Completing my collection of “The British Isles” we went to Northern Ireland last summer for a quick 4 day break.  For a person who grew up in England under the ever-present shade of the IRA – bag searches and metal detectors at the entrance of all museums etc, going to Northern Ireland was somewhat of a big deal for me. It is now safe to visit so visit we did. And what a fabulous visit we had!

When: July 2014

Where: We spent 3 nights in Belfast and 1 night up on the northern coast at Giant’s Causeway.

How: We flew in and out of Belfast from England and hired a car to drive along the very scenic coastal route to the Causeway and back to Belfast.

Sights:

Belfast was fun, easy to get around with heaps to see and do. We went to the Science museum, the Ulster museum which was a lovely, eclectic collection of art, natural objects (including a couple of dinosaurs), we also enjoyed the hop-on-hop-off bus as a way to get around. The commentary gave us loads of history, which was fascinating for me. We hopped off at the Peace Wall and walked along the Unionist side, through the gate to the Republican side. Peace is here, but it is still a city divided – especially at night and at weekends when the gate is locked tight!  A stop in a pub for a pint of Guinness was also a must.

We did see more than the Peace Wall, however, this was the aspect of Belfast that had the most impact on me. We actually stopped to check that it would be OK to walk through the gates (it was), but it still felt strange. Especially as on the Unionist side the houses are quite removed from the wall – there is a road, fence and scrubland between the wall and residential buildings. On the Republican side, houses are built right up against the wall. It’s a very different feel indeed.

For our last 2 days we hired a car and drove up the beautiful coast towards Giant’s Causeway. I had always wanted to see this, despite Andrew reminding me that such hexagonal rock formations are present in Hong Kong and easy to see. On our way to the Causeway we stopped at the Carrick-a-Reed rope bridge – it’s bit of queue to go across and very windy, but it was fun.

View from the headland – Irelands north coast.

The Carrick-a-Reed bridge

Crossing the wobbly bridge.

Giant’s Causeway 

The Causeway was wonderful. The visitor’s centre is well done with lots of introductory video and interactive activities for kids. We took a tour which was fun and factual. I think I could have stayed for much longer just trying to get that ‘perfect picture’.

The Dark Hedges

Our last day was sadly very wet. T and A did explore a ruined castle while I stayed in the car and wrote postcards.  We did stop at a fantastic avenue of trees that looked like something straight out of a Tim Burton film!

The Dark Hedges near Ballymoney is a short stretch of road. Originally planted in the 18th century by the Stuart family to line the road toward their house the trees remain today as a tourist attraction and, to me, a work of art.

I highly recommend a trip to Northern Ireland and, if you have time, get out of Belfast to the north coast. The weather, being the British Isles, is unpredictable so expect some rain at some point.  The food is typical British pub grub fare – it helps if you like potatoes!