Derry, sister jaunt, and Cushendun

We are leaving Ireland tomorrow (*sigh*) and I am still trying to catch up on blogging! At our final B&B we have internet in our rooms with a fantastic signal - figures!

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A week ago today we headed off for a day in Derry. Strangely enough, 13 years ago when we were visiting the same city I had taken a picture of my parents in front of one of the gates to the city (the only completely walled city left in Ireland). My friend Anne Marie saw that photo and thought she recognized the place - hey! she said, my cousin has a pub right through that gate. So we thought it would be fun to visit that very pub on our trip this time!

Here is dad in front of the gate!



 And here is Anne Marie's cousin's pub!

 It must have been hilarious to see our group of eight troop in, climb the stairs to the second level and plop ourselves down at all the tables, prepared to have a nice lunch after our long drive. Then Gemma came upstairs and kindly told us they only serve drinks - no food. hee hee  We chatted, explained who we are, she gave us some direction to another place to eat and we were on our way again.

After we did find a bite to eat, we took a tour of Derry's walls (and had a bit of political commentary thrown in to the mix). Strolling along, we watched another dark tower of clouds move in over us and add a little rain to the atmosphere. Still an interesting excursion for everyone.

Walking the walls of Doire.

The Wee Church of Derry (Church of Ireland).

Miz C on the old walls.

The next day, Damian was flying to London and then home (a week before the rest of us). Kim and I drove him down the coast to the Belafast airport. The coastal route was so gorgeous that after saying a sad good bye to D we decided to return to Cushendun that way, passing through all the sea villages that border the glens of Antrim. In the village of Glenarm we happened upon signs pointing us to Glenarm Castle's walled gardens and tearoom. We stopped there and were delighted we did - it was a definite highlight of our week and allowed for some great sister time...

I love these gardens.

Viewing the gardens from the top of "the mount."



At the top of the mount....an interesting hill in the middle of the manicured gardens - left wild but with a mown pathway circling to the top.



Yum - our delicious tea. Kim had broccoli soup fresh from the castle's vegetable garden.

 

What are these? There were huge bushes full of these blossoms with a delicious, sweet scent but we could not find a sign telling us their name.

When we returned to Cushendun, we found mom and dad and the girls had had a nice relaxing day too and also been out to tea. The weather was back to irish sunshine and warmth again so we found the girls at the village playground and headed to the beach to enjoy some last moments in our favourite place.



Beside the playground in Cushendun.

Check out this video clip of Cass on the fun playground euipment...



Being silly on the beach.

 

Playing with friend, Scottie.

Relaxed and rejuvenated.

  The next day would see us depart for Aughnacloy and our mother and nanny's family!

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!

Giants and high adventure

Our second day had us setting out for two of the most well-known sites on Ireland's north coast - the Giant's Causeway and the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. Unexpectedly we also experienced the best of Irish summer weather that day - sunny and warm ...and as these two places require a significant amount of climbng and walking to see the best views, we could not have asked for better!

The Giant's Causeway is made up of many interlocking basalt columns - the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. The more exciting explanation though, is that the causeway is the result of a bridge made by the giant Finn McCool to allow him to reach and battle his enemy acorss the sea in Scotland. We all like the legendary explanation the best!  ;-)

Kim walking in a giant's footsteps.

Taking the cliff path and stairs to the top, rather than the easy route.




The view looking back down the path to the Giant's Causeway.

The Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge is just a short hop along the rocky coast and some of the most gorgeous photos I took this week were the result. It is a kilometre walk from the car park to the rope bridge, and we felt more like we were in a part of the caribbean than here in Northern Ireland.  Carrick-a-rede means rock in the road, and the narrow gap between the tiny island and the coast was just that...a stop in the salmon route each year. Fishermen for hundreds of years would string a rope bridge to the island to more easily catch the salmon passing by - now it is done only for the benefit of all the visitors to the area!

Florence would not cross the narrow swinging bridge, but stayed happily on the mainland while the rest of us ventured across. Once on the small islet and off the main path is a gorgeous grass-covered hill where people sat and rested after their trek ...staring out at the sea under the brilliant sky. Bryanna was desperate to get down to that aquamarine water and swim, it looked so enticing - but we held her back.

What a gorgeous day - the weather was not to hold but the next day would be as exciting and certainly more dramatic!