Continuing from where the last post left off...On Sunday, we hopped in our super cool rental mini-bus and headed along the Coastal Road to Derry/Londonderry. We took the entire day for what is usually a three-hour drive because we stopped at a bunch of fantastic places. First, we went on a tour of Carrickfergus Castle, which, for all you history buffs, was built in the 1100s I believe. The tour guide this time was great; she was clearly really into the history of the place and even mentioned her hobby of jousting, swordfighting, and archery. There's someone who takes her job seriously. The castle itself was pretty amazing, right on the ocean with stunning views.
We continued our drive through a number of little villages, up into the still snow-covered hills, and along cliffs over the green ocean. Picturesque doesn't begin to describe it. We stopped in a small village on the water for lunch. Fish and chips were in order and they were pretty damn good (as well they should be considering the proximity of the ocean). The long drive continued. We tried (unsuccessfully) to find the castle in Ballycastle, which, apparently, doesn't exist. But we did find some other pretty amazing castle ruins right on a cliff. There was a brief stop at the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge, which we unfortunately didn't have time to go over but we walked the nearby cliffs and took an excessive number of photos of the unbelievable views. Our last stop was at Giant's Causeway. It doesn't sound all that exciting--a bunch of oddly shaped rocks--but it is quite an impressive spot and the rocks are, shockingly, kind of interesting. Plus, I'm a sucker for anything directly on the ocean.
By the time we actually arrived in Derry it was rather late so we checked into our bohemian-esque hostel, scarfed down some dinner at a Wetherspoon's, and popped into a local pub for the night. We met some interesting characters and had a few drinks. Irish whiskey for me of course, and I am extremely proud to report that my propensity for whiskey on the rocks successfully impressed a couple of Irish blokes. Life goal achieved. After the drinks a few of us took a stroll down to see the Peace Bridge which was quite pretty at night.
For our final day in Northern Ireland we had a whirlwind tour of Derry/Londonderry. Bright and early, a few of us trekked over to the 'Protestant side' of the city to see some unionist murals which were really interesting. Then we went back over the bridge to see the ancient city walls around what is historically the city's Catholic community. We also got a very interesting tour of the nationalist murals around the area where Bloody Sunday occurred. Again, really fascinating stuff (for conflict or history buffs anyway). After this it was back in the mini-bus, back to Belfast briefly, and back to London.
Even after such a short trip, I can enthusiastically say that the people in Northern Ireland overall are so helpful and friendly that despite the country's history of conflict, it really is a wonderful place to visit. It's so fascinating to go to a place that has experienced so many problems and tragedies but is still so welcoming and engaging. Hopefully I'll be back again soon.
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