Glens of Antrim and Giant's Causeway

Started today with a gloomy wet and windy morning, and it steadily progressed to wet and freezing cold. But it was a good day.

We picked up our local guide for the Belfast tour, and this time we were taken around and shown all the usual tourist spots. We started by driving past the Parliament for the North called Stormonton - also the name of our hotel. It was situated within an enormous park, and I know I should've known it, but I was surprised to see the Union Jack flying from the top of the building.

Northern Ireland parliament - Stormonton

The tour was quite informative, but I was hoping we might get taken into the area where "The Troubles" took place, but that was not to be. We were given a broad general look at things, and shown a few significant places, but I suspect they're trying to put all that behind them and not highlight the immediate past. We didn't stop the bus for any photos, which was a bit disappointing, because we were all keen to photograph some of the more famous landmarks.

We were also taken to see Queen's University and that was quite impressive, but the day was so cold and gloomy that we wereall glad to get back on the bus again.

Queen's University Belfast

The next part of the day provided the real highlight however.. the drive along the Antrim coast. It was just spectacular. We were driving so close to the ocean that sometimes the spray from the waves would hit the bus. It reminded me a bit of the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, but it was much closer to the water than that. As we drove through the Glens of Antrim we had these massive hills on our left and the ocean on our right. The view was just spectacular. We stopped a few times to take photos, and the wind was whipping the rain into your face, making the wind chill factor very significant. It seemed almost appropriate to have a wild, windy day whilst driving along that coastline.

Rope Bridge Antrim Coast

The scenery reminded me slightly of Cape Shanck, on the Victorian Coast at the back of the Mornington Peninsula. We used to have an annual holiday at Sorrento, and when it was an overcast day we always seemed to take off to Cape Shanck, because the weather matched the mood of the place. The scenery at Antrim was so majestic, it was breathtaking. I was wishing I was in a car instead of the bus, because you can only see so much in a bus. But I'm so glad I've seen it.

Antrim Coast

We finished up at The Giant's Causeway. Legend has it that this was the place where the giant Finn McCool used to embark onhis trip to Scotland (16 miles away across the water) to see his mistress. The story goes that Finn's mistress was alsomarried, and the husband came home unexpectedly and almost caught Finn in a compromising situation. So Finn escaped back to Ireland and told his mother not to ask questions, just to do what he asked. Anyway the Scottish Giant came bursting into Finn's house, and Finn's mother told the giant to go quietly because he would wake the baby. (Finn in disguise!) The story goes on to say that the Scottish Giant said that if this what what the baby was like, he wouldn't want to meet the Father, so he went back to Scotland, never to be seen again.



The scenery at the Giant's Causeway was again truly magnificent. The rugged coastline, and the unusual rock formations were complemented by the hills that swept down to the sea.




Then tonight after our arrival in Derry we all went out for dinner, which was lovely. Tomorrow we do the walking tour around the walls. They no longer call this Derry (Catholic version) or Londonderry (Protestant version), because they are seriously trying to heal the rifts caused by all those years of fighting. It is now simply called "The Walled City".

We have a two night stay here in Derry, so I'm off to do my washing now. On to the practicalities of life....