No rain today (though cloudy and cold) so we braved the trip to the coast. Be prepared to be bombarded with photos, I broke my record for the most taken on one day.
First up, to the National Trust property of Downhill House and Demesne. It was a mansion built in late 18th century for an Earl who was Bishop of Derry. It was mostly destroyed by fire in 1851 and is now a ruin. The most picturesque part is the Mussenden Temple down a straight path to the cliff. Here he had his library, even with fireplaces to keep the damp away. On a sunny day it would have been spectacular.
There was also a walled garden complete with fireplace (for the conservatory). The round-roofed building here is a dovecote with an icehouse underneath it. Doves were kept for down/feathers, for fertilizer for the garden and for meat in winter.
Lots of lovely countryside today too. Ruined castles, green fields, animals, white buildings, sea ... very pretty. That strange colour you see in the sky is blue - we had 1 hour of actual sunshine this afternoon!
Next we headed to the Giants Causeway, a set of interlocking basalt columns by the ocean (National Trust again thank goodness!). Very disappointed in it. There is a MAMMOTH visitor centre now, and perhaps that has drawn the crowds but there was a huge number of people there. Once you buy your tickets (or don't, if you have the NT membership) you walk 15 minutes down to the rocks (and then note it's 15 minutes UP, emphasis on UP, to come back). OR you can get a bus for 1 pound or FREE for NT members. No prizes for guessing what I chose. The other 2 walked. Once we got there there were swarms climbing all over the rocks. I really expected (a) less people, (b) more rocks and (c) that the rocks would be protected and people would be kept on a path given it's a World Heritage Site. Really hard to get a people-free photo unless you crop them out.
I think I will just download one from internet! The one interesting thing was the roof of the visitor centre was grassed, with glass windows (the long strips below) to let the light into the centre:
Next we went to find a rope bridge site (National Trust!) which the others were going to walk across. WERE being the word. Again, soooooo many people. We got there around 4.15 to find that the next available crossing time was 5.30pm! They were letting around 230 people at a time go over, who had to queue to wait for the previous 230 to come back over the bridge.
And there wasn't that much to see over there anyway. It's a 1km walk to the rope bridge so we walked part of the way to see some of the scenery at least.
Last stop for the day was at the Dark Hedges, an avenue of beech trees planted in the 18th century to line a drive to a (now no sign of) mansion. A few people, cars etc, but at that time of the afternoon we were lucky enough to get some gaps to take pics. You do need a person or car though to get the scale of the trees, they were fabulous. I really wasn't expecting much but was impressed.
A long drive home after that, arriving 7.30pm, so it was a long day. A quick stop at Tescos, where we got the fruit bargain of the trip!
European dinner ... British Pork Pies, Irish Potato Farls, Italian Moscato.
Tomorrow we hit the road for the hike back to London (spread over 3 days). Not sure of wifi connectivity so if it goes quiet that's why.
First up, to the National Trust property of Downhill House and Demesne. It was a mansion built in late 18th century for an Earl who was Bishop of Derry. It was mostly destroyed by fire in 1851 and is now a ruin. The most picturesque part is the Mussenden Temple down a straight path to the cliff. Here he had his library, even with fireplaces to keep the damp away. On a sunny day it would have been spectacular.
There was also a walled garden complete with fireplace (for the conservatory). The round-roofed building here is a dovecote with an icehouse underneath it. Doves were kept for down/feathers, for fertilizer for the garden and for meat in winter.
Lots of lovely countryside today too. Ruined castles, green fields, animals, white buildings, sea ... very pretty. That strange colour you see in the sky is blue - we had 1 hour of actual sunshine this afternoon!
Next we headed to the Giants Causeway, a set of interlocking basalt columns by the ocean (National Trust again thank goodness!). Very disappointed in it. There is a MAMMOTH visitor centre now, and perhaps that has drawn the crowds but there was a huge number of people there. Once you buy your tickets (or don't, if you have the NT membership) you walk 15 minutes down to the rocks (and then note it's 15 minutes UP, emphasis on UP, to come back). OR you can get a bus for 1 pound or FREE for NT members. No prizes for guessing what I chose. The other 2 walked. Once we got there there were swarms climbing all over the rocks. I really expected (a) less people, (b) more rocks and (c) that the rocks would be protected and people would be kept on a path given it's a World Heritage Site. Really hard to get a people-free photo unless you crop them out.
I think I will just download one from internet! The one interesting thing was the roof of the visitor centre was grassed, with glass windows (the long strips below) to let the light into the centre:
Next we went to find a rope bridge site (National Trust!) which the others were going to walk across. WERE being the word. Again, soooooo many people. We got there around 4.15 to find that the next available crossing time was 5.30pm! They were letting around 230 people at a time go over, who had to queue to wait for the previous 230 to come back over the bridge.
And there wasn't that much to see over there anyway. It's a 1km walk to the rope bridge so we walked part of the way to see some of the scenery at least.
Last stop for the day was at the Dark Hedges, an avenue of beech trees planted in the 18th century to line a drive to a (now no sign of) mansion. A few people, cars etc, but at that time of the afternoon we were lucky enough to get some gaps to take pics. You do need a person or car though to get the scale of the trees, they were fabulous. I really wasn't expecting much but was impressed.
A long drive home after that, arriving 7.30pm, so it was a long day. A quick stop at Tescos, where we got the fruit bargain of the trip!
European dinner ... British Pork Pies, Irish Potato Farls, Italian Moscato.
Tomorrow we hit the road for the hike back to London (spread over 3 days). Not sure of wifi connectivity so if it goes quiet that's why.
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