...oh well!
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