NORTHERN IRELAND

The drive from Dublin to our destination in Northern Ireland took most of the day.  We got to Bainbridge outside Belfast at lunchtime so found a parking area where a gentleman gave us his time ticket so we did not have to pay.

We found a tourist office and then a deli to have lunch.

Our final drive to Bushmills was easy.  We had a few glitches getting into the property, though.  The key box was difficult to open and after we solved that, the door wouldn't open.  We did, however, finally get in.

The flat has plenty of space with living areas downstairs and the bedrooms upstairs.

The back looks over the Bushmills distillery.

There are all necessary facilities, dishwasher and washer/dryer.  So I have been catching up on clean clothes.

We went to a local supermarket and bought some supplies so we could avoid restaurant food for a while.  Then home again for the night.

The next day we had a leisurely morning and then drove to Londonderry/Derry in time for lunch.

Finally we found a pub with traditional roast on Sunday so in we went.

Roast beef with Yorkshire pudding.

Lunch finished, we walked outside the walls of the city to Bogside, the place where the attack which is highlighted in U2's song, Sunday, Bloody Sunday, took place.  Northern Ireland was known for the troubles, sectarian violence, until the peace process took effect in the late 1990s.  It was sad to see that several young men lost their lives in that fight.

We saw the famous murals in the area known as Free Derry.

The Sunday,Bloody Sunday memorial.

We then walked back inside the walls.  There are some old sites but most of the original churches are no longer visible.

We drove outside the walls and found murals from the other side of the conflict.

Time to drive home.

The final day in Northern Ireland was spent at the Giant's Causeway and Carrick-a-Reed rope bridge.

First stop, Giant's Causeway.  We drove into the car park near the Visitor's centre and then bought tickets.  We joined a guided tour which was very informative.

The walk down took about an hour because of the explanations along the way.

We got to walk among the stones.

We had lunch and then moved on to Carrick a Rede rope bridge.  

It was a long walk to the small bridge but I did it.

Going back was even harder,  more hills to climb and steps to walk up.

After that, we drove to find the grove of trees which is used in the TV show, Game of Thrones.  We found it.

Enough for one day.

Tomorrow we head south, back to Eire.