An Irish Family Holiday- part 1

“I’d just like to point out something to you if I may?”

The Flybe check-in lady is pointing a finger at our e-ticket.

 Three heads bend down to examine it.

April 6............... Oh. Shit.

Today is April 5^th.

 My husband Fil and I and our teen boys Alex and Flynn had just got up at 4am to catch a flight from Southampton to Dublin. We are headed for a 9 day tour of Ireland.

There are options as to what we can do, but as the boys point out: who in their right mind (if given a choice) would get up at 4am two days running?

We wave farewell to a small wad of money and look forward to that time in the future when our mistake will make an amusing story. I personally wonder whether they will offer wine on the plane as breakfast food.

 In any event, we are now on our way to begin our newly 10 day holiday.

We have booked a 4WD tour for 7 nights with a company called Vagabond Tours, which will begin early on Monday.

 The tour, called North by North-West, will follow the coast more or less, heading north first from Dublin along the east coast, then along the north coast till Londonderry where we will cut across to Donegal and then head down the west coast as far as the River Shannon.

We chose this tour because it sounds like a great combination between sitting back and taking it in whilst hearing local history, and getting out there for walks amongst it.

Best of all its more or less out of our control so I am confidant there will be few complaints from  teen quarters. 

 It now being a Friday we will have three days to explore Dublin first.
 

We're not in Kansas anymore Toto.

From the moment we touch down in Ireland, we notice the people are open and friendly.

Dublin airport border control is the friendliest I have ever come across. Far from making me feel like a criminal (as most countries seem to do) it was a pleasant experience. I was laughing before I even left the airport.

Our Dublin Hotel is The Grand Canal. Though a little south of Dublin city centre it proved very easy walking distance to many tourist spots. The room quality, service and breakfast turn out to be universally great.

With cold but sunny weather, we dump our luggage and we set out to explore.

I must be in Ireland!

 

Dublin has an amazing mix of old and new. I have to say on the whole it is done very well. It is a very easy city to explore: flat with lots of pedestrian and cycle paths with hire bike stands everywhere.

 

Fil had been to Dublin back in 1996.He is amazed how the city had changed in the interim with the prosperity of the Celtic Tiger. Large shiny buildings line the river where he remembers old docks.

Over the next three days we visit Dublin’s beautiful parks and walk along the south and north banks of the river Liffey (the name originates from the word ‘life’ apparently) crossing it's various bridges, old and new.

 

In the beautiful Georgian quarter we visit The National Archaeology Museum. The building alone is beautiful enough to warrant a visit in it’s own right. The exhibits are  excellent. Perhaps most memorable are the ‘bog bodies’ recently found dating from the iron age.

It’s not often you see mummified bodies, especially ones so well preserved. It must be quite a shock for bog cutters to come across one, but a great story to tell at the pub afterwards!

Cleopatra? No, Flynn in chain mail at Dublinia.

 

Dublinia is a place we very much enjoy visiting too. This tourist destination exhibits recreations of life in Dublin in the Viking and Medieval periods. It is really well done, giving a tangible feel to the city’s rich history.

Only his shoes showed that the force was with him.

 

The wax museum also gets a visit. It’s a bit tired and dusty. Many of the historical figures are unknown to us, but we would become more familiar with many of them as we learn more of Ireland on our tour.

Flynn tries on the One Ring

 

In any case the boys enjoyed a few photo’s with some of the figurines.

Spongebob and Patrick

 Fil tries to visit the Old Jameson Whiskey distillery but it the queue is so long, he leaves, consoling himself that he will visit other distilleries on the tour. Honestly, the tears were few.

The Temple Bar area, Dublin’s historic quarter is a great pleasure to explore and probably how I envisaged the city. The buildings are colourful and full of character- a photographer’s dream. There’s loads of quaint and bargain filled shops, pubs and café’s. I much prefer this to the cities high street which is filled with the usual chain stores and costumed leprechauns waving donation buckets near the Molly Malone statue.

On one day we have a great lunch at The Brussels, an iconic pub. My mussels in garlic- cream sauce (with a chunk of soda bread on the side) is truly delicious.

The Big Keg?

We really enjoy out three days of exploration. We like Dublin very much but its time to leave.

Before we know it we are shaking hands with our tour guides and loading our luggage into the converted  4WD’s.

It being the beginning of the season, us four are the only guests. As a bonus we have two guides- Mark, and Sean who is in training. Wow, we will be spoilt! We can’t wait to start.

The little black Vagabond- mobile

The first leg of the tour takes us all the way up into Belfast. Mark has organised for us to take a ‘black-cab’ tour of the city’s trouble spots: the area occupied by Catholic’s and the area where Protestant’s live. The black cab idea is that it is a discreet and respectful way of visiting these areas. Our driver proves himself a wealth of unbiased knowledge.

  When we arrive at a particular open area whose house ends are covered in various memorial murals of people or events, we get out to take a better look.

 I don’t take photos. I feel odd and slightly uneasy here. It is a very sobering experience. When we drive into the walled areas of the city I am even more quietened. People live here in the lee of the wall (which is 25 foot high) with tiny caged gardens, so that if people throw something over  they are safe. Gated areas are still locked at night to keep possible troubles at bay. The whole thing is very sad but of course interesting in a depressing way and quite an alien sight to me for which I am grateful.

I am offered an opportunity to sign the ‘peace wall’, a piece of the wall which runs along My words look completely lost amongst all the other messages of peace, but it’s good to see so many hopeful words.

Amazing food. We personally came across nothing but.

The day’s mood is lightened by a great lunch at one of the most beautiful pubs I have ever been in- ‘The Crown’ in Belfast city. I could go on for some time on its merit alone- a true Victorian beauty. It is just as well we were eating as my mouth was hanging open anyhow. How I wish we had pubs like this in Australia!

The beauteous Crown, Belfast

In the afternoon we wind our way into the Glen’s of Antrim area.  It’s very beautiful with it’s green and rolling hills and still very cold with snow by the roadside in higher areas. We are told they had so much snow in fact that many farmers lost their new lambs. It is obviously a wild place where you take a risk to make a living.

 We stay the night in The Londonderry Arms, Carnlough, a faded seaside town. It has the feel of a closed down fairground on this cold day but I imagine it hums with life in the summer as it is a beautiful spot.

 

 Fil and I take a post-dinner walk along the seashore. Snow is clearly visible of the hills beyond.

Carnlough

 

We sleep well ourselves, but the boys in the next room do not. They are convinced it was haunted and kept the light on all night. It is the first time they have ever said such a thing . The Hotel, once inherited by Winston Churchill has a dated seaside holiday charm reminding me of childhood holidays. Later when I look up the hotel on the Internet there are numerous mentions of ghosts. The hotel itself calls the ghost ‘friendly’. Well, you would, wouldn’t you!

Rathlin Island and part of Scotland in the distance

 

The next day we continue our spectacular coastal drive. We have opted to do a walk across a rope bridge at Carrick-a-rede. We are asked if anyone is scared of heights and warned the bridge does swing a bit. In my mind I imagine an old rope contraption with seaweed dangling from it and seagulls flying below us through a bottomless crevasse. I am carrying my terrified husband.

I am relieved by the reality. I see the area is owned by the National Trust and the rope bridge is very new-looking and stable. Phew! It is still enough to have the group of Japanese tourists, crossing it when we arrive, scream very loudly. It seems the more terrified they are, the more photo's are taken.

The Carrick-a-rede rope bridge- better than you could hope for!

The area is beautiful; rocky cliffs and blue sea with green pasture above. The water below is a place where salmon used to run each year and the bridge was originally made by fisherman for whom my initial respect turns to thoughts of lunacy. It’s quite a thing to pick your way along a steep cliff, then make it over a paltry rope bridge to a tiny rock, all in the name of fishing. Sadly there are no salmon left to fish now.

The bridge is 66 ft long and 90 foot high above the rocks and waves. And it does swing!

Give me a bucket and spade and leave me for 20 years. The wonderful Ballintoy Harbour.

 

The next place we visited was Ballintoy Harbour. I immediately wanted to move there. What a magical place! Sandy little beaches, sea-caves, rock pools and boulders strewn with emerald sea-weed and yellow lichen. The sea was calm and serene in the sunshine. At this time of year (April) we almost have it to ourselves but I imagine in the summer it’s very popular.

 

 To top off this perfect place (if possible) there is a little café with the most delicious and enormous range of cakes (and other food, but who cares?). The boys order ‘Lumpy-Bumpy’ which is as delicious as it sounds odd. I'm hungry just thinking about it.

 

Sigh. It’s hard to leave this spot, but with belly's full and the Giant’s Causeway beckoning, how can we possibly resist…