Monday through Friday 3-7 September 2007

Seldom does an outcome meet one’s expectation let alone exceed it, but I am here to tell you that it does occur. With Amy in Houston for the next three weeks I chose to tour Northern Ireland with simply the best tour group and guide I’ve used since we’ve been here in London. Not even the dodgy weather or British Airways’ four hour delay on my incoming flight or my camera losing its zoom function half way through the trip could dampen the experience I had the last five days. Seriously… I’m not joking. When do I joke?

The trip was a testament to Vagabond – Ireland and our tour guide for the week, Dave. Shameless plug: Click HERE.

Dave displayed an incredible knowledge of the island and had his own special spin on the local legends, as well as, a very… shall we say… diverse musical selection that kept our small group informed and most of all entertained. Our journey started in Dublin headed north into Belfast, followed by a drive through what is considered the most scenic coastal drive in Europe, The Glens of Antrim. We visited the Giant’s Causeway (the main reason I did this tour), continued down the coast into Derry, drove through county Donegal and Sligo and eventually back into Dublin. We covered politics, hiked mountains and coastal paths, had a pint or ten in local pubs, stayed in a haunted bed and breakfast (which we aren’t supposed to mention), crawled into 5000 year old tombs, got wet from the rain, saw some of the most amazing scenery and so much more.

Did I mention this was the best tour ever? Truthfully… it was more of an adventure than a tour.

Our chariot for the week was the “Vagatron”, a custom converted 4x4 Land Rover that afforded us the opportunity to go where no coach dared travel, and it did.

Needless to say, we caught quite a few stares as we drove the Irish roadways, well… when we were actually ON a roadway.

Enough blathering… On to the sites where I’ll try and let the images do the talking.

The Giant's Causeway

The reason I chose to tour Northern Ireland and wasn’t disappointed. If it looks familiar it might because it was used as the background for the album art on Led Zeppelin’s House of the Holy. Not to bore anyone, but it is a natural formation of thousands of interlocking geometrically shaped basalt columns formed during the cooling of volcanic activity a few years back.

In true spirit of the week, we didn’t just drive up to the site’s carpark we took a 7 km coastal hike over the cliffs leading to the Causeway which gives you a certain respect of the area.

Monasterboice

With my affinity towards visiting cemeteries it was fitting that one of our first stops was at monastic remains that included a 10th century round tower and the Muiredach High Celtic cross.

Passage Tombs of Carrowkeel

We hiked up a bit in the Bricklieve Mountains to visit some accessible passage tombs. These tombs pre-date the Giza pyramids and are over 5000 years old. Like Stonehenge, the ones that have entrances are astronomically aligned and either face east or west to accept the sun at the solstices. They are located atop the mountain summits and in this area (once you get to the top) you can see one on almost ever hilltop (see the arrow).

They are thought to have been constructed to house the cremated remains of the local population, and as you can see… you can crawl on your hands and knees to gain access to some of them.

Dolmen Tomb

Can you detect as certain necro-fanatical (yes… I made up that word, sue me) theme. I told you… it was the best trip ever. A dolmen is a megalithic tomb marker that again dates back over 5000 years. Hundreds of these exist all over Ireland. The cap stone on this one is estimated to weigh over 5 tons, but some can weigh well over 100 tons.

Famine Cottages

As we exited the Glenveigh National Park (where we encountered a washed out road that caused a slight detour) there were the remains of several homes that were the result from the Potato Famine in the mid 19th century.

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge

To get to the island of Carrick one must use a rope bridge. It’s actually much sturdier than it looks, BUT… one fellow crossing in front of me did slip off of the wood plank. The views from the island were amazing.

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland and hosts some pretty cool buildings/sites, as well as, a couple neat pubs. I had a pint at the very ornate interior of The Crown Bar which was a treat. The highlights were the City Hall with the Titanic Memorial and the Albert Clock which is an odd combination of Big Ben and the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

The Troubles

It wasn’t all hikes, scenery and thrills. I’ll spare the politics of the Protestant/Catholic unrest that violently lasted over 30 years, but we did visit several places that reminded us that while the peace process is in affect the segregation still exists. THAT… I did not know.

In Belfast we took a Black Taxi tour through some of the segregated outlying neighbourhoods. In the predominately Protestant neighbourhoods there are murals on residential buildings honouring those that died. Barbed wire walls with gates divide the two factions. Note the wall behind the picture of the Catholic Memorial.

In Derry (or Londonderry) which was devastated by the conflict we took a guided walking tour across the city’s medieval walls, past more signs of segregation and ended in the Bogside area that was the site of the infamous Bloody Sunday massacre.


In Bogside there is a memorial to the Bloody Sunday victims, and some commissioned murals that again depict victims, past events, and also the peace agreement.

Needless to say this was a very sobering experience.

The Rest of the Story

Did I mention there was scenery?

Whether it was quaint harbour villages or sunsets over Donegal Bay...

Or the occasional waterfall...

Or rocky beaches...

Or mountain views...

Or sheer cliffs...

Or castles and mist covered mountains...

Or seaside overlooks...

Everyday was a reminder just how beautiful this country is.