Portrush
Day 11 - July 5, 2017
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We're heading into Northern Ireland today with our destination the seaside resort town of Portrush. Our first stop, however, was a peek at the grave site of poet W. B. Yeats. William Butler Yeats is buried in the Protestant churchyard, Drumcliff, Co. Sligo, Ireland. Yeats was born in Dublin into an artistic family. His father John B. Yeats was a painter and so was his brother Jack B. Yeats. Yeats himself studied at the Dublin School of Art. Take a look at some pictures to the left.
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After our Yeats visit, we continued to Portrush with a stop in Donegal Town for lunch and a quick look around town. Some pictures are to the right.
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Our last stop before arriving in Portrush was Derry (If you're a Nationalist) or Londonderry (If you're a Unionist). We met our local guide, Charlene, who took us on a tour of Derry sharing stories about "The Troubles" and the infamous "Bloody Sunday" of 1972. Derry has a dual heritage of Catholic and Protestant; nationalists and unionists. One side wishes to form a united Ireland, and the other side wants Northern Ireland to remain in the United Kingdom. Put into its simplest terms, this was the main conflict behind "The Troubles" or the Northern Ireland conflict that started in the 1960s. A few pictures of this tour are on the left.
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We arrived in Portrush. Portrush became a resort town in the late 1800's. Although it has seen its better days, it retains the atmosphere of a seaside resort. Its history and large population of students from the nearby University of Ulster at Coleraine give the town some personality. It is located on the Antrim Coast, the northern part of Northern Ireland. Its coastline is very scenic and is a great base for exploring some of the highlights on the Antrim Coast which we will do tomorrow. Have a look at some pictures to the right.
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Day 12 - July 6, 2017
There is a lot of activity packed into our day today as we explore Nothern Ireland's spectacular Antrim Coast. Our first stop was the "Giant's Causeway". This is a five-mile-long coastline that is a World Heritage Site. It is famous for the intriguing basalt hexagonal pillars caused by volcanic action 60 million years ago. Take a look at some pictures to the right.
Of course, local legend has it that a giant warrior named Finn MacCool built a stone bridge to Scotland to spy on the Scottish giant but he was much larger so Finn MacCool knocked down the bridge. This causeway is all that remains. |
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Our next stop was for a tour and taste at Old Bushmills Distillery. Bushmills claims to be the world's oldest distillery. We toured the distillery to discover how Irish whiskey is made. Of course, the guide pointed out that Irish Whiskey is triple distilled and therefore much smoother than Scotch whisky which is distilled only twice and is missing the e in whisky. The highlight was sipping your choice of a glass of whiskey in the 1608 Bar which was the former malt barn. Take a look at some pictures to the left.
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Our next destination was the cliff-top ruins of Dunluce Castle which sits on the edge of a rocky headland. On a stormy night in 1639, dinner was interrupted when half of the kitchen fell into the sea taking the servants with it. After that, the lady of the castle had enough. The countess of Antrim packed up and moved inland. Thus began the slow decline of the castle to nature's forces. Some pictures of Dunluce Castle visit are shown to the right.
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Our guide Cathie took us on an unexpected visit to the "Dark Hedge". This hedge was in the movie "Game of Thrones". Most of Ireland's trees were logged out, but these majestic trees still stand because they were owned by a rich landlord. They bordered his driveway. While there, we bumped into Liam Cunningham, an Irish actor from the "Game of Thrones" who happened to be visiting the scene from the movie. Take a look at some pictures to the left.
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Our final destination for the day was the Carrick-a-Rede rope footbridge where we tested our nerve crossing it. This was a really fun experience. Take a look at some pictures to the right.
For 200 years, this bridge (not this one- the original bridge was wooden planks held up by wire) was used by fishermen to reach their salmon fishing area between the coast and the island. The Island of Mull in Scotland is viewable from this area. |
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Tomorrow we head to our final destination, Belfast.