Giants Causeway Northern Ireland

Day 64/Northern Ireland 5

Travelled:90km

Stay: lookout carpark, Bishops Road, Castlerock N55.1494 W6.8776

Visited: Ballintoy Harbour, Giants Causeway free but paid parking (National Trust nonmembers £12.50pp incl parking, audio guide and visitors experience), Bushmills, Downhill Demense & Hezlett House (National Trust nonmembers £6.20pp) 

The rain was very discouraging this morning. We had our coffee and drove a short distance to Ballintoy Harbour. Also a GoT film location. Unfortunately as the road sign warned us that it was unsuitable for motorhomes etc we felt we couldn’t linger. So we took some photos and doubled back while it was early and no one else was on the road. 

We arrived just after 8am at the Giants Causeway visitors centre parking area. There was no one there except 2 campers who must have stayed overnight. As the centre didn’t open until 9am, we had breakfast, although it is free 24 hrs to walk along the track, the parking is not, unless you are National Trust members. We wasted no time getting our audio guides and made our way along to the Giants Causeway. 60 million years ago, volcanic eruptions created 40,000 vertical basalt columns making it a remarkable natural phenomenon that has attracted visitors for many centuries. The name derives from a myth involving Finn McCool, a famous Irish giant who laid a pathway to Scotland to do battle with a Scottish giant, Benandonner.

 We explored a little further enjoying the beautiful coastline and the unique features in the area. 

We then took our time to look at the different exhibits in the visitors centre. As we drove out towards Bushmill, we were confronted with the traffic chaos of cars and buses trying to find a parking spot all the way to the town. Not being whiskey lovers (and having previously been to Glenfiddich) we opted to not visit the world’s oldest distillery, apparently starting before the Scots! 

Dunluce Castle 

We continued on and stopped near Castlerock to visit another National Trust property- Mussenden Temple, Downhill Demense and Hezlett House.We began with Hezlett house, a 17th Century thatched cottage, one of Ireland’s oldest surviving buildings. The family lived here for over 200 years. 

A feature we have not seen before was an upstairs room where 15 farmhands would sleep. Their ages started from 9 years old and they would have one day off a year to see their mothers...called Mothers Day! 

We then drove a little further to visit the temple and remains of the mansion. The Earl Bishop of Derry developed the site in the late 1700’s. We walked through the walled garden and to the Dovecote.

 We then went to the iconic Mussenden Temple standing on the edge of the cliff which once held the Earls library. 

He also built the Downhill Demesne which unfortunately was destroyed by a fire after 1944 and never rebuilt. 

After our visit we picked out a P4N spot, a lookout on Bishop Road. The weather was changeable and we hoped we would eventually manage to see the view.