Visited: Feb 2019
I've finally come to Ireland. It's been on my list for a while and with a sub 1 hour flight from London to Dublin why not. Penultimate part.
Day 3 - Derry to Belfast
Day 3 or Day Treee as the Irish would say started out with a quick run around in Derry / Londonderry. Why does it have two names??? Ireland has been back and forth between UK and Irish Gaelic control for years. With some Viking influence ever present. Short version of Irish history:
400-1200 AD - Wild Gaelic/Celtic kingdoms in the north (Ulster) and south (Munster) battling it out with each other. Vikings raiding/settling (Dublin - which Gaelic dubh linn or “black pool” due to its waters around the old castle), Leinster kings causing havoc, and barbarianism everywhere (barbarian apparently was a Greek word which was a derogatory term the Greeks used to describe Northern Europeans - they couldn't understand them and thought their language sounded like Bar, Bar, Bar... - now the Greeks are bartering with the Northern Europeans to save their financial hides!)
Also during that period - St Patrick and others help convert the barbarians to Christians. Monasteries - with lots of money and hence raided by the Vikings - pop up everywhere.
1200 - 1550 - Normans, English trying to subjugate the Irish and the island through force, politics and settlements. Limited success at times
1550- 1800 - Starting with Henry VIII (yes that guy) declares himself king of Ireland and thus starts more and more success in conquering the island for England and the UK. This period includes a mass immigration of English and Scottish people called The Plantation
1800 - 1919 - Act of the union officially created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Interestingly the romans called Ireland 'Little Britain' and then Hibernia when they realized it was cold. Suffice it to say this union was not fully supported in Ireland especially by the Catholics. Lots of fighting and arguing followed and led to the War of Irish Independence and the Irish Civil War right after
1920 - current - Most of Ireland became independent, however the mostly Protestant North (most of Ulster) voted to stay in the UK. There has been fighting over the years as a result of this, including "The Troubles" However things are mainly peaceful now. It seems like people sometimes try to talk to me about their views and I nod and smile, not wanting to get involved.
In any case, there is disagreement over what to call Derry/Londonderry. There was quite a bit of violence there during The Troubles. The city itself which is on the River Foyle is a blue collar city and has some very well known walls around the center of it.
Derry Walls, Cathedral, Peace Bridge and River Foyle.
Giant's Causeway
From Derry it was just over an hour to Giant's Causeway. What is Giant's Causeway?
"The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption.[3][4] It is located in County Antrim on the north coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (4.8 km) northeast of the town of Bushmills."
That's the official explanation anyway. The myth is about an Irish giant Finn McCool.
Finn is having trouble with someone across the water. The Scottish giant Benandonner is threatening Ireland. An enraged Finn grabs chunks of the Antrim coast and throws them into the sea. The rock forms a path for Finn to follow and teach Benandonner a lesson.
Bad idea – Benandonner is terrifyingly massive. Finn beats a hasty retreat, followed by the giant, only to be saved by our hero’s quick-thinking wife who disguised him as a baby. The angry Scot saw the baby and decided if the child was that big, the daddy must be really huge.
We may never know the true story. However the site is amazing. And I got in for free with my National Trust card! A GPS audio guide is provided and while not perfect it gave a decent explanation at most parts of the walk. Like the Cliffs of Moher you can make a day out of it by hiking far to either side. Also like the Cliffs you better love wind. Cold, cold wind.
The walk down itself was great. Game of Thrones did some filming in the area and you can see why. The bay on the walk down was lovely.
At the bottom right of the bay there is a V shape between the main hill and two small humps. Apparently that opening is the windiest spot in Ireland. If it's not then I don't want to see what is.
Walk around the site:
As you turn the corner and get through the windy opening you get a first glance of the causeway. And while you can see it doesn't stretch to Scotland it does stretch quite far out to sea. Even though I went early there were a ton of people hoping up and down the columns. Luckily the causeway part is quite large so you can find space away from people.
Walking closer to the top!
I managed to climb atop the causeway and snap a few photos while the path in front was somewhat clear.
All those lava filled columns made me thirsty so I headed back to the car and on to my next stop.
Carrickfergus Castle
If I had to pick a disappointment of the trip I would say it's this castle. Not that it isn't an interesting find but after other castles I've seen (Dover, Tower of London, Windsor,
Edinburgh, Sterling) it wasn't the top one overall. I also pumped it up in my head due to watching a show on it on Netflix called Great British Castles). There will be more on castles disappointments in my Dublin blog edition!
The castle was built in the late 12th century by Normans and while it never saw a major battle it was always a deterrent to entering Ireland from the northeast over the centuries - including threat of Vikings, Scots, Napoleon and the Germans. It was even visited by King John in the early 13th century. He stayed there for a week and apparently marked his spot.
More castles photos.
After an hour or so in the castle I headed off to Belfast for the last stop of the day!
Belfast
Much like Derry, Belfast had many violent acts during The Troubles. Fortunately much of that is behind them now and the city is a good sized vibrant place with much more to see than I expected. Unfortunately due to my late afternoon arrival time and early morning departure for Dublin I only had a small amount of time to see things there.
First things first off to the pub to watch the England / Wales game!
The pub was nice and I was able to look up a few things about rugby, just enough to get a sense of the importance of the 6 nations tournament.
I took out my phone to look up rugby stuff and 5 this popped up - baseball already!?!? - Also I found the rugby world ranking and while you can't see it in the men's world rankings below, after NZ is Ireland and England at 2,3, Wales is 4th France 10th and Italy 15. Canada is in the 20s if you're reading this from there.
I only managed to watch around half the Wales / England game (which Wales won) then walked around the city. Some things I saw:
City hall with Victoria (UK marking it's spots), Duke of York bar (and the street leading up to it), Belfast Cathedral and River Lagan.
Unfortunately not having enough time in Belfast I missed going into City Hall which is supposed to be beautiful. I also missed the Titanic Belfast Experience, HMS Caroline, Crumlin Road Gaol and Ulster Museum among other things.
I'll have to go back!
Total Driving Day 1: 185km (~2.5 hours)
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