But first, I must do a small tour of Belfast tour with driving since my plan of walking around the city on the earlier day failed. Because I was worried about the morning traffic in the city, I started driving at 7am. It was the right decision because there was virtually no cars and I could park my car at the roadside without worrying about being fined by an officer.
St. Anne's Cathedral at dawn looks amazing. It is a shame I could not enter to admire its marble work which it is famous for. I could not afford to wait till 10am to enter. Too many places to see and just too little time in winter...I can only squeeze few places in 8 hours of sunlight. Next stop was Cityhall, the Queen's Square with Albert Memorial Clocktower and The Big Fish sculpture nearby. I did get a bit lost around that area but managed to maneuver back to the right route. The Queen's bridge nearby looks great in the darkness. Most bridges do look better at night.
St Anne's Cathedral, love the vermillion sky
Queen's bridge
I was rushing because I wanted to see sunrise on Belfast Castle and Cave Hill. It is only 15minutes drive from the town. Stopped to ask an Irish lady for direction and she discouraged me from going up the hill due to the weather. But it is difficult to resist when from afar, I could see the attractive Cave Hill, even more imposing now that is covered with snow. This place reminded me very much of Narnia. I had to drive very slowly when going uphill because the road was all icy. It is all worth the effort. The persistence and defiance were well rewarded because from the top I could get a breathtaking view of Belfast Lough and the city. Belfast castle has a lovely garden. I had no time to enter the castle as it is only open at 9am. Instead, I hiked up the Cave Hill next to it. But, it is not easy to hike in snow and my new hiking boots were giving me problem. Although I bought 1 size bigger, the narrow front space were causing pain to my toes which later worsened till the nail colour changed to blue...which I only notice on day 4. Halfway through the hike, I gave up and left :( Not quite an achievement...
Next, I headed for the beautiful county Antrim. It was quite a distance away but the drive was pleasant because of the view of the small villages that I passed by. The most memorable is this particular small road that looks so untouched and the snowfall was getting heavy when I drove by it. It was scary because I was all alone and the snow was quite thick but I was captivated at the same time by its sheer beauty.
Unforgettable, with heavy snowfall
The scenery gets better when I was approaching Ballintoy. The ooh-aah views are all along the Antrim coastal road. The seaview from Ballintoy Harbour was quite stunning but the wind was ferocious. The worker in Belfast hostel told me that the famous Carrick-a-rede bridge would be closed in winter but I thought of driving there anyway just to check out the view surrounding it. I am glad I was persistent because the bridge is open!!! Upon arrival, I saw the Paddywagon van just arrived before me. There were few other tourists too. For over 350 years, fishermen have strung a rope bridge 30m above the sea to access best places to catch the migrating salmon. Now such bridge became a famous tourist attraction. The dark coastline creates a dramatic visual effect and as I walked towards the bridge, I could see Stackaboy (a rock in the Larrybane Bay) and Sheep Island. The staircase that leads too the bridge is quite steep and I was quite out of breath after climbing it on the way back to the ticketing counter. The feeling while crossing the bridge was exhilarating. I was worried my hat got blown away. The wind was particularly forceful at the bridge and I was blown sideway during the crossing.
Next, I drove to Giant's Causeway and parked the car at the tourist centre for a fee of GBP6. One can park faraway for free and walk to the site or park at the Bushmill railway station and pay slightly cheaper parking fee but I was lazy and hard pressed for time. Giant's Causeway is a phenomenal result of force of nature. These closely packed and stacked hexagonal stone columns appeared man-made like legos but they were actually formed 60 million years ago when the molten basaltic lavas flowed onto the chalk bed and later the process of contraction, solidification and erosion took place to create such wonderful rock formation. There is even a folk lore based on it, a cute story of Irish giant Finn MacCool and the Scottish giant Benandonner and in fact the sites along the causeway are named after the giant like Port Ganny, the Boots, the Organ, the Harp etc. The Staffa Island in Scotland has the same rock formation too hence the folklore that involves a Scottish giant in the story. The causeway is also one of the filming location of Your Highness, a new upcoming movie starring Natalie Portman. A lot of tourists gravitate to the causeway hence is not easy to get a good picture and the best time for photography is during sunset. A nice Croatian man helped me to take photo of myself and the causeway :) The first photo in Ireland that has my face in it! Past the causeway is a hike up a hill where one can see the Organ up close. Not many tourists go this way and there is also risk of rocks falls and landslide due to ongoing process of erosion. The National Trust closed the lower cliff path in 1994 for that reason. BUT I could not resist so I climbed the hill to see the Organ up close and walked further to see the marvelous view from Amphitheater. By this time my feet were screaming BUT I saw the 162 steps that leads to the Shepherd's Path and I could not stand not knowing what is at the top...My legs were protesting in vain but my overcurious mind told them to shut up. The stairs are quite steep and it is indeed a Shepherd's Path because there were loads of sheep on the top! Alas, it was time to leave. Walked back 1.6km to the tourist center. There are shuttle buses every 15min from the center to the causeway but one has to pay for it. Even the walking guide pamphlet is not free. After the hefty parking fee, I refuse to pay for anything else here.
Giant's Causeway
View from Amphitheatre
It was time to drive to Londonderry. I skipped Bally and Dunluce Castle. I am not really a big fan of castle and I have seen loads of castles in Scotland and UK. Furthermore, I had to drive to Cong in Mayo county after Londonderry. By the time I reach Londonderry, it was near sunset...
Londonderry is an interesting town. It is a town with 2 names : Derry/ Londonderry. The defining histories of this town include the 1688 Siege by King James II where the Protestants stood their ground and refused to surrender to the Catholic force, the Battle at the Bogside in 1969 between the local youths and Royal Ulster Constabulary and Bloody Sunday event that took place on Rossville street in 1972. I drove to Rossville street first to see the Bogside murals and the walked up a small hill to see the outer wall of the city wall before driving in to see The Diamond. In the past, the Bogside was populated by mainly Catholics and the residents declared that area as Free Derry to keep army forces out. Today, the signboard saying Free Derry still exist and one can admire the well drawn People's Gallery (11 murals) nearby. Derry's walled city is one of the earliest example of town planning and is the most well preserved walled city in Ireland. Completed in 1619, the walled city underwent series of changes and repair. There were 3 new gates added and the 4 original gates were rebuilt. In the middle of the walled city is the Diamond. Unfortunately, I could not stay for long as I was still long way from Cong.
People's Gallery at The Bogside
Londonderry view from hilltop
Driving to Cong at night was a mistake. It is situated in a remote place. To make things worse, I booked the hostel online and the email I received stated a wrong address and wrong telephone number. The wrong address led me to Ballina where I met a kind Irish woman who told me I got it all wrong. I had to drive further on to Cong. Driving at night was challenging because the GPS could not recognize the new roads and the darkness did not help to see the signboards. By the time I arrived in Cong, it was already 9pm. I had to stop outside a pub to ask about further direction to Cong Hostel because my GPS could not find it. And the nightmare did not end there. My petrol was running low too. By the time I arrived at the hostel, it appeared to be closed. I tried banging the door and calling the number stated on the door but to no avail. At the moment I almost gave up, an Irish couple who man the hostel turned up. They were out for supper and just returned. What a sigh of relief! Cong Hostel is a bit on the pricey side. The reason why I chose it is because it is very near Connemara and has free parking. The room is very nice with double bed and en suite bathroom with hot shower but there is no heater and no breakfast included. Thank God I have thermal socks. It was freezing cold and I slept late that night...
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