Northen Ireland - Bushmills and Giant's Causeway

July 17, 2012

It would certainly be a crime to come to Ireland and not go for some whiskey tasting, so today we will make our way over to the town of Bushmills and the Old Bushmills Distillery to do just that.
We left Castlerock and went through some charming small villages all dressed up in their Protestant red, white and blue............

We made our way to Coleraine, where the University of Ulster is located. Coleraine sits on the coast and is one of those typical university towns with lots of hustle and bustle around every corner.

We continued up the coast from Coleraine and passed the Royal Portrush Golf Links course just along the edge of the ocean.  A beautiful sight indeed.

The town of Bushmills and the Old Bushmills Distillery are our next stop. Some background on the town, distillery and region:
The village of Bushmills (population about 1500) was originally called Portcaman but as the water-powered industries developed from the 1600's so did the village name. At least seven mills (corn and flax) were powered by the River Bush and two remain largely intact today.
By 1775 there were five licensed distilleries and in 2008 the most famous, 'Old Bushmills' (founded in 1608), celebrated 400 years of distilling in the district. Old Busmills is the oldest licensed distillery in the world. The village prospered during the 19th century due to the River Bush and the unusual number and variety of watermills, the success of the Old Bushmills Distillery and the development of the Giant's Causeway as a major tourist destination. The village has over 80 historically listed buildings.

The center of the village

The Old Bushmills Distillery

The entryway into the distillery. This is where we had to stop taking photos. The way they make their whiskey is top secret.

A lineup of the whiskey they offer here at the distillery.

A photo from just outside the main distillery building

Of course we had a chance to taste some very excellent whiskey at the end of our tour. Now, how to figure out getting that liquid through security at the airport :o)

As we walked around the village of Bushmills, we noticed these banners hanging all around town giving bits of popular culture history about the town and Ireland. Here is a WACKY history thing I never knew about the Beverly Hillbillies, an American TV show I used to watch in the 1960's when I was just a kid. As the sign reads: Hillbilly, The Ballad of Jed Clampett - Term given to the Ulster-Scots immigrants dwelling in the frontier areas of the Appalachain Mountains. Deriving from 17th century Ireland when protestant supporters of King William were known as 'Hill-Billies' and 'Billy-Boys'. WHO KNEW???

Here are the words to the theme song from the TV series:

Come and listen to a story about a man named Jed
A poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed,
Then one day he was shootin at some food,
And up through the ground came a bubblin crude.

Oil that is, black gold, Texas tea.

Well the first thing you know ol Jed's a millionaire,
Kinfolk said "Jed move away from there"
Said "Californy is the place you ought to be"
So they loaded up the truck and moved to Beverly.

Hills, that is. Swimmin pools, movie stars.

Well now its time to say goodby to Jed and all his kin.
And they would like to thank you folks fer kindly droppin in.
You're all invited back a gain to this locality
To have a heapin helpin of their hospitality

Hillybilly that is. Set a spell, Take your shoes off.

Y'all come back now, y'hear?.

and, here is a video of the song:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_XAPku7SgE
BRILLIANT!

A local pub, Finn MacCool's. You will hear more about him in the Giant's Causeway part of this post.

As we walked through town I snapped some photos of posters the town folk put up in the doors and windows of vacant buildings. This helps to keep the town from looking 'unoccupied' and run down.
You would think this is a real chicken in a doorway. It is just a poster.

A vacant house that is for sale. I think it is a fabulous idea to dress up the place with the posters in the windows.

The Giant's Causeway

It is no surprise this place is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A geological wonder with over 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the Giant's Causeway is the result of intense volcanic and geological activity 50 to 60 million years ago. The Causeway provides a glimpse into the Earth's most ancient past. An epic legacy to the cooling and shrinking of successive lava flows.
There are stunning walking trails along the Causeway coast with breathtaking views of jagged cliffs and bays lashed by wind and waves. You will see examples of this in some of the photos below.
The legend -  The Giant's Causeway is steeped in myth and legend. Carved from the coast by the mighty giant, Finn MacCool, who left behind an ancient home full of folklore. Local people here believe that between the hexagons, the mythical features carved out in the rocks and the tumbling sea, there's real magic. You may not always see it straightaway, but if you come to this place, stand on the stones, uncover the legends, use your imagination and just wait, it won't be long until you feel it. Very mysterious indeed.
Go here for more fascinating information on the Giant's Causeway: http://www.northantrim.com/giantscauseway.htm

Here you can see the main walking path along the water. This photo was taken from the path along the upper ridge.

We started our walk on the ridge path. It was a perfectly wonderful "claggy" (drippy, foggy, rainy) Irish day.

We came upon some milk cows along the ridge and I couldn't resist taking a movie of the girls.

Here you can see the very narrow walking path going along the middle of the cliffs. A walk not for the faint hearted.

In this video, I tried to capture how high we were on the ridge trail. It was really exciting looking down over the edge to the surf.

After our walk along the ridge trail, we made our way down to the the middle trail, closer to the water. There were portions of the trail that had slid away, as you can see here. We had to be very careful along this portion of the trail. It made our hike extra exciting!

A view of the basalt columns from above. One of the most unusual rock formations we had ever seen.

This photo is taken from the bottom of the columns looking up.

Here are some photos of the wild flora along the trails.

Our little Irish Black Arion slug friend :o)

 

Next post we hike around Castlerock, Downhill Demesne and you get to meet Charlie...............

Across The Pond - Northern Ireland up the coast

 July 16, 2012

As we made our way up the beautiful coast of Northern Ireland, we made a quick stop in a small fishing village to get a coffee and some fresh air.

While we were walking around this little village, Chris appeared with a local snack called Dulse that we just had to try. Dulse is an edible alga (seaweed) which grows widely along the shorelines of the North Atlantic. It has been harvested as a source of food for thousands of years, and continues to be popular in Northern Ireland, Iceland, and parts of Canada. I dove right into it as I like seaweed. This one is VERY chewy and tough and takes about 10 minutes to get soft enough to swallow. Even tough, it is pretty tasty (if you like the taste of the ocean) and the health benefits are huge.

Dulse

More of the coast as we came into Cushendall where we will have lunch.

The little village of Cushendall

We took a quick hike up to a vista point to get some exercise before we have lunch. We came upon this huge fuschia hedge about 10 ft tall and over 100 ft. long. We have never seen a fuschia so big.

Here is a great movie of the surrounding landscape in Cushendall. It's just beautiful.
(All that hard breathing from me is because we just hiked up a huge hill :o)

With all that hiking, we became really parched (thirsty in proper English) so we stepped right into this pub called Johnny Joe's for, what else, a Guinness.

The entire bar walls are covered with money from all over the world.

Here is old Abe between a 500 bill from Zaire, a 5 from Bank of Ireland (in Celtic) and a 100 from Oman.

After our Guinness, we stepped across the street to a seafood restaurant called Harry's. This place is known for it's REALLY GREAT seafood. YUM!

Bloody Mary Mussels with Garlic Dipping Bread. The most flavorful mussels we have EVER had. I'm not kidding. They were unbelievably delicious. I got the sauce recipe from the waitress :o)

 Fresh Maldon Oysters on the half shell. We had never had Malden oysters and are really, really, really, REALLY over the top delicious. Sad that we won't have them again until we come back here as they are from the British Isles. The Maldon is my next favorite oyster in the world next to the Kumamoto.

 Cesar Salad

...there was also Seafood Chowder, Grilled Goats Cheese with Burnt Red Peppers and Marmalade Glaze, etc. etc..........it was all really fabulous!

 We left Cushendall with full bellies and a happy heart and continued north, up the coast to Ballycastle.

On the edge of Ballycastle Golf Course is Bonamargy Friary and its fabulous ancient graveyard. I find graveyards fascinating and have stopped in many over the years during my travels. Here is a little history on this one:

 Bonamargy Friary is the ruin of a Franciscan friary founded by Rory McQuillan about 1500 and used until the mid seventeenth century. One of the last friaries to be built before the Reformation, it was approached by a small, two-storey gate-house. The friary church, originally roofed with thatch, is long and rectangular, and retains much of a fine east window. Against the south wall is a fine McNaughten tomb of 1630, and a low, holed cross at the western end is traditionally said to mark the grave of Julia McQuillan, a recluse nun who lived here in the 17th century. There is also a sealed vault which contains the coffins of several MacDonnell chiefs most well known locally was Sorley Boy resting in his massive coffin. In 1584, the church was burned when Irish and Scots attacked English troops quartered here, but the friars continued to use the church throughout much of the 17th century.
There is a stairwell leading to the roof but be careful not to step on the thirteenth step as this will incur a misfortune. When you reach the roof you will find an excellent view over the surrounding golf course, but be aware that only a few hundred years ago this beautiful place would have been the scene of many a vicious battle between the MacDonnells and the MacQuillans and many a courageous warrior was slain here.

There has just been a memorial day here so poppy wreaths are placed at the gravestones from The Great War.

A magnificent Celtic cross. Note the Irish harp carved just below the center.
And, look at the light!

 

Here is Chris standing at the sealed vault which contains the coffins of several MacDonnell chiefs.

 I stuck the camera lens through a crack in the door and here is what came out in the photo. Oh, the mysteries of the dark tomb!

Here is the stairwell that leads to the roof. We didn't go up there as it is said if you step on the thirteenth step you will incur a misfortune. :o)

Here is the really cool low, holed cross that marks the grave of Julia McQuillan, a recluse nun (the Black Nun) who lived here in the 17th century. Go here for an interesting tale about the Black Nun: http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/yourplaceandmine/antrim/A789285.shtml

This gravestone has an effigy with wings carving which signifies the flight of the soul.

(I did a bit of research on gravestone carvings and found a great document: Symbols On Gravestones And Their Interpretations, so I think I am getting these right).

We figured the skull and crossbones means this is the grave of a pirate. Arrrrrrgh! Actually,  it really symbolizes mortality.

 

Here is part of the Ballycastle golf club at the edge of the graveyard. We passed a number of Links courses on our journey. The Irish love their golf!

On our way further up the coast.........towards our destination in Castlerock.

Our B&B is just outside of Castlerock. Here is the view from our window. The B&B is also a horse stable where folks board their horses and ride.

The B&B

View of part of the stables from our back window

Wait until you see the beauty coming in my next post (and it is not us......).................