Welcome to part 2 of my Irish Adventures! Coming to you from Sligo and my last day in the Republic of Ireland. The rest of my journey will be in Northern Ireland.
Day 7 Saturday
So several of my roommates were noisy coming in, plus 1 was snoring and another has a cold and kept blowing her nose all night. Fun times! I was as quiet as I could be when I got up and packed. Headed down to the kitchen for breakfast and was finally able to try the Irish soda brown bread. It wasn’t very nice!
My only planned activity for today was Kylemore Abbey. It is a 1.5hrs drive north west from Galway, and just after I left Galway, it started raining. And raining. And raining. When I arrived at Kylemore Abbey, the carpark was almost empty and it was very wet.
The abbey is set next to a lake, in a lush forest and is an old beautiful building. From the carpark, it is a short walk to the ticket office, then about 5mins to the abbey. Upon entering the abbey, it was a relief to be out of the rain, but I was surprised that they had turned one section into a modern museum style area. Not a single hint of originality.
Fortunately though, as you move through you get to the original rooms with original furniture, decoration etc. It has beautiful big bay windows and elaborate marble fireplaces. Admittedly, I think I prefer the outside to the inside!
After the abbey, I walked further along the path to the Gothic church. It is lovely inside too!
Walking through the forest a bit more I passed a waterfall and then came to the mausoleum.
Then I headed back to the visitors centre to catch the shuttle to the walled garden. It would be a 20min walk but given that it was pouring with rain, I decided to be lazy and take the bus. The walled garden is actually huge! It has like 6 different sections, mostly fruit & vegie plants, and glasshouses, and lots of flowering plants as well.
After walking around for a bit, I went back to the starting point and took the bus back down. After a walk through the gift shop I began the 2.5hr drive to Sligo. Due to the large volume of rain, there were hundreds of little waterfalls running down the sides of the mountains. I couldn’t stop and take photos though because there were hardly any laybys, and it was mostly a 1-1.5 lane width. It rained the entire 2.5hr drive!
My B&B is out of town near the ocean, with limited facilities nearby, so I decided that once I arrived, I wouldn’t leave. Therefore, I decided to grab a late lunch and saw a place called Supermacs. It is kind of like a home-brand Maccas, but with Papa John’s pizza as well. I got a wrap with garlic fries. Now I like sauce with my fries, but man, they put so much sauce on! There was more sauce than chips!
I got to my B&B a bit early so I drove around the farms for a bit. I saw some cows taking a walk along one of the roads, and I went to a little beach area to sit (in the car of course) for a bit.
Then I went to my B&B. It is a lovely place and I have a big room. I have already had a shower and a cup of tea! Tomorrow I am off to Northern Ireland!
Day 8 Sunday
When I woke this morning, the rain had finally stopped. Yay! I headed down to breakfast and had some pancakes. Yum!
After packing up and checking out, my first planned stop was the Glencar Waterfall, roughly 30mins away. On the way, however, I saw the entry for the Devil’s Hole Waterfall. The ‘carpark’ is just a layby on the side of the road for about 5 cars, and a farm gate entry. This waterfall is a weather waterfall. It only flows after heavy rain. The sign says that if you can’t see if from the carpark & the sign, then it isn’t flowing so don’t bother walking up. I had read that it is a 30min uphill walk, and 15mins down. Not too bad. After a short walk past a donkey paddock (super cute!), I came to the start of the uphill path & stairs in the forest.
It is very well signposted, so I followed the path to the waterfall. You can’t get close to the waterfall, so this is as close as you can get. It is impressive and huge.
After a few photos, I took the path uphill to the viewpoints. There are two. The first one has views over the lake and the second one has more views of the waterfall.
Then I headed back to the car. Took 35mins and I was up and then halfway back down. I continued on to the Glencar Waterfall. This one is more well known and there is a large carpark, information centre, playground and tea house. This one is also only 230m from the carpark and flat. This one is very powerful too and you can hear it from miles away. When you get up to the waterfall, you get covered in spray. It is a very beautiful waterfall. Nicer than the Devil’s Hole one I reckon.
Then I headed north to Derry Londonderry. This means I finally crossed the border into Northern Ireland. I am officially back in the UK and I have another country crossed off my list!
I was to early to check in so I headed to one of the shopping centres to park and then explore. I went for a walk through the shops and went to head outside…..and it was raining again! I got my umbrella and then walk around the streets. Almost everything was shut. Not sure if it was due to covid or that it is Sunday, but 100% of the shops in the street & 90% of the food places were closed. So I just walked around.
I made my way to the Free Derry sign and saw some of the walled city gates, then went in search of food. I settled on a café and they offered a 2 or 3 course meal. I had a calamari entrée and a roast brisket main. It was a mega carb overload! Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes and mashed potatoes. Yikes! The brisket was absolutely delicious though!
Then I went in search of my B&B. It isn’t far from town fortunately, and the streets have free parking which is awesome. The B&B is set in a couple of row houses, which has been well decorated. The heating was on when I arrived which was great because my socks were drenched! Mesh topped sneakers are not going to cut it in winter in the UK I think!
Day 9 Monday
I woke up early this morning and discovered that I had had 1hr of deep sleep! Wow! I haven’t had more than 15mins of deep sleep a night in months! The bed was super comfy, the kind you sink into so maybe that helped.
After a pretty average breakfast, I headed out. First stop was a servo for some fuel. On the way, however, I was on a main road and saw a 30 speed sign. Hmmm, 30kph seems so slow………uh oh!!! England uses miles, Northern Ireland is part of the UK, maybe now I have to use miles!! Oh no! I can’t convert miles to km in my head, and my car has only kilometers on the dash! It is so unbelievably annoying, that you are on the same piece of land, and you cross an invisible line and all of a sudden you have to change the unit of measurement for speed! Stupid. It’s like going from Victoria into NSW, except without any signs identifying the border, and changing from kilometers to miles. After filling with fuel, I pulled into a parking space and converted all the standard speeds from miles to km and wrote them on the back of my cereal bar box.
Then I begun my journey north to the Giant’s Causeway. When I got there, there was a big queue of cars trying to access the carpark. They only allow people into the carpark if they have a confirmed booking for the Giant’s Causeway and you turn up in your allotted time slot. First, I headed into the visitor’s centre for a map and paper ticket (to re-access the visitors centre) and had a walk around the exhibition and gift shop. Then I headed out to join the large number of people headed to the causeway. It is about a 10-15min walk down to the beach and along the shoreline.
I was surprised to see that people can walk all over the rocks. I thought that it would have some form of protection, especially since it is a National Trust area. It was really windy and high tide, so the waves were really big and crashing with such a force that they created big sprays.
I had a walk around, checking out the rocks, watching the waves and trying to get some decent photos without stacks of people in them.
Then I continued along the shore following a path. After a bit the path goes up the hill. A steep hill! Then it follows a path around the inside edge of the cliff, around halfway up. Then it goes around the corner into the next alcove. You get some awesome views from pathway.
Then I returned back, and at a fork, I chose to continue around the inner edge of the cliff, instead of going back down to the causeway. This pathway comes to a set of ultra steep, uneven, narrow stairs. Boy were they hard to climb! But this brings you to the very top of the cliff and you are rewarded with some fantastic views. You even get some aerial views of the Giant’s Causeway.
After returning to the visitor’s centre, I decided to head over to The Dark Hedges. This is a country street, lined with some huge beech trees. Unfortunately, I arrived at the same time as a big tour bus full of tourists. I have seen more tourists today than I have in the entire week I was in the Republic of Ireland! They have closed the road due to the number of tourists and made a carpark nearby. It is a short 100m walk to the street from the parking so a nice easy walk. I walked along a bit and tried to take some photos with as few people in them as possible. After walking up and down the street, I went back to the car and continued on my way.
My next destination was my B&B. It is out of town, near Carrickfergus. It is a nice house, run by an old lady. I then went into Carrickfergus for some dinner. I ended up choosing one of the many American diners (why so many?!) and had a delicious chicken melt (kind of like a parma) and a mac & cheese.
Then I went back to my room and had a long video chat with my mum.
Day 10 Tuesday
This morning I woke early and headed down to breakfast. I was given an Irish breakfast, which was very heavy and almost completely fried. There was this weird deep fried bread thing, a potato pancake, bacon, egg and sausage, all dripping with oil. Not the best breakfast, but the host of the B&B tried so hard to impress her guests.
On the way out, I said hi to the cute sheep, my mum's favourite breed of sheep.
My only plan for today was The Dobbins Cliff Walk. The visitors centre was only a 5min drive from my accommodation so that was awesome. I had to wear hiking boots as they were compulsory for the trip. Backpacks and bags are also not permitted so phone, keys, Ventolin etc all went into the pockets of my coat.
After a brief information session and fitting of a helmet, the group (14 of us) boarded a mini bus and were driven to the vehicle access point for the trail. Then we walked down a VERY steep hill to sea level. It is a 25% slope, which is an angle of almost 15o. The bad news? Going down is easy but coming back up in going to be a challenge!
Once we got to sea level we made our way to the locked gate. It is locked so people who haven’t paid, can’t access the path, but naughty people still manage to find a way to access certain parts apparently.
Anyways, The Gobbins
is a path that has been constructed on the side of the cliff. It was originally
built in 1902 and people would walk along the path to have picnics in the caves
etc. And they were dressed to the nines in fancy Edwardian dress. Meanwhile, in
2021, hiking boots are mandatory as is a guide and all the paths are fixed with
handrails etc.
It was low tide this morning so under some of the bridges we only had rocks. There are 9 bridges currently accessible, as a rock fall early in the season has closed the final section of the path. In summer, there are huge numbers of birds nesting on the side of the cliffs (the reason why the rock fall hasn’t been cleared & the path repaired yet). We went through a cave as well, which actually takes you below sea level for a bit.
Then once we got to the end, we turned around and came back. It was quicker on the walk back as we didn’t stop for information. Then we got back to the ground and had to begin the hard slog up the hill. Fortunately the view is great so you can stop along the way, admire the view and catch your breath. Then we headed back to the visitors centre.
It was only a 40min drive to Belfast and I was too early to check in so I decided to check out a shopping mall I saw on the way. I had a walk around and then on the way out, I saw a B&M. It is like a variety store, that sells everything. In the UK though, it is best known amongst resident Aussies, as the number 1 place to find Aussie chocolate at a reasonable price. I decided to check it out and I was pleasantly surprised to find a nice big selection of Cadbury! Naturally, I bought some! Some for me, some for my friend Charlotte, and some to share with colleagues at school.
Then I continued to Belfast to my hostel. I managed to get free parking in a nearby street (winning!) and checked in. I asked for suggestions on places where I can get some traditional Irish food and was told I wouldn’t find much. So I chose a nearby restaurant and had an amazing honey mustard chicken, raspberry cheesecake and a porn star martini. Delicious!
Then I headed back to my hostel to chill and watch some more tv episodes. I have been binge watching all 15 seasons of Supernatural these past couple of months and now I am onto the final season. I am slightly obsessed with the Winchesters (Dean is mighty fine!) and when I get to episode 15, there will be plenty of tears (from what I had read) and I won’t know what to do without myself without the boys on my screen every night!
Day 11 Wednesday
Today I allowed myself to have a little sleep in. Annoyingly, one of the girls in my dorm had her alarm going off constantly between 8-8.45am before she finally stopped snoozing it and got up.
Late last night I booked a day pass for the City Sightseeing hop-on, hop-off bus so after a quick breakfast I headed out to find the bus stop. Fortunately, it was outside Queen’s University and there were other people waiting so easy enough to find.
I boarded at stop number 10 and took the bus through the rest of the loop to stop 1. One of the areas of the city the bus takes you to is to see the walls and gates. I did a quick Google search on why and learned that these people hate each other because they follow a different religion. Except they both worship God and Jesus Christ, and follow the Bible, so that is confusing. They all believe the same thing, but oh no, they have to fight each other and kill and put up walls to segregate the community, with gates that must be closed on weekends and at night to keep the people safe. As someone who is against religion, it makes zero sense to me. It is 2021 for goodness sake, bloody ridiculous.
Anyways, we continued on to the city centre of Belfast. We saw a lot of old buildings.
There is a roundabout in one area, where one street on the left is 100% Catholic and the street on the right is 100% Protestant and fighting has been a regular occurrence. The police even have bulletproof CCTV cameras on the roundabout so the people can’t blow them up.
After I got off at the Belfast City Hall, I went walking through the streets for a while. There are a lot of murals around the city.
Then a huge downpour came and drenched everything. I had my umbrella but my jeans, shoes and socks were completely soaked. Damn rain!
I went in search of food. I wanted to go to a Cuban place and have a Cuban sandwich. Unfortunately, the first place was closed, so I went to the second place. Apparently they were short staff so weren’t taking walk-ins and would not let me book a table online. Frustrating!! So I ended up going to a Mexican and having a burrito. Not too bad, bit spicy but ok.
Then I went for another walk around the streets and found the Big Fish Salmon of Knowledge. It is a big blue salmon covered in mosaic tiles. I took some photos and headed back to the city centre.
I found a Tim Horton’s (Canadian coffee shop) so I got a hot chocolate. When I was in Canada in 2009-2010, I would get one nearly every day, they were so delicious! And this one was so good.
Then I boarded the bus again and did a full complete loop of the city. This time, I got to see the docks, including the Titanic discovery centre and the big cranes which were used to build the Titanic. Then the rest of the trip was a repeat of my first loop, just with a different guide and some slightly different information and stories.
After returning to the city centre, I went and saw the Titanic memorial, which has all the names of everyone who died on board.
Then I walked back to my hostel via the Crown Saloon Bar. Apparently, it is a National Trust bar which has old gas lamps and a long marble bar. Looks great in pictures and from the outside, but they don’t allow sportswear inside so I didn’t attempt to enter in my sneakers.
Not long after I got back to my room, the clouds unleashed another torrential downpour. I’m not sure if I will venture out tonight for dinner or just have a snack in my room. Not really in the mood for getting rained on again!
Day 12 Thursday
Urgh, last night was awful! 4 of us were in bed, either on our phones or sleeping with the lights out, and at 11.30pm the other 2 came in, turned the light on, talking in a foreign language and rummaging through noisy bags (those red, white & blue striped ones!). Then when they finally shut up, one of the girls snored all night! Such an awful sleep. So glad I am in a hotel tonight where I have my own room.
I got up, had a coffee, packed and checked out. First up was a visit to the Titanic Museum. I booked a while ago, which is good because it is very popular and sells out! I got there 20mins prior to opening so I went over to the SS Nomadic. This is the only surviving White Star Line ship on the planet and was used as a tender to take the first class passengers to the ships, including Titanic. It was decommissioned, used as a restaurant, and eventually brought back to Belfast where she sits in a dry dock for tourists to visit.
Then I headed back to the museum and joined the queue. They let us in to the main area before 10am and I got an audio guide. Then I was able to go straight up to the museum as it was now 10am. The museum walks you through the history of Industrial Belfast, including the linen industry and the ship building industry. I didn’t actually know that linen is made from flaxseeds.
Then you move into the history of White Star Line, and some of the key humans, and the history of the crane company. It is quite interesting. About halfway through you get to the shipbuilding section. You take the elevator up and then you get to go on a ride. You sit in these hanging pods, and you move up and down through the shipyard, learning about the building of the ship. It was fascinating.
Then you continue learning about the building of Titanic. It was launched in 1911 where it underwent sea trials. They have a massive model when a big glass pane splitting the ship in half from bow to stern. On one half, you have the ship as it was launched, bare and basic and engine-less. On the other side, you have the fully fitted out, complete luxury ship ready for the 1912 voyage.
Then you get to see a big computer walk through of the completed ship, from bottom to top, and they have each of the 3 types of cabins on display. They even have a dinner set that was used and a menu from first class.
Then you reach the sinking of the Titanic. They have records of the iceberg warnings from other ships, including where the captain tells the other guy to bugger off! They have audio recordings of passengers who survived saying what it was like at the time. One lady said she had felt the bumps, asked a crew member if everything was ok and they told her everything was fine and not to worry.
They have a replica of the smaller lifeboats. They had more lifeboats than legally required, but not enough to hold all passengers, and many of them were sent off only half full. Ridiculous!
Then you head into a theatre to watch some ROV footage of the actual Titanic. The ROV starts by approaching the bow and it just sort of looms out of the darkness. The ROV travels along the deck, with the voice-over people giving information on what you see. The forward anchor chain is still in place! Even though I am sitting in a theatre, miles away and dry, I got the creeps as we travelled around in the depths of the water. I was expecting something, a shark, ghost or something, to just pop out of the darkness. Creepy! You can see some of the hatches that has blown open, and the big holes left when the funnels collapsed. Along all the metal are icicles made of rust: rusticles. These are caused by bacteria eating the iron. As you move along you see some recognizable features, including the Captain’s private bathtub. A whole bath, still intact! Eventually you reach the stern and you see the railing where people would have clung on to in an effort to not fall into the depths (think of the place where Jack & Rose stood as the ship went down in the movie Titanic). Lastly they move out to the debris field and you see bottles, shoes, bone china crockery and even a chamber pot. Extremely amazing and eerie.
Next up you move into the oceanographic research room, where you can see some of the devices used, including an ROV, a side scan sonar and an old fashioned diving suit.
Then I headed outside to where the original slipway was where the Titanic and Olympia were launched. They have been filled in but they have huge iron beams which define the edges of the slipway, and they have the outline of each ship on the ground. I walked the length of the Titanic, from the bow to the stern, and then I made a video while I walked the length back from the stern to the bow.
Then I went to the gift shop, and I got my very own Heart of the Ocean. Obviously it is worth the mega millions that the original is worth!
Then I began the drive back to Dublin. It was a 3hr drive, as I wanted to head to Dublin City for a Dublin Coddle. It is a stew with no set recipe. It contains bacon, sausage and potato. The rest is usually whatever vegies are in the fridge. So the place I went to, has a different menu to their website and they have no Irish food, just pub food. I walked around and found another place that did have Coddle. And it was not as exciting as I hoped. It was very runny and tasted like a potato & bacon soup, with a weird canned sausage (like the ones you get in the Heinz spaghetti and sausages cans). Honestly, the food in Ireland has been a disappointment. During covid, all the Irish pubs & restaurants removed almost all the Irish meals, except the beef & Guinness pies, from their menus and now serve just regular pub grub. Fish and chips everywhere!
Anyways, after my meal, I headed north to my hotel which is just near the airport. Tomorrow I have a very early flight (7.30am).
Travelling around Ireland and Northern Ireland has been great. Lots of great places to visit, lovely countryside and friendly people. I definitely recommend a visit when you are over this part of the world!