Today is our last full day on the Emerald Isle. It was a toss up between a visit to Rathlin Island to see the puffins, or more of the coastal drive. As we were incredibly lucky to see the puffins when we did Skomer, we decided to continue with the last few towns and beaches along the Causeway Coastal Drive. Santa decided to have a morning walk whilst I had a little lie in, but unfortunately he didn’t take a coat.. and drowned rat is an understatement when we arrived back at the apartment.
Bushmills No visit to NI is complete without a visit to the distillery (just the shop as we were pushed for time!) Santa enjoyed browsing the many whiskeys on offer, and opted for a Black Bush (🤣) and a glass to go with it. He also got a smaller tot to have on one of the beaches later on in the day.
Ballycastle The eastern gateway to the coastal route. We managed to park in one of the only pay and display car parks in the whole of N.I.. and unfortunately when we were nearly in the town, I had a horrible feeling I hadn’t locked the car, so had to powerwalk back up the hill to check (obviously I had locked it 🤦🏼♀) Ballycastle is a bustling town with plenty of bars and restaurants, a harbour and a beach, the ferry to Rathlin Island, and a friary ruin just on the outskirts. It also has its own heritage trail, with information boards dotted around the town. We found a cafe with great views over the beach, and the coffee here was delicious – big shout out to Shorebird Coffee Hut. We had a lovely walk along the beach, then headed to Bonamargy Friary, along the side of the golf course. It’s picturesque, yet eerie at the same time, and is definitely worth a quick visit if you are in the area. As we were walking back to the car park, the heavens opened, and they opened hard! We were very soggy doggies when we got back to the car.
Murlough Bay It is said that this is one of the most overlooked places to visit on the Antrim Coast. The journey to the small car park is dow a long, single track winding road. But with every twist and turn, reveals more spectacular views. On the walk to the bay, a lovely old gentleman stopped us for a chat, and very enthusiastically told us about seal he had seen catching a massive salmon. He was so enthusiastic, he talked and talked for about 15 minutes 🤣 he lives in a very remote place, so he probably doesn’t get much human interaction, bless him! After he got on his way (and found another family to talk to) we turned the corner and got our first look at the bay. Wow. It was breathtakingly stunning. Perfect white sand, perfect blue water, and perfect views of Rathlin Island and the Kintyre Peninsula. I’d say this beach even rivalled some of the ones I saw in Thailand! And for the most part, we had it all to ourselves. This really is a hidden gem and one not to be missed.
Torr Head Not far down the road from Murlough Bay is another very narrow and winding road to Torr Head. This drive requires you to go incredibly slowly and keep your eyes peeled for all the possible passing points. We got to the car park and headed up the mound and towards the building on the top. This used to be a signal station for shipping passing through the North Passage. However, this is now an eerie graffiti filled ruin being battered by the wind and rain. There’s even a rusty old ladder to climb up onto the roof. The views at the top again were fantastic, and we were so lucky with the weather that we could see for miles. The road back to the main route was a bit twitchy arse as we met quite a few vehicles, but we got there after a little bit of manoeuvring and clutch burning.
Fair head The last of the super twisty drives. The car park here is privately owned (£3 all day) and the area and land is also privately owned and farmed by 12 generations of the McBride family. There are so many walks around this area, but unfortunately they were all too long for us to attempt given the time we arrived. We did however manage a little stroll to one of the viewpoints. The rugged landscape here also features in many seasons of GoT, so it is definitely one to visit if you are a fan.
Portrush We had hoped to visit Carrick-a-rede, and had obviously read the opening times wrong because it was closing when we got there… it wasn’t a massive issue because I’ve been before, Santa has been before, and nothing was getting Momma on that bridge! So instead, we popped into Portrush, as we have only driven though it but never stopped. It has much more of a ‘seaside town’ vibe about it, with its funfair and amusements. We grabbed an ice cream and had a walk along the beach, before heading back to Portstewart for fish and chips.
All of the other evenings have been cloudy and rainy, but tonight was clear with minimal cloud, and that meant we finally got a sunset! We found a great spot as recommended by our Airbnb host, and with the sound of crashing waves, we watched the sun go down on our last day in Northern Ireland.
The Travelling Ginger 