9/19: Picture Perfect Game of Throne Sights near Portrush, Northern Ireland!

After another great day seeing the sights on the western part of the Antrim Coast of Northern Ireland, we made our way in the early morning fog from Portrush further east along the coast the short distance to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge.

We were lucky that the fog burned off quickly so we had more striking views of the craggy headlands and windswept cliffs that we had so enjoyed yesterday. On our hike to the bridge we spotted Sheep Island and, in the distance, some of the Scottish isles.

We were extremely fortunate being the first ones to arrive at the entrance to the bridge as we had plenty of time to take photos before anyone else got in the shots! The bridge crossed a 20 meter wide chasm 30 meters above the sea. For over 350 years, salmon fishermen had strung a rope bridge above the sea to allow them to access the best places to catch the migrating salmon from the rocky island. 

We sure didn't mind waiting a few minutes while the Office of Public Works employees walked back and forth across the bridge to make sure it was secure! It wasn't at all rickety but I was very glad there was no hint of a breeze as it still swayed as I walked cautiously across above the crystal clear blue green water. 

Once there was only a single hand rope that the fishermen used to cross daily, carrying their catch and fishing gear, and only needing one hand to guide them. The fishery only operated in the summer. The rope bridge was dismantled and stored in winter. 

Carrick-a-Rede's deep waters were once alive with salmon making their way year after year back up river to spawn. On a good day, as many as 300 might have been trapped in the nets that were spread out from the tiny island. The salmon fishery survived for over 350 years. In its heyday, it would have employed over a hundred men. From the late 18th century, ice was used as a preservative enabling salmon caught on the north coast to be exported fresh to markets in Liverpool and further afield. Sadly, with the disappearance of the salmon all that remained were the memories and remnants of those earlier times - the  tiny fisherman's cottage, the ropes, nets and buoys. 

After we reached the wee Carrick-a-Rede Island, there was a sign congratulating us for making it! It also cautioned us it was a wild place where we might be able to see  thousands of seabirds including guillemots, razorbills and fulmars. But, not being bird enthusiasts, we wouldn't know one from another, unfortunately! 

This was the only fisherman's cottage on the island. The salmon fishermen faced many challenges here as they had to let a boat down into foaming water, to stretch their nets across the salmon 'road' and then later to winch the boat and catch back up. 

We considered ourselves very fortunate not having to lug a heavy basket of fish across the bridge as the fishermen and the women and children who worked with them would have done. The Atlantic salmon has declined so much that it is now an endangered species. 

The columns of rocks looked much like the basalt rocks we'd seen the previous day at Giant's Causeway. 

It was so warm out, we just sat on this rock for ages as Steven stated it was the most comfortable rock he'd ever laid on because it was perfectly contoured to his body. We later joked we'd be the only people returning from a trip to Ireland with suntans!

The sea along this part of the coast was a beautiful blue in the calm, sunny weather on the west side of the island. 

On the east side of the island the deeper water was a gorgeous shade of green.

Later, we watched, entranced, as a pod of bottlenose dolphins made their way around the headland!

When we finally left the island, we had to wait while people on both sides of the rope bridge took turns to cross as only eight people could be on it at a time. There wasn't time for any selfies then, that was for sure, as the tour buses had also discovered this island paradise !

  

We then took the narrowest of roads a long distance from the clifftop as it snaked down to Torr Head, the closest point in Ireland to Scotland, a dozen miles away across the Sea of Moyle. The name 'Torr' in local Gaelic meant a mound or large pile. This large ruin just before the head at one time provided accommodation for off-duty coastguards but it was burned down by the Irish Republican Army in the Irish War of Independence in 1922 as they feared it would be used to billet British troops. The building was abandoned afterwards. 

I'm sure you figured the white dots were sheep!

Behind Steven was Scotland, which we'd be touring in several days.

The old coastguard station on the headland was built in 1922 and acted as a Lloyd's Signal Station for shipping. 

On the advice of a very friendly Irishman we chatted with at Torr Head, we 'detoured' to Murlough Bay where sheep outnumbered people by about a hundred to one!

There was a sign indicating the show Game of Thrones had been filmed in various locations here on Ireland's northeastern coast. If you're Thrones fans, you'll be interested knowing that this location by Murlough Bay was used for a scene in the Stormlands between the brothers Stannis and Renly Baratheon. 

We found some more rocks to rest on, taking in the tranquil scene overlooking the bay with nary a person around. It was so warm it was one of the first days all trips I could have worn one of the skorts I had optimistically brought with me.

The cross by the bay had been erected by supporters of Irish nationalism after one of their own died in 1921 during the war for the country's independence from Britain.

We finally continued driving further south along the Antrim Coast to the conservation village of Cushendun that had been protected by the National Trust since 1954. 

We just happened to follow another couple walk past the homes, saw an opening in the rocks and began exploring the intriguing rock formations and then the caves by the small harbor. If we hadn't noticed the couple walking, we would have missed out on this great experience altogether.

Cushendun Caves were used as a location near Storm's End in the Stormlands in Season Two of the HBO miniseries Game of Thrones. 

Geologists would have had a field day with the amazing rocks that looked like they'd been glued to the wall face at an entrance to one of the caves. To me it looked like it had a really bad case of acne! We remarked we'd never seen anything like this before. 

With the town's ferry port, just a stone's throw from Scotland, Cushendun has been attracting visitors for thousands of years for its charming architecture, castle and churches. I could certainly see why this special place was a favorite of artists, poets and writers. 

Then, for almost the first time all trip, we headed inland across the hills to view The Dark Hedges in Ballymoney, a place we'd been recommended to visit by our wonderful hosts at the Lillikoi B&B in Derry, a few days previously. Steven and I hadn't heard about it  before but the Dark Hedges was one of the most photographed natural phenomena in Northern Ireland! This highly acclaimed avenue of beech trees that had been planted by the Stuart family in the late 18th century had been voted one of the top five 'tree tunnels' in the world. To think I have lived 65 years and never heard of a vote on the best tree tunnels before - what have I been missing?!!

The 150 trees Stuart had planted were intended as a compelling landscape feature to impress visitors as they approached Gracehill House built in 1775 by James Stuart and named after his wife, Grace Lynd. What a spectacular fusion of light and shadow the tunnel created.

In 2014, a survey was conducted of 94 beech trees in the Dark Hedges and it was discovered they ranged in age from mature to post mature which is estimated to be about 300-350 years. The lifespan of a a typical beech tree is about 150-200 years. Mature trees grow to a height of more than 40 meters and develop a huge  domed crown. Both male and female flowers grow on the same tree in April and May.

The ethereal tunnel of ancient beech trees had also been featured as the Kings Road in Game of Thrones.

I figured the beautiful rolling hills and farmlands on either side of the Dark Hedges were also part of the vast estate.

Too bad we never saw a gallery anywhere in Northern Ireland that had any oil paintings of the Dark Hedges, as I would have bought one in a heartbeat I found them positively captivating. 

The farmlands along the coast reminded us of Amish country we have spent so much time in over many summers in rural Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. We kept seeing signs with place names beginning with Bally: Ballycastle, Ballintoy, Ballintea, Ballinkenner, etc and wondered what the meaning of 'Bally' was.

The gates by the quaint parish church in the community of Ballintoy were erected in honor of Aeneas Glass in 1937 and dedicated to the glory of God. 

The remarkable shoreline of this area with its towering cliffs, ancient caves and natural grasslands was home to a wide range of seabirds and rare plants.

The Ballintoy harbor was once a hive of activity, with schooners waiting to take away the products of local industries, such as burned limestone and sett or paving stones for export to the major ports of the British Isles.

The lime kiln was an important reason the harbor, itself built with limestone blocks, was constructed in the 1700s and redeveloped a century later. White limestone was quarried near here and exported as crushed stones or burned in kilns like this. It took about a week to load the kiln, fire and cool the burned lime products, whose uses included agricultural fertilizer.

In the later 1800s, sett stones, hewed in nearby quarries, were exported from Ballintoy to pave the streets of fast-growing industrial cities like Dublin and Liverpool. Over 100 men worked at the Brockie Quarry nearby, chipping and shaping the sett stones. A small railway transported the stones to the quay for loading onto the boats. 

Surprise, surprise, little Ballintoy was also used as a location in the Game of Thrones in a couple of episodes in Season 6!

At the end of what had been a perfect day from beginning to end, we headed to the town of Bushmills hoping to get some dinner and do some window shopping. The town square was as picturesque as it comes but it and almost the entire town was dead as a door nail by 6 pm!

Walking down the main street there was no mistaking that we were in the United Kingdom and definitely not the Republic of Ireland with all the Union Jacks flying and the banners showing allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II!

The Court House in Bushmills was built by the Macnaughten family in 1834 as a Petty Session Court and continued in use until well into the last century.

A very amusing take on the Causeway Coast!

Just out of town was the famous Bushmills Distillery, Ireland's oldest working one that dated from 1608. We were way too late for a guided tour but stopped to admire the distillery from the parking lot. 

Next post: Onto Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland.

Posted on a gloriously sunny afternoon on October 28th, 2019, in Denver after an overnight snowstorm left the roads treacherous this morning - how blessed we are to live here.