Aug 28 The End of the Road

Well today we ventured to Carrick-a-rede which puts us as far north in Northern Ireland as you can get! We can see Scotland in the distance. 

We had a wee sleep-in to start our day as our get-up-and-go after a party isn’t what it used to be!

Chris is feeling a might poorly this day and it was not the party last night as he was the designated driver. Rather, he came down with symptoms of a cold yesterday which turned into something much more substantial today. Luckily, Robbie and Chelsey are staying in the cottage across from us and Chris could take the day off of driving duty. Brave chap that he is, he soldiered on to the tourist things we wanted to do despite his achy body and cough. 

We soared along the laneways at less than the 60 mph posted (the Irish truly are a crazy people when it comes to speed and automobiles) and met Jeremy’s family for lunch and then it was off to the Dark Hedges of ‘Game of Thrones’ fame. The dark hedges are a hedge of 150 beech trees planted in 1775 along a lane leading to Gracehill Manor. It was supposed to impress the arriving guests but I am sure even they didn’t imagine the grandeur it would present today! They have grown across the road and create a spooky tunnel where light and shadow make it a great photography spot. It rained (okay, monsooned) before we got to the Hedges but the sun came out while we were there. However, the puddles and mud left behind called to our young granddaughter and she became one with the water features!

It started to rain lightly as we left and headed to Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. But once again, the luck of the Irish was with us, a rainbow appeared, and the rain stopped for our hike to the rope bridge and onto the island. 

The famous rope bridge was erected by salmon fishermen in 1755. It is suspended almost 100 ft above the Atlantic Ocean connecting to the rocky island of Carrick-a-Rede. The name (From the Gaelic ‘Carraig-a-Rade) means ‘The Rock in the Road’. It was an obstacle for migrating salmon as they searched for the river in which they were born. That fact made the salmon easy pickings for the fishermen. The salmon stocks have now been depleted and the last commercial fishery was in 2002 but the beauty of the island and surrounding sea is magnificent. Let me be clear, it is magnificent if you aren’t afraid of heights (Debbie and Angela) or aren’t afraid of wiggly rope bridges (yep, that would be Debbie, Angela, and Avery). Oh, did I tell you we had to pay for the privilege of being scared to death? Well, all that notwithstanding, the views were incredible and it will go down as an Ireland highlight!

We feel blessed that we could spend another day with the kids before they all head off to Dublin for a day or two and then home to Canada while we forge on to London to meet up with our friends Don and Bev to begin a new adventure. 

So a new country and adventure awaits us. Stay tuned as we’ll be checking in with King Charles at Windsor Castle next!

The Dark Hedges

Robbie & Chelsey

Jeremy, Avery & Angela


Chris and Jeremy

Angela, Jeremy, Debbie, Chris, Chelsey, Robbie
(Photography by Avery)

Debbie and Chris

The Dark Hedges 

Avery

A rainbow heralded our arrival to Carrick-a-Rede


Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge





The amazing colours of the North Atlantic!



Robbie & Chelsey

Angela & Jeremy







Comments

  1. Dianne NicholsAugust 28, 2024 at 3:22 PM

    Exciting times - new driving adventures from the other side and weathering the Irish fickle weather. Avery will have an adventure to share at school.

    Hope Chris feels better soon - our Lindsey and her older son Greyson both tested positive for Covid this morning - yuck!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. RuthAugust 29, 2024 at 9:57 AM

    Ty didn't like that bridge, needless to say I stayed in the car park while he navigated it. Hope Chris improves soon. You can always drive Deb, you can even do the left turns. :) Stay safe and healthy.

    ReplyDelete

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