Whiskey, castle drama and peace

(We lost internet again, so another LONGdelay in posting. Grabbing a few minutes this afternoon to do more catch-up.)

I'm trying to catch up a bit here so am rolling 3 days into one post...I am writing about July 4-6 while surrounded by the activities of The Twelfth in Northern Ireland - many places closed today while large parades and bands and activities occur in many cities and towns.

But back to last week...Monday was rainy in the morning so we headed to Bushmills for a tour of their famous whiskey distillery. Kim and I enjoyed a hot toddy at the end while the other adults tasted various brands of straight whiskey - yowza! Kim and I asked for the hot toddy recipe, we were so enthralled. The younger crew just liked watching the bottling and boxing of this famous product!

The rain seemed to pass and we headed back along the coast road to Dunluce Castle, one of my favourite places from my last trip 13 years ago... I was excited to visit again with all our girls. Beautiful and dramatic atop the cliffs, we enjoyed exploring and imagining life here hundreds of years ago. The girls and I could see how C.S. Lewis could have been inspired by this awesome site to create the castle Cair Paravel in his Narnia series.



The terrific trio channeling their 18th century ancestors. Photo courtesy of talented b-i-l Damian Steel.

 

The family.  ;-) (Thanks to Kim's fancy timer.)



Courtesy Damian Steel.



Lianne fascinated by the history. Courtesy of  Damian.



Courtesy of my dear sister and her super camera.

The sun had been shining on us during our trip back in time, but dark black clouds moved in overhead in the brief moments that it took us to climb down the hill to see the sea entrance below the castle. Though we headed back up the steep flight of stone steps as quickly as possible, we were caught in a DELUGE - . it was warm though, and not much to do about it, so we just trudged to the top and took shelter in the tearoom. (Damian and Kim ran ahead and snapped photos of our approach across the car lot - helpless with laughter.)

Courtesy of Kim Thompson-Steel!



Thanks to b-i-l Damian Steel!

The next day was a quiet one in Cushendun - the trio played on the beach and we all relaxed. Late in the afternoon we headed to Cushendall - just a hop, skip and a jump along the road.  We followed our noses and some rather unclear signage to the Layd Church ruins. Another unexpected discovery - an absolutely idyllic and peaceful site in a tiny, grassy valley above the sea. The church dates back hundreds of years but has some very recent gravestones around it as well...obviously still an important church to families in the area.

Fun at the beach. See Uncle D against the fence?

 

Hanging out in front of Cushendall's oldest tower.



Climbing the steps to the Layd Church ruins.



Dad in Layd Church,




Running through the Layd Church churchyard.

A third relaxing day and K & D headed out on their own for as we watched the trio. Not much watching necessary as they were so happy to adventure out anywhere in the village. That evening was absolutely gorgeous and after a fantastic meal at Harry's Restaurant in Cushendall, we all walked up the hills behind our apartment - the views are extraordinary.


Girls with friend, Miriam.



Looking up the glen.



The hill lane above our home



Dad.

Looking over Cushendun bay from above our house.

Looking back at the photos from just a few days ago, the loveliness of it remains clear - I hope to return here many times! And if I win the lottery one day, I have found the international destination for my second home. ;-)

Next post will be Londonderry and a connection to our friends, the Devines!