Antrium (Belfast)
We enjoyed our breakfast at 8am--depart by 9am. This morning we head north of Belfast into the Antrim coast/cliffs. First stop was Carrickfergus Castle and harbor. http://www.virtualvisit-northernireland.com/gallery.aspx?dataid=43854&title=Castles_and_Monuments
Follow this link for a virtual tour...very cool!
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| Carrickfergus Castle and Harbor |
Carrickfergus is a dream for anybody with an interest in history. One of the oldest towns in Northern Ireland,
it has some of the finest Norman architecture in Europe, with its
castle lauded as the jewel in its crown. Built in the 12th century by
Knight John de Courcy. Amazingly the town still has some of its original walls remaining. Built in the early 17th century, these are excellent examples of Jacobean architecture.
Carrickfergus is a huge magnet for the yachting and sailing fraternity worldwide, and its magnificent marina has been the focus of a number of major international events including the 1997 World Optimist Dinghy Championships.
Traveling further north to Larnes
Larne is both the most modern and the most ancient of places. The name of the town is believed to have derived from a prince called Lathar, son of an ancient Irish king, who was granted the lands by his father. The area came to be called Lathar-na, meaning the lands of Lathar, and this has been Anglicised to Larne. Archaeology has produced remains and artifacts in the area suggesting an ancient culture which lived close to the shores of the North Channel and traded with others around the coasts of Scotland.
Nowadays the trade links still remain, as the port is one of the most modern roll-on/roll-off terminals in the United Kingdom, and ships daily take passengers and goods to and from the coast of Scotland.
Today the town combines a historical past with modern port, shopping and leisure facilities.We were especially excited to see the remnants of the Queen's Jubilee celebration.
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| A birds-eye view looking south-east towards Larne Harbour, Islandmagee, and down the length of Larne Lough. Chaine Memorial Tower can be seen in the left of the picture, with Ballylumford power station behind the ferry. |
Sunny day—clear enough to see Scotland
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| Looking towards Chaine Memorial Tower and north along the Antrim Coast from a ferry entering Larne harbour. |
Stopped for group photo along Antrim Coast Road
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| Rope Bridge |
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| On a clear day you can see Scotland! |
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| Hey....HELLO!!!! What the...... |
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| View on our way down the path |
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| The fascinating pattern that we see in the causeway stones formed as a result of rock crystallization under conditions of accelerated cooling, this usually occurs when molten lava comes into immediate contact with water, as happens today in Hawaii, the resulting fast accelerated cooling process causes cracking and results in what we see today at the causeway |
It was meant to be a 2 hour walking tour--We did walk the path down....and wanted to walk the long path back up but it was steep! For 2 pounds...we hitch a ride on the shuttle. Whew!
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| Path to the Causeway |
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| We were fascinated that all the walls leading down to the Causeway were hand build like you see here. |
After dinner we walked to the beautiful botanical garden, just a block from our Hotel; It seemed like it was Central Park in NY, Seemed very safe, women walking by themselves. The park was centered with a huge rose garden. We both got great pictures Park closes it's gates at sundown. It seemed for students it was a great short cut across town. These were some of the pictures we took. It was the perfect time of the day for pictures.
Time for a good nites sleep tomorrow is another town.
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