DAY 6 FRIDAY: GLENARIFF, QUEEN OF THE GLENS

After a comfortable night at The Meadows in Cushendall, we made the 15 minute drive to Glenariff  Forest Park within the nine Glens of Antrim.  We had a relaxed hike of about 6 miles with some ascending and descending, but nothing too challenging.  Rain threatened, so we were in and out of our rain gear, but the only actual fall was a gentle shower that the tree cover protected us from.  Still, one must be prepared and so, another shot of ultra haute couture for the trail:

Glenariff is known for its waterfalls, but some storm damage closed the main waterfall trail.  Still, we got some wonderful views of a few waterfalls and great vistas as well.

This was a good way to wrap up our 6 days of walking.  We're having a laid-back time at the B&B and will soon walk into Cushendall to poke around the few little shops and then meet the rest of the group for dinner at Harry's.  We've been fortunate to have such a congenial gang to spend our week with.

And what could be a more fitting farewell from this wonderful country than a rock wall tumbling with shamrocks?  Thank you, Ireland, for sharing your beauty and your wildness.  What a fantastic trip!

DAY 5 THURSDAY: CAUSEWAY COAST WAY

The sunny dry spell has truly broken - more rain today, but we are better prepared!  We arrived at the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge car park and suited up.  On went the oversized Frogg Togs rain pants.  Not very stylish, but they do the job.

The bridge was cool, but not as daunting or exciting as I thought it would be.  It takes you across to a small rock of an island which was traditionally used by salmon fishermen.  The spectacular views can be had without paying almost 6 pounds for a bridge ticket!  On to Ballintoy Harbour, a charming spot:

We left the Carrick-a-Rede car park (in the rain) and walked along the Causeway Coast Way, part of a larger trail system called the Ulster Way, to the harbour, and stopped there to eat our lunches.  Then on past a food truck, now closed, selling ice cream and dulse!  That's some kind of seaweed.  Not sure what form it took at the food truck.

This house was right by the harbour.  Would you guess, seeing the palm trees (which are all over Ireland as ornamentals) that this house is right on the North Atlantic Ocean? Looks like Florida!

 

Here's Lucy's little stand-in with Christopher, our guide, on the beach of White Park Bay.  The Causeway Coast Way goes along this beautiful beach.  If the tide is out as it was for us, you can scramble up some boulders at the other end of the 2 km stretch of beach to access another leg of the trail.  

We visited St. Gobban's church , the smallest church in Ireland - holds only 10 people!  Heavy weather and a trail blockage prevented us from going quite as far as originally planned, so we backtracked to the van and headed off to Cushendall.  Peeling off various layers of rain-soaked outerwear resulted in some fogged up windows for a while!

Here's a lovely little house in the village of Cushendall, the heart of the Antrim Glens.  Like many homes we've seen, it's got a jumble of flourishing flowers festooned around its yard and doorway.  Unlike anywhere we've been so far, these folks must be burning coal for some heat - see the smoke rising from the chimney?  There's also a bag of coal lying by their front door.  Wish we could stop by and hang up our damp clothes to dry at this house!

DAY 4 WEDNESDAY: GIANT'S CAUSEWAY

Crossed over into Northern Ireland and headed to the Giant's Causeway.  The visitors' centre and the area closest to it was crowded, although not as much as usual because no cruise ships were docked in Belfast today.  That adds big time to the numbers.  This Sunday they are expecting 3000 people to visit!!  Glad we're not going to be there then.  The visitors' centre, a new facility, was jammed nonetheless.  Christopher (our guide) led us in and we all stood inside for about 5 seconds and unanimously decided to turn around and exit immediately through the revolving doors.  We were anxious to hit the trail!  Christopher said every group he has brought here has done the same thing - he hasn't even seen much of the visitors' centre himself yet!  He didn't seem too bothered by that.

Fantastic walk today!  I'll post pictures tomorrow - we actually had a downpour during the last 45 minutes or so of the walk and we're currently plying the hair dryer, taking turns drying out stuff we need to use tomorrow!  So - stay tuned.
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Okay, I'm back!  Here's the part of the Giant's Causeway that gets mobbed by visitors.  It's a short but steep trek (or bus ride) down the hill from the aforementioned visitors' centre.

 There are over 40,000 interlocking hexagonal basalt columns, 60 million years of cooling and shrinking lava flows.  There's also a story involving an Irish giant, Finn McCool, that provides an additional explanation for their existence!

We climbed - a lot - to leave behind the water's edge and reach the top of the cliffs.  You can still see the columns, like vertically stacked logs, forming the headland in the background.

One of our group got a sudden inspiration to photograph me among the grasses atop the cliff.

The pastoral green pasture land lies on top of such wild, rocky underpinnings - the contrast is amazing.  Here's Deirdre, walking along in the last minutes of our rain-free mileage.  The skies opened shortly thereafter, resulting in the heavy hair dryer use mentioned above!

DAY 3 TUESDAY: Dunfanaghy, McSwyne's Gun Loop, Horn Head

Wow, what a day!  After a congenial and delicious breakfast at the B&B, we made the short trip to the car park for McSwyne's (pronounced McSweeney's) Gun Loop.  First stop: Tra Mohr beach - a bit redundant as Tra means beach in Gaelic.  Glorious wide strand along Curragh Harbour, surrounded by granite cliffs and outcroppings.

 

We walked from one end of the beach and back again, then scrambled back up the dune to rejoin the Gun Loop trail.  Lovely views of the beach and harbour from atop Marfagh Head.

 A wee bit of rain fell and the temperature dropped a tad, so more layers of clothing were called for, resulting in haute couture for the trail. 

Are my muscles aching?  Are my dogs barkin'?  Yes!  But I'm having a grand time nonetheless.  We have a congenial group, and great guide and beautiful country to walk through.  Not to mention a glass or a pint to hoist at trail's end.  Here's a pub photo for you, Ginny!  We didn't actually go there, but it's got a classic Irish look to it: Molly's in Dunfanaghy.

DAY 2 MONDAY: GLENVEAGH NATIONAL PARK

Second day and still no rain!  Nothing short of a miracle in Ireland, particularly the northwest of Ireland!  We pulled out of Donegal Town around 9:30am - a very subdued Donegal: they had lost the football championship the day before, despite being the odds-on favorite.  We headed north toward Letterkenny and over to Glenveagh National Park.

 

This is Lough Veagh, located in a beautiful remote valley.  In 1857, John George Adair created his estate on its banks.  In the process, he evicted some 244 tenants in the cold April of 1861.  Charming fellow.  The estate passed through 2 more owners before Henry McIlhenny of Philadelphia (yay!) bought it.  About 40 years later, he sold the lands to the Irish state, and in 1981 he presented the castle and gardens to the Irish nation.  What a guy!

Lucy perches on a wall in front of Glenveagh Castle

 The castle gardens are stunning and include a mixed flower garden, kitchen garden, rose garden, and Victorian Pleasure Garden (and likely a few others we missed).  This dicey looking character hangs out in the Victorian Pleasure Garden.  I refer, of course, to the character on the left.

DAY 1 SUNDAY: SLIEVE LEAGUE

FIRST DAY ON THE TRAIL!  We hiked Slieve League, "the highest and one of the finest marine sea cliffs in Europe."  For someone like me whose pre-trip get-in-shape training got as far as the good intentions stage, it was somewhat challenging, but hugely enjoyable.  The hike was about 8 miles with an elevation gain of 1275 feet, including some scrambling up rocks!  I was very grateful for the loan of walking poles from my pal Pat Northey.  Deirdre and I each used one and found it quite helpful.

Since actual Labrador Lucy could not accompany me, her stand-in is along for the trip.

It's a looooong way down!