Hal and Nancy's visit

The Antrim Coast


















































On Wednesday afternoon, after touring Belfast, we drove to Antrim, arriving via a great back way laid out for us by a taxi driver in Belfast. Our B&B was again lovely with very welcoming hosts. We had a good dinner at Viscount O' Neill's. Thursday morning we took a short spin by the loch (lake). An interesting thing we learned - the Northern Ireland accent sounds very Scottish to us - they, of course, have very close ties. We had some trouble understanding a few people, and had to listen closely! We then headed off to the Antrim coast, which we were told was second only to Kerry, and maybe first on a clear day. We certainly had clear days all the way, and it is beautiful, but I'm partial to Kerry! We stopped several times for beautiful views along the way (see pictures) - note that we now have 2 1/2 photographers along - Dana the pro, Hal the excellent amateur, and MFE with new digital camera to record "record shots!. We had constantly been told about the Giant's Causeway along the coast - a myth about a giant who laid stepping stones from Scotland to Ireland. We did tour it, and we all agreed that the pictures we have are more spectacular than we found the actual site! It was nice, but nothing compared to other sites along the way!

After that, we headed south, with a major stop at Bushmill's Distillery. Dana is now a certified Bushmill's taster, having volunteered from our tour group. Note also the church - the name of the village is Bushmill's! I (MFE) drove the rest of the way - he was capable, but I had volunteered to do so if we went to Bushmill's!. The challenging part was through (London)Derry - many, many roundabouts and lots of traffic. Glad I had good navigators! We learned that the name of this town was traditionally Derry, and the English added the London, so it is sort of a political statement as to what you call it! We made it to Donegal, but had to have dinner before checking in to our B&B, as it was Maunday Thursday and she was attending Mass. This was a nice B&B, but we weren't there very long! Friday morning we walked along the river bank in Donegal City and looked around the town a bit. There's much more of County Donegal to see - next trip! We have here a picture of the Presbyterian Church - we saw a lot of them in Northern Ireland, but this is the first one I'd seen in the Republic - though there are a few scattered around! We couldn't get a picture of the sign - as Dana shot the pic, the minister drove in and reported that the sign blew down last week -oh well!

We headed south and the last stop was the Beleek Factory. This was a jog east, back into Northern Ireland (just barely), so H&N could spend their last pounds with no problem! No tours because of Good Friday, but still interesting and great stuff! Then straight home to Tralee.