Ireland 2015: Day Trips to Newgrange, Wicklow Mountains/Glendalough and Trip Wrap-up

When we were planning our vacation in Ireland, we looked around for interesting day trips that we could take from our home base in Dublin.  Being able to drive out for a short distance, tour around all day, and then return back to Dublin to sleep, would allow us to save money on accommodations for the trip.  We quickly found two trips in opposite directions that would each take about 1 hour to get to–Newgrange to the north and Wicklow Mountains to the south.  Accordingly we allocated two separate days on our schedule to make each of these visits.

Our thinking changed quickly once we reached Dublin and found out about the cost and aggravation of the M50 Ring-Road Toll Highway.  It was not so much the price of the toll, which was 3.1 Euros each time you used the highway, but rather the onerous administrative process of trying to pay the toll on time (sometimes you have less than 24 hours) and the 30 Euro fee that is charged if you are late.  Who needs such pressure while on vacation? So when we realized that Newgrange was right on our path as we returned home from our Northern Ireland road trip, we decided to tack on an extra day to that trip and stop at Newgrange before heading home.  Although it meant staying another night away in a B&B, the cost was minimal at 50 Euros and it avoided the hassle of paying for two more trips on the M50.

Brú na Bóinne (which means "Palace of the Boyne") is a World Heritage Site located at the bend of the River Boyne in County Meath, 40 kilometres north of Dublin.  It encompasses one of the largest and most important sets of passage tombs dating back to the New Stone Age 5000 years ago, making them about 500 years older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian Pyramids. The largest and most well known of the over 40 tombs are Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth.  A passage tomb is a megalithic structure consisting of a stone-lined tunnel that leads to one or more inner chambers where the remains of the deceased are kept.  After exploring the Brú na Bóinne Visitors' Centre, we would be taking a guided tour of the Newgrange and Knowth sites, where the tombs are known for the intricate symbols and motifs carved in the giant megalithic stones.

While in the Visitors' Centre, we were given a preview of some of the symbols that we might see carved on the stones including circles, spirals, arcs, wavy lines, chevrons, diamonds, crescents, serpentine and other shapes.  Some were possibly symbols of fertility, phallic shapes, life and birth while other patterns look like they might be related to nature, including cycles of the sun, water or rivers and even wild life such as snakes, birds and larger animals.  We also saw some examples of how the Stone Age people lived and dressed, as well as a diagram of how they actually built the passage tombs using a pulley system.

The tours of the Knowth and Newgrange passage tombs are booked for scheduled time slots and during tourist season, the crowds get quite large and the wait time grows longer and longer as the day goes by.  This was another advantage for staying overnight at Donore, which was literally a 5 minute drive from the heritage centre as opposed to the hour drive from Dublin.  We arrived at the Brú na Bóinne site 20 minutes before it opened to try to beat the crowds, but there were already six people in line in front of us.  We did manage to secure the first time slot for Knowth and the second one for Newgrange.  From the Visitors' Centre, we had to walk across a long suspension bridge to reach a large parking lot where shuttle buses waited to take us on a ride of approximately 10 minutes to reach each site. 

Completed in the Neolithic Age between 2500 to 2000 B.C., the passage tomb at Knowth consists of a large mound that is 12 metres (40 feet) high and 67 metres in diameter (220 feet), surrounded by 18 smaller satellite mounds.  The large mound has two passageways leading east (40 metres/131 feet long) and west (34 metres/112 feet long) into burial chambers where bones and cremated ashes are laid out on stone basins.  The remains of two hundred bodies from the Neolithic Age were found here. Archaeological evidence shows that the cremations took place outside of the tomb and the remains were brought in after the fact.

We learned that the stone basin seemed to be built first and then the chambers and mound were built around it, since the basin is too big to move through any of the passage openings.  As part of the 30 years of excavation activities that took place from the 1960s-2002, a staircase was installed leading to the top of the mound, from which you can see the countryside, the Dowth and Newgrange mounds and the Hill of Tara, rumoured to be the seat of the High King of Ireland.

Positioned around the circumference of the large mound are 127 massive slabs of Greywacke rock measuring approximately 2.5 metres (8 feet) long.  They were probably towed by boats from the banks of the River Boyne. Most of  these kerbstones have symbols and motifs carved onto them, with the most prominent images found near the entrances.  One stone in particular is identified as a calendar stone that marks phases of the sun moon and stars, with an image resembling a sundial or lunar calendar.  About 250 more carved stones can be found inside the passages, including a couple in the Eastern chamber that have graffiti scribbling from early Christian times.

For safety purposes, access to the passage chambers is blocked off and closed to the public.  We were able to stick our cameras in behind the bars to get a photo looking down the Eastern passage, which apparently leads to a chamber in the form of a crucifix and has a layered corbelled roof, which we would see an example of during our Newgrange tour.

Next to the large mound is a recreation of a "Timber Circle" (like a wooden Stonehenge) which originally would have been built around 2500 B.C., probably for ritual or ceremonial purposes.  Traces of more modern settlements were found on this site including people from the Iron Age (1200 - 1000 B.C.), Early Christian Age (800-1200 A.D.) and the Norman Age (1200-1400 A.D.)

While touring the ancient mounds at Knowth was fascinating, we were in for an even bigger treat when we next visited the Newgrange site.  Like the one at Knowth, the large oval-shaped mound at Newgrange was built in the Neolithic period between 3000 to 2500 B.C., spanning 1.1 acres of ground with a length of 76 metres (249 ft) and a height of 12 metres (39 ft) high. The mound was originally built of alternating layers of earth and stones with grass growing on top.  Archaeological research showed that the outer circumference was once covered with a facade made of small, flat, white quartz stones, which was recreated when the mound was excavated between 1962-1975.  Inside the mound is passageway 19 metres (60 feet) in length, leading to a cross-shaped main chamber with 3 small wall openings that each contain a basin stone for holding bones and remains.

Again like in Knowth, the base of the Newgrange mound is surrounded by 97 kerbstones with Megalithic art carved on them, the most detailed and elaborate ones positioned near the entrance.  The guide indicated that the carvings were made using bones, stones and wood, and proposed various possible interpretations for the markings.  The theories included the possibility that they were maps of landscapes, territorial claims, or maps of the path of the sun.  The three-spiraled motifs (resembling a "triskele" -  typical Celtic symbol), found on the large rock in front of the entrance might represent the trilogy of birth/death/rebirth or the three mornings before the winter solstice.

While experts believe that the mound was built for religious purposes as a temple or place of worship, there were also astronomical considerations possibly related to rituals of sun worship.  This is because it was discovered that the entrance of the mound was meticulously positioned so that on the several mornings around the winter solstice (December 21), as the sun rises between 8:59 to 9:15am, the sunlight forms a beam that shines straight down the passageway, into the main burial chamber.

The shaft of sunlight is directed into the chamber through an opening called a "roof-box", specifically built on top of the entrance.  As the sun rises higher, the beam of light widens and travels deeper into the chamber, illuminating the tri-spirals carved on the walls until it eventually ends up shining on the stone basin in the alcove directly facing the entrance.  This feat of architectural, astronomical,  and engineering knowledge, to precisely calibrate the path of the sun, was achieved 5000 years ago, proving the intellectual sophistication of these people.
 

While hearing about the construction of the Newgrange tomb was fascinating enough, what made this experience even more exciting was that this time, we were actually allowed to enter through the passageway into the burial chamber.  We saw first-hand the corbelled roof made of multiple layers of larger rocks, filled in with smaller stones, more stone carvings, the three recesses with the stone basins and examples of Early Christian graffiti.  Then came the grand finale. To demonstrate the interaction of the sun with the tomb during the period of the winter solstice, the tour guide turned off all the lights and our group of around 20 people stood in total darkness. Then he triggered a lighting system which shone through the roof-box and slowly grew brighter to simulate how the sunlight entered the chamber.  The light source acted like a laser beam, running straight along the passageway, through the middle of the chamber, ending up in the alcove directly in line with the entrance.  Standing there in this ancient tomb watching this phenomenon, it felt like we were in the middle of an Indiana Jones movie and  I wished I had brought my fedora and whip.

There is a lottery each year, entered by over 35,000 people, that allows 50 lucky winners to actually stand in this chamber during the real winter solstice.  That would be some experience but I would imagine it would be quite cold.  I was quite happy with our amazing simulation held during the pleasant warmth of early summer.

Our visit to Glendalough, situated in the Wicklow Mountains National Park  was actually done as a day trip from Dublin, as originally planned.  Meaning "Glen of Two Lakes", Glendalough is a Medieval Christian settlement that was founded by Saint Kevin in the 6th Century.  It was expanded upon throughout the centuries and became a mecca for pilgrims who came to worship.  Miracles were attributed to St. Kevin from the time he was a baby.  Legends tell that an angel decreed that he be named Kevin, meaning "fair-begotten", and that a mysterious white cow appeared at his family's front door every morning to supply the child with milk.  As he grew older, more miracles occurred including sheep magically reappearing after he gave them away to the poor, turning water into ale and restoring an injured man's sight with his blessing. Saint Kevin's Feast Day is celebrated on the 3rd of June.

Most of the buildings are in ruins today with the best preserved structure being St Kevin's Church, a nave and chancel church built in the 12th century.  It is also known as St. Kevin's Kitchen since the little round bell tower rising from the west end of the stone roof resembled a kitchen's chimney.  The most famous landmark is the 33 metres (108 feet) tall Round Tower, built around the 10th Century as a bell tower, lookout post, beacon for pilgrims and a place of refuge for the monks if they came under attack.  This was a really interesting structure since it felt like you were looking upon Rapuzel's tower and wanted to call up for her to "let down your hair".  A small building mostly in ruins is known as the "Priest's House" which was possibly built as a shrine for buried priests, since several tomb stones lay inside.

The largest structure is the remnants of the Cathedral to Saint Peter and Saint Paul, built in phases between the 10th to 13th Centuries.  There was a nave, chancel, sacristy, large decorative arch, multiple windows, a wall cupboard and a stone font.  Early Christian tombstones can be found inside, including one that is still clearly legible–"Here lieth the Body of Luke Tool of Anamoe ... friend of the unprotected, father to the orphans, his door ever open to the poor."

 The Gateway into the monastic settlement with its dual granite arches still stands, although the timber roof connecting the two arches is gone.  Inside the gateway, a stone with a cross carved into it signified that this was a place of sanctuary and refuge.  A 2.5 metres (8.2 feet) tall cross with a circle representing the sun is known as St. Kevin's Cross and was carved from a single granite stone.  A local legend states that if you can wrap your arms around the entire width of the cross and connect the fingertips of your two hands, then your wishes will be granted.  Unlike other Celtic Crosses found in the cemetery, St. Kevin's Cross does not have holes punctured at the intersection points between the cross and the circle.

Following the hiking trail that leads from the monastery settlement towards the Lower and Upper Lakes, we gazed upon the stunning views of the Wicklow Mountains National Park in the distance.  When St. Kevin first arrived at Glendalough after being ordained as a priest, he was looking for solitude in order to pray and practise self-denial.  For seven years he lived as a hermit, sleeping on a rock "bed" in a cave that is now known as St. Kevin's Bed.  The cave is only accessible by water, so we did not get to see it and had to settle for looking up photos on the Internet.  St. Kevin was eventually convinced to return from isolation to spread the teachings of Christ to his followers and establish the monastery at Glendalough.

Leaving Glendalough, we followed a section of road known as the Wicklow Gap Road which crosses the Wicklow Mountains from east to west and is known for its beautiful scenery.  We stopped at a lookout point and walked a little bit of an ancient route known as "St. Kevin's Way", a 30km pilgrim's path from the village of Hollywood to the medieval monastery in Glendalough.  Along the way, we crossed a wooden bridge and passed several ruins.  The trail follows the route that Saint Kevin took to cross the Wicklow Mountains in order to arrive at Glendalough, a journey that became a popular pilgrimage for visitors.

As we were driving away to leave the Wicklow area, we spotted a charming sight up in the hills on the other side of the road.  It was the most stereotypical image of an old shepherd wearing a brimmed hat, tweed coat, plaid shirt and rubber boots.  He was calmly seated on a rock smoking a pipe, with a walking stick tucked under his arm, while his sheep dog ran around in circles, herding the sheep and making sure they did not wander too far afield.  We could barely make out blue markings on the sheep, which we got a closer look at later as we spotted a couple of them grazing on the road.  These must have been the ones that got away from the dog, but they were clearly labelled to identify their owner.

This ends the last blog for our 2015 vacation which spanned the months of May and June, starting with two weeks in Amsterdam followed by four weeks in Ireland.  To read about or look at the photos of the entire excursion in chronological order, you can start with the first entry in May 2015.  I have some closing thoughts to summarize the trip.

Amsterdam and Ireland were both wonderful but totally different experiences, which made for an eclectic, varied and entertaining trip.  In Amsterdam, we enjoyed the canals and extensive culture, while Ireland captivated us with its gorgeous landscapes and its extremely volatile history.  This was our first time flying between to European Union countries on the same trip to Europe.  We decided to buy a return flight from Toronto to/from our original destination (in this case Amsterdam), and then purchase a second internal return flight between the first and second destinations (Amsterdam to Dublin).  Although this took a bit more travel time, it was significantly cheaper than trying to arrange an international flight from Toronto to Amsterdam to Dublin to Toronto.

This was the second year in a row that we took advantage of our retirement freedom and traveled for 6-7 weeks consecutively (in 2014 we went to the South of France).  I've come to the conclusion that this might be a bit too long a time to be away from Toronto, as I have missed the entire spring for two years in a row.  As much as I enjoy vacationing abroad, I also really enjoy spending time in our own city and all it has to offer.  Perhaps 3-4 weeks per trip would be more appropriate?  We will consider that for future years.

It is probably apparent that when we visit a new location within the world, we like to explore it really thoroughly as it is likely we will not return soon if ever.  There are so many different places on our bucket list to get through that we most likely would pick a new destination over repeating one we had already done.  The exceptions of course are New York, London and Paris, which we could go to again and again and still have more to see.

We do so much on a single vacation that it takes me a long time to write about it all. Not having the greatest memory, I've come to understand that if I don't take a photo of it, then it didn't happen because I will have forgotten about it by the time I get around to writing about it.  This is my main purpose for this travel blog, so that I can look back in years to come and relive our wonderful times. Although it took over eight months to record all of our adventures, I was determined to finish before the start of our next exciting vacation, planned for 2016... Mission accomplished.

Ireland 2015: Northern Road Trip - Giant's Causeway, Atrium Coast

After juggling the schedule of our Northern Ireland road trip twice while waiting for a clear day, we finally ran out of time.  On our last day in Northern Ireland, we were going to the Giant's Causeway, rain or shine.  Heading out first thing in the morning, we would double-back westward from our overnight stop at Ballycastle, visit the UNESCO World Heritage site, then drive eastward again, making a few more stops before returning to Ireland and towards Dublin.  Despite there still being rain in the forecast, it was merely cloudy when we got started so we were hoping the showers would hold off until after our Giant's Causeway visit.  We still had to be careful though, because the rocks would be wet and slippery from all the rainfall from the previous few days.

The Giant's Causeway is a geological phenomenon, consisting of about 40,000 interlocking 6-sided basalt columns, formed 60 million years ago as a result of intense volcanic activity and the cooling and shrinking of successive lava flows.  Nicknamed the "Honeycomb", they vary in height with the tallest being about 12 metres (39 feet), forming lava cliffs that are 28 metres (92 feet tall) at their highest peak, with stepping stones leading towards and away from the sea.

Despite the scientific explanation for this natural wonder, the legend that led to the naming of the Giant's Causeway is much more fun to consider.  At the Visitor's Centre, an excellent 2 minute animation gave the perfect introduction to this folklore.  As the story goes, an Irish giant named Fionn MacCool was in a constant shouting match with the Scottish giant Benandonner who lived across the North Channel that separated them.  Fionn accepted the challenge to fight Benandonner and built a path made of huge logs so that he could cross the body of water.  When Fionn got there, he realized that Benandonner was significantly bigger than he was, and turned around and ran back home, dropping a shoe along the way while Benandonner chased him.

Fionn's quick-thinking wife Oonagh came up with a plan and disguised Fionn as a baby.  When Benandonner arrived, Oonagh invited him in for tea but told him to be quiet, so as not to wake the baby.  When Benandonner saw the size of the "baby", he figured that the baby's father must be too big to fight.  Instead, Benandonner fled back across the channel, stomping on the logs to destroy the path as he went, and thus creating the Giant's Causeway.

From the Visitor's Centre, there were two ways to get down to the main sights of the Causeway–you could either take a shuttle bus for £1 or you could walk.  Since it was not raining yet at this point, we decided to walk so that we could leisurely admire the views and listen to the audio guide that gave us more information about the geology, history and legends of the area.

Besides the amazing honeycomb cliffs, we saw a few more features of the area that related to the legend.  First there was a grassy rock formation that was shaped like a lying-down camel.  Fionn MacCool named this camel Humphrey and rode it in order to get home quickly in time for tea.  On a stretch of stone-covered flatland by the water, we found the smooth rock shaped like a giant boot–apparently the one that Fionn MacCool lost when he ran back across the causeway.  Up in the hills was another formation that was named the "Giant's Organ" because of its shape.  And finally, we came across the massive vertical stone columns that are known as the "Giant's Gate".  It drizzled a bit during our visit, but right at the end the rain really started to come down, which signaled to us that it was time to go.  To avoid getting too wet, we hopped onto the shuttle bus that took us back to the Visitor's Centre.  Had it been a nicer day, we would have hiked up into the hills to get a better look at the Organ and another configuration called the Chimneys.  But as it was, we were able to see the highlights before the weather turned nasty.

Although only a few stones from the former gate lodge remain, Dunseverick Castle was once a royal fort dating back to the Iron Age (500BC).  On a peninsula cliff overlooking the North Channel, many important events occurred on this site.  St. Patrick visited the castle in 5A.D. and baptized a future Bishop of Ireland. In 6A.D. Fergus, King of Dalriada (western Scotland and northeast Ulster) had his coronation and ruled from here.  The various strongholds built on this site were attacked many times, by the Vikings in 870A.D. and in the 16th Century, by factions of the warring main families–the MacDonells, O'Neills, O'Cahans and MacQuillans.  Although war destroyed most of the fort, time and weather played a part as well, since the remnants of a tower fell into the sea in 1978.

Continuing to drive back east along the Causeway Cliff Road, we encountered the viewpoint at White Park Bay, overlooking the bay, a 3-mile beach and the little fishing hamlet of Portbradden.  The cliffs on either side of the beach are composed of a limestone chalk and contain fossils of marine life from the Mesozoic period.  Flint from an old Neolithic axe factory, once located on the nearby Rathlin Island, can occasionally be found along the coastline.  Sheep, horses and cattle graze on the hillside and on the beach along the bay.  We did not see any animals on the beach, but there are photos on the Internet of a man casually walking by a large cow on the beach while swimmers emerge from the water.  This would have been an interesting sight but it was probably too early in the season for this.

Passing through the village of Ballintoy (where we visited the harbour with the Game of Thrones filming location the day before), we stopped quickly in front of the Sheep Island View Hostel, since I was curious about the large bright pink tractor sitting in front.  It turned out to be a tribute to Irishman Harry Ferguson, who invented the tractor with a 3-point linkage that works on a hydraulic system at the back, enabling the driver to raise and lower instruments like a plough, thus revolutionizing farming.  The Ferguson system is still used on small farms around the world today.  Harry built and flew his own aircraft in 1909 and developed the first four-wheel drive Formula One race car amongst other inventions.  Harry's tractors were grey, so painting this one pink must have just been an attention-grabbing strategy, which obviously worked since it caught my attention and allowed me to learn about this fascinating man.

Found on the Larrybane Headland, the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge links the mainland to the tiny island called Carrickarede (Irish for "rock of the casting"), spanning a chasm that is 20 metres (66 feet) in length and 30 metres (98 feet) above the water.  Comprised of hardened lava, Carrickarede Island is the volcanic neck of an old volcano with sea caves located at its base.  Salmon fishermen had been building bridges to this island for over 350 years.  In 1970, there was a rickety bridge made of wooden slats with major gaps in between and only one handrail.  In 2008, the current bridge made of wire rope and Douglas fir planks was constructed at a cost of £16,000, making it safe for tourists to cross over for a fee.  The island can also be accessed by boat.  From Carrickarede Island, you can enjoy a coastal walk, spot flora, fauna and wildlife, and on a clear day, you can see Rathlin Island and even Scotland off in the horizon.  Since Rich and I are not fond of unenclosed heights, we settled for watching the people cross the bridge from our safe distance on the mainland.  Another Game of Thrones filming location, Larrybane was picked to represent "The Stormlands", which was Renly Baratheon's camp in Season 2.  This is where Catelyn Stark agrees to a treaty with Renley on behalf of her son Robb Stark. 

I would have liked to have visited another Game of Thrones filming location, known as The Dark Hedges.  This is a beautiful avenue of beech trees near Ballymoney, planted by the Stuart family in the 18th century as an elegant pathway leading to their Georgian mansion Gracehill House.  This was used to represent the "King's Road" which Ayra Stark took to escape King's Landing.  Unfortunately it would have taken us too far off the coastal path and we weren't quite sure how to find it, so we didn't go.  But photos that we found online show how beautiful it would have been.   We missed another Game of Thrones filming site in Cushendun, which we did pass through but did not know to look for the caves just outside of the village.  So we didn't get to see where Melisandre gives birth to the shadow baby after being brought ashore by Davos Seaworthy.  Instead, we settled for taking photos of the scenic Cushendun coast, which was lined with pretty houses.

We had been lucky since leaving the Giant's Causeway in that the rain had mostly subsided.  That luck ran out when we approached the village of Waterfoot in County Moyle, when the skies darkened and then it started to pour.  We felt sorry for the poor cyclist in front of us, who was caught in the rain.  We had planned to stop and walk around Waterfoot, but the inclement weather nixed that plan.  Instead, we continued driving out of Northern Ireland  passing right through Belfast long the way.  So I can say that I did see some of Belfast, at least from the highway.  Once we were back in Ireland, we headed
towards our final overnight stay of this Northern Ireland road trip, the tiny village of Donore in County Meath. This would be put us strategically close to Newgrange, where we planned to visit first thing in the morning before heading back to our home swap base in Dublin.

Ireland 2015: Northern Road Trip - Causeway Coastline

After leaving Londonderry, we proceeded our way (driving cliff-side!) along the Causeway Coast in County Atrium, towards our next overnight stop of Ballycastle.  We had hoped to visit the Giant's Causeway, but when we woke up, it was pouring rain so we decided to put off this adventure for one more day to give a chance for the rain to subside, even though it meant doubling back on our route for a short distance.

Our first stop was the ruins of the 18th Century Downhill House and Estate, dramatically set on a clifftop with rugged views of the coast of Northern Ireland. It was built in 1774 for Frederick Hervey, the 4th Earl of Bristol, at a cost of  £80,000 and was once an elegant mansion filled with art from across Europe. Downhill Demesne refers to the piece of land attached to Downhill House and retained by the owner for personal use. This property has a varied topography including dense forests, open fields, sheltered gardens, a man-made pond and the dramatic cliffs overlooking the Downhill Strand (or beach).
 

Two gates provided entrance onto the property–the original Lion's Gate featuring the statues of two snow leopards which were part of the Hervey coat of arms, and the Bishop's Gate which replaced the Lion's Gate as the main entrance to the estate.  From the Bishop's Gate entrance, we walked through a wooded pathway with rare trees and up a grassy knoll to reach the Downhill House.  Looking back from where we came, we had a scenic view of the little village of Downhill in the distance, although it was a bit hard to see due to the rain.

When we finally arrived at the ruins of the "house", we were impressed by how large and intact it was. This seemed more like a castle than merely a house, especially when compared to some of the Tower "castles" that we had visited in other towns.  The house featured Grecian architecture and decorative masonry and carvings with Italian influences.  The home survived the "Big Wind" of 1839 but was totally gutted by a huge fire in 1851.  It was restored by 1874 and used to house RAF servicemen during the Second World War, but fell into disrepair shortly after that.

Wandering around the "interior" of the mansion, we got a sense of the amazing views that the Herveys enjoyed, by looking out the large window openings.  We saw the remnants of hearths and fireplaces but not much else had survived.  Standing on the landing of one of main entrances, with stone steps swooping down from both ends, we could imagine how grand this house was in its heyday.

 Walking out toward the cliffs, we approached the Mussenden Temple, a round structure that was modeled from the Temple of Vesta in Italy, and dedicated to the memory of Frederick Hervey's beloved cousin, Mrs. Frideswide Mussenden after her death.  Built to be a library, the inner walls were once lined with books.  The temple offers stunning views of Downhill Strand to the west and Castlerock beach to the east.  Today, it stands precariously close to the edge of the cliff but when it was first built, one could drive a horse and carriage all the way around the temple.  This gave us an idea of how much erosion had taken place over the centuries.  A scene from The Game of Thrones featuring the characters Stannis and Melisandre was filmed on Downhill Strand, standing in for "Dragonstone" where "the old gods burn on the beach".

Various other structures could be found throughout the property, including a round Belvedere that was built as a small summer house for Hervey's daughter Mary, a dovecote intended to house pigeons or doves, and a walled garden that provided the main house fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers.  A mausoleum was completed in 1783 as a tribute to Frederick's brother George, who was Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland.  At one point, there was a sculpture of George sitting in the open rotunda, but it was blown down during the Big Wind of 1839.  The rubble from this sculpture remains piled at the foot of the monument.

After touring the buildings, we set off on the walking trails that took us into Black Glen Forest and by the man-made pond  that was created in the 1840s by excavation and construction of a dam. The pond was stocked with fish kept both for food for the main house and for ornamentation.  As part of our walk, we caught a glimpse of the railway line to Londonderry, which follows the coastline of the beach and enters a tunnel cut into the rock.

Because they were both run by the British National Trust, for the same price of admission, we were able to visit not only Downhill House, but also Hezlett House.  This 17th Century thatch-roofed cottage, where the Hezlett family lived for several centuries, is one of the oldest buildings in Northern Ireland. The big chestnut tree in the yard is known locally as the "Hanging Tree" since during the 1798 Rebellion, brothers Samuel and Jack Hezlett were on opposite sides, so Jack threatened to hang Isaac from the tree.  There is also a local legend that notorious highwayman, robber and murderer Cushy Glenn was hung from this tree as well, but other sources dispute this.

The house was built using the "cruck and truss" construction method, meaning that it has no foundations and the walls are not load-bearing.  The entire house is held up by wood timbers (the crucks and trusses) which form arches spaced throughout the structure.

A key part of the tour of Hezlett House involved a detailed explanation about thatch-roofing. Thatch is a natural reed and grass which when properly cut, dried and installed, forms a waterproof roof.  Wheat reed and water reed are used at Hezlett House, but barley and oat could also be used. Thatchers lay bundles of reeds on top of each other, building up a thickness of around 12 inches per thatch layer, so that an impenetrable shell of waterproofing covers the roof.   Thatch roofs provide good ventilation and insulation and are extremely thermally efficient, allowing for warmth in the winter and coolness in the summer.  Unfortunately, the thatch on the roof needs to be replaced every 15 years at a cost of £30,000.  When we were on the top floor of the house, part of the ceiling was exposed so that we could see the thatch from the inside.  The batches of thatch are held together with sharpened willow sticks called scallops and smoothed into place with a flat comb-like tool called a leggett.

On a self-guided tour of the house, we found that the family lived on the ground floor while the servants and farmhands stayed on the upper floor.  On the ground floor, we saw the kitchen with the large open hearth where most of the cooking was done, as well as a washing machine in the scullery room.  The parlour (or Sunday Best Room) was used for entertaining guests and was the only room with wallpaper, which was very expensive at the time.  The centrepiece of the parlour was the stand-up piano shipped in from London.  Photographs of the various Hezlett family members can be found throughout the room, right up to the last generation who lived here until 1976.  A children's bedroom or nursery housed up to 6 children at a time and still contains various cradles, cribs and children's toys.

Still on the ground floor were two "adults" bedrooms, although the beds were so short that one might wonder whether they were actually for children.  Not only were people shorter in the old days but there are thoughts that they slept sitting up.  One theory for this practice was that superstitions indicated lying prone was for the dead, while another theory was that this was for medical reasons.  Moving to the second floor, we entered a room with a window that seemed unusually large considering it was assigned to the Hezlett's maid.  The window was a sign of wealth for the Hezlett's and also showed their affection for their maid, since they had to pay a window tax to have it.  Although the room was large, the maid did not have that much personal space because she had to share it with all the trunks and suitcases of clothes for the family, which it was her responsibility to look after.  Next to the maid's room was a huge open space where up to 15 farmhands lived.  On the ground were sacks of straw which they slept on.  The room was dark, hot and smelly but still a large step up from sleeping in the stables with the cows, which was the usual fate of farmhands in those times.  The farm hands (as young as 9 or 10 years old) worked every day except for one day allocated for them to visit their mothers.  This was the beginning of the tradition of "Mother's Day".

Continuing along the Causeway Coastline Road, we stopped at the Magheracross (meaning Plain of the Cross) viewing point where we could take in the stunning views, overlooking what was once the busiest sea roads between Ireland and Scotland.  From this location, we were able to spot the ruins of the medieval Dunluce Castle in the distance.

Dunluce Castle sits on the edge of a piece of basalt rock jutting out from the mainland, 100 feet above the ocean.  It is accessible only by a bridge which at one time, connected it to the town of Dunluce.  The castle is surrounded by steep cliffs at all other points, making it the perfect location for defence.  While the first castle was built on this spot in the 13th Century, most of the ruins that remain today are from additions built on by the McQuillan clan in the 1500s and then later captured by the MacDonnell clan.

It was an imposing sight to see the castle looming in front of us as we walked along the stone-wall lined path and over the wooden bridge.  This was originally a drawbridge connected to a stone arch to provide better defence for the castle.  We were about to embark on a self-guided audio tour, but it was difficult to navigate, trying to balance the audio guide, my camera and my umbrella since it was still raining steadily throughout this visit.

We wandered through the guest lodgings on the outskirts of the castle property which were subdivided into rooms each with a window and a fireplace. We passed the stables that had individual wooden stalls for horses and a mounting platform to help get up onto a horse, traversed through the outer ward where guests and visitors were received and then into the Jacobian manor house built by Randal MacDonnell in 1620.  The manor house still reveals hints of its former glory days with large bay windows providing gorgeous views of the estate and an inner ward area that included a large kitchen area with ovens and fireplaces, a bake house and more lodgings for family and staff.

As impressive as the ruins were to see, even more stunning were the breathtaking scenic views that could be spotted through window openings and while walking near the cliff edges of the grounds.

Our next stop was Ballintoy Harbour, a small, picturesque fishing harbour located at the end of a very small, narrow, steep road down Knocksaughey Hill.  On our way down the hill, we unexpectedly encountered a uniquely designed house that we later learned was called the Bendhu House. Beginning in 1936, it was built by hand over a period of more than 20 years by Newton Penprase, a professor at the Belfast College of Arts.  It became locally known as "The house that was never completed" because Penprase kept thinking of new features to add.  Apparently the inside is as quirky and charming as the outside with sunken rooms, portholes, sculptures, wall paintings, ship's cabins, secluded nooks and fabulous views of the harbour. 

Once the hub for for north coast fishing, boat building and local industries, business dwindled in Ballintoy to the point where the population declined to only 165 people.  Things got a bit more exciting for the village in 2011 when it was chosen for another scene from Game of Thrones, filling in for the fictional town of Lordsport in the Isle of Pyke or the Iron Islands.  This is where Theon Greyjoy returns to his childhood home after many years absence and first meets his sister Yara.  The boats usually moored at the harbour had to be removed during the shooting.  The limestone cliffs surrounding Ballintoy harbour contain caves that possibly date back to the Stone Age.

Finally we reached our overnight destination of Ballycastle, the northeastern most tip of Northern Ireland.  From the harbour, we could see pretty views of the rolling hills and valleys of the Atrium Glens.  It had rained on and off all day, so we hoped that the next day would be better to visit the Giant's Causeway, a 23 minute drive back the way we had just come.

For dinner we were told that the place to go for good local fish and chips was Mortons, located at the west end of the Ballycastle Harbour.  As usual, avoiding the dreaded fat fries which we don't like in favour of coleslaw, we ordered a plate of battered scallops and a plate of cod gourdons, which were small chunks of battered fish instead of one big piece.  The fish and scallops were delicious but unfortunately Mortons was just a takeout place with nowhere to sit down.  Sitting outside was not a good option in the drizzling weather, so we ended up eating our meal in the car.  It was not the greatest ambiance, but the food made up for up and we did have a nice view of the harbour and the glens (when we could see them through the now pouring rain).  Despite the inclement weather, we did not let the rain slow us down and we had a great day nonetheless.