Our final hotel was ok – looked a bit grand in reception with fancy chairs and sofas but the rest was either a bit tired or utilitarian – we remarked it looked a bit like a prison as we approached from the road!. Weather forecast was nice for the day, no rain, some sun and warming up as we headed to “stroke city” – as called by the locals due to always being referred to as Derry / Londonderry.

We had walked through Limavady yesterday on the way to our hotel in Ballykelly. The birthplace of New Zealand Prime Minister Rt. Hon Willian Massey is on Irish Green Street in Limavady and nearby Massey Avenue is named after him. Additionally, Limavady is most famous for the tune Londonderry Air collected by Jane Ross in the mid-19th century from a local fiddle player. The tune was later (ca. 1913) used for the song Danny Boy. As we walked from Ballykelly we passed a wealthy looking private hospital, crossed a small stream and got some tantalising glimpses of Lough Foyle with Binevenagh Mountain (c170m) behind us in the distance. The name is from the Irish Binn Fhoibhne, meaning ‘Foibhne’s peak’. We then walked on a path alongside the A2 through the Ballykelly Forest.

Although there was a footpath beside the A2, it was nice to turn onto a much quieter road at Greysteel – we were still getting nice views of the Lough and of Derry City Airport.

Ellington was next, a lovely town that could have been lifted straight from Surrey! We passed a massive presbyterian church and the Church of Ireland St Canice Parish Church – the remains of the 1622 original church can be seen in the graveyard with the current church being built in 1826. The gold postbox is in honour of Paralympian Jason Smyth’s gold medal in the 100m and 200m events for blind athletes in the London 2012 games. Finally we passed by a Spitfire shaped plant box to commemorate the vital part played by Ellington in WWII. Ellington airfield was initially built as a RAF Coastal Command base to protect Belfast City, especially the docks.

Up and down a few cheeky hills as we got ever closer to Derry, we walked alongside Faughan Golf Course which looked immaculately kept and crossed the River Faughan. Coming over the bridge were a number souped up cars (this seemed to be quite a ‘thing” in these parts) racing around and then we were back on the A2 into Derry itself. Leaving the A2 we walked the Waterside Greenway, with the railway between the path and the Lough and then decided to go in search of a coffee and scone. On the east side of Derry this proved an impossible challenge so we ventured onto the Derry Peace Bridge which was built to improve relations between the largely unionist Waterside on the east bank with the largely nationalist Cityside on the west bank, by improving access between these areas, as part of wider regeneration plans. Halfway across the bridge we called “complete” on our journey and continued into the city in search of sustenance.

It took google maps and several coffee shops before we found what we were looking for and were able to enjoy scones (with butter for Paul and Jam/Cream for me) sitting in the sunshine. We then went on a little wander around Derry, seeing the City Wall, The Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall, the First Derry Presbyterian Church and, of course, the Derry Girls Mural. We then went down into the Bogside area to see the Free Derry Wall, The Bloody Sunday Memorial and a plethora of murals on the houses.

Finally we visited St Eugene’s Cathedral. It was not until the passage of the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 that the possibility of building a Roman Catholic cathedral in Derry could be contemplated. Fundraising for the building of the cathedral took place from 1840 and work began on the construction in 1849 at a total cost of just over £40,000. The project to build the cathedral’s bell tower and spire was postponed, as no funds were available for the project. At first, the cathedral’s windows were made of plain glass due to lack of funds. It was not until the late 1890s when stained glass windows were installed. Work on the bell tower and spire began on 13 August 1900, with the building contract awarded to Courtney and Co from Belfast and work was completed on 19 June 1903.

At the end of the walk a celebratory ice cream was warranted, which we enjoyed whilst walking along the riverside.

A wonderful walk through some amazing scenery, in great company.

The hotel last night was good, primarily, it seems, a wedding venue – advertising 100 guests for as little as £3000. I think yesterday’s party had that option as they occupied the reception area until their “do” was ready in the evening and were back out in reception by 2130. Weather forecast for today was warm (about time), partially sunny in the morning and overcast in the afternoon. For once it was reasonably accurate.

As we left Coleraine, the road out of the hotel was busy, even for a Saturday – thankfully it wasn’t for long and there was a footpath to use. During the War of the Two Kings (1689–91) Coleraine was a centre of Protestant resistance to the rule of James II. Richard Hamilton’s Irish Army made an attempt to seize the town but was repulsed. The Protestants were forced to abandon the town shortly afterwards and withdrew to Derry. Later the same year, following the failed Siege of Derry, Sir Charles Carney and his Jacobite garrison fled the town on receiving news of the advance of Percy Kirke’s Enniskillen forces and the landing at Carrickfergus of Marshal Schomberg.

Turning onto a much quieter road there wasn’t a whole lot to see so here are some photos of the hedge flowers we saw.

We turned onto a really quiet road for the next couple of hours, gently climbing upwards to the halfway point of the day. We passed the usual derelict house, a few quarries (not working Saturdays so so heavy lorries) and through the Springwell Forest. There was even a straight stretch of road with tall trees lining both sides. Eventually in the distance we could see Lough Foyle.

The road was very straight and long, breakfast coffee and hydration requiring frequent pee-breaks! We could see mountains (I think the Sperrin Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) in the south west distance and some more glimpses of Lough Foyle directly ahead of us. We also spotted multiple different breeds of sheep (most ran away before I could get a good photo) – Jacob, Cheviot, Suffolk, Swaledale and Border Leicester are the ones I can remember.

We stopped in Limavady for a coffee and a scone and for Paul to get a haircut. We crossed the River Roe and passed by the Rough Fort on the way to Ballykelly and our hotel. This is an Early Medieval circular earthwork and was the first property left in care to the National Trust in Northern Ireland. These fortified farmsteads, also known as Rath or Ring Forts, were defended farmsteads and occupied mainly by a single family group of cattle farmers. It’s estimated that more than 45,000 Ring Forts were constructed in Ireland between the 7th to 9th centuries. Tomorrow is our last day walking as we head to Derry.

Our hotel for the last couple of days was very nice and handily placed for the Giant’s Causeway. Weather forecast for today was clear through to lunchtime and then raining for the afternoon – no matter how fast we walk it looked like a soaking was due later on.

We left our hotel and walked into Bushmills to meet Graeme. The village owes its name to the River Bush and to a large watermill that was built there in the early 17th century and is best known as the location of the Old Bushmills Distillery (which we unfortunately didn’t get time to visit). As we crossed the River Bush on the way out of town we could see a fly fisherman trying his luck for either Salmon or Sea Trout. We had some nice views of Portballintrae on our way to Portrush along with yet another abandoned dwelling in a field.

As we walked along the coast road towards Portrush we had some great views looking down at the sea and then could see Dunluce Castle. In the 13th century, Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster, built the first castle at Dunluce and it was first documented to be in the hands of the McQuillan family in 1513. The McQuillans were the Lords of Route from the late 13th century until they were displaced by the MacDonnell clan after losing two major battles against them during the mid- and late-16th century. Later Dunluce Castle became the home of the chief of the Clan MacDonnell of Antrim and the Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg from Scotland. We also spotted a probable sightseeing transport outside a local house.

The coastal walk into Portrush was great, cliffs, rock structures, glimpses of the sea through the rocks and then views of white rocks beach (where we went swimming yesterday).

A beautiful beach so rather than walk along the road we walked the beach instead all the way into Portrush. Swimming yesterday was invigorating but still very cold!.

We said goodbye to Graeme at Portrush as he went to catch a train to Coleraine and then onwards to Antrim. Just off Portrush harbour we could see the Sea Cloud Spirit (I used the Marine Traffic website to identify it). The ship is built as a three-mast full-rigged ship. A tallship is called a full-rigged ship when it has at least three masts with complete square rigging and can be easily recognised by the sails that are attached at right angles to the ship. Three mast ships have been built since the 15th century. At that time, they usually had square sails on the first two masts and a triangular lateen sail on the last mast – so they were not yet full ships. In addition to 4,100 m² of sail area the ship has two economical, environmentally friendly diesel electric motors. We then followed the coast road into Portstewart where coffee and a scone were gratefully consumed.

The walk into Coleraine was pretty much all on a path beside a busy road, a startling change from the last few days. We also had avoided the rain so far – finally it got us but it wasn’t heavy and probably didn’t last more than 10 minutes. We could see the River Bann at a few points, before we walked through Coleraine, crossed the Bann and finally got to our hotel. Only two more days of walking as we head to Limavady tomorrow.

Our hotel was very nice last night, food was good (they even had a doggy menu) and bed comfortable. Forecast for today was sunny spells, dry and little wind. Graeme joined us today, as he was staying in a different hotel we met him a little out of town.

Our day wouldn’t be complete without a post breakfast hill to climb as we walked to meet Graeme with a couple of nice views back towards Ballycastle. Ballycastle can trace its history back to the founding of a settlement around Port Brittas, the old name for Ballycastle Bay. It is from here that it has been suggested that Fergus Mór Mac Eric, a purported king of Dalriada, sailed to Scotland and founded a large colony throughout Argyll. Fourth picture shows another of the paths recommended by the app, this time it was walkable (avoiding a long detour) and the overgrowth only lasted a short while. By now the weather was warming up and the clouds disappearing.

By now we we back on the coast and really starting to enjoy the views. Such a difference from previous days in terms of the weather. We had a good sight of Raithlin Island – one of 43 Special Areas of Conservation in Northern Ireland. It is home to tens of thousands of seabirds, including common guillemots, kittiwakes, puffins and razorbills, – about thirty bird families in total. Raithlin is also the only inhabited offshore island of Northern Ireland with a population of c150.

We continued walking along the coastal route where the views just kept getting better and better and could see, in the distance, the headlands where would be taking the coastal path (instead of the road). Arriving at Dunseverick Castle (or what is left of it) we could see what looked like a wedding happening down on the shore. Recorded in the Irish Annals as Dun Sobhairce, Dunseverick Castle was first fortified by an ancient chieftain, Sobhairce, from around the 5th century AD, possibly earlier and, from around the 7th century AD, was then occupied by the Dál Riada, an extended tribal group with strong maritime connections between north-east Ireland and western Scotland. It later became a centre of the Earls of Ulster around 1250–1350 AD, and then a stronghold of the O’Cahan’s and later the MacDonnells from 1560 AD.

Now on the actual coast path it seemed around every corner was a great new view of a beach, a cove or a rock formation. As with all coast paths it was quite a bit of up and down but very nice not to be pounding tarmac for the afternoon.

We could see, in some of the high cliff faces, the basalt columns that make up the Giant’s Causeway and were home to many nesting pairs of Kittiwakes. They seemed to be enjoying the warm air and the updrafts as they soared everywhere. We could also see, in the distance, all the tourists on the actual tourist site.

We had planned to go to the hotel but spotted the path down to the actual Causeway from the coast path (only 100m below us) so took the option to go straight there as the weather was so good and the tide was mostly out.

Finally we were down at the Giant’s Causeway. According to legend, the columns are the remains of a causeway built by a giant. The story goes that the Irish giant Fionn Mac Cumhail (Finn MacCool), from the Fenian Cycle of Gaelic mythology, was challenged to a fight by the Scottish giant Benandonner. Fionn accepted the challenge and built the causeway across the North Channel so that the two could meet. Across the sea, there are identical basalt columns (a part of the same ancient lava flow) at Fingal’s Cave on the Scottish isle of Staffa and it is possible that the story was influenced by this. Around 50 to 60 million years ago, during the Paleocene Epoch, Antrim was subject to intense volcanic activity, when highly fluid molten basalt intruded through chalk beds to form an extensive volcanic plateau. As the lava cooled, contraction occurred. Horizontal contraction fracturedin a similar way to drying mud, with the cracks propagating down as the mass cooled, leaving pillarlike structures, which also fractured horizontally into “biscuits”.

An truly amazing day, tomorrow is a rest day – revisit the causeway and a probable swim on Portrush Beach before we resume walking on Friday.

The guest rooms last night were very nice and above a pub that the locals seemed to be really enjoying! Breakfast was in a cafe around the corner and very strict as to what was on the menu! The forecast was dry but cold and windy for our walk to Ballycastle.

Today was a day in the “wilderness” so mainly photos of scenery (where the camera does justice anyway). Cushendall (from the Irish Cois Abhann Dalla, meaning ‘foot of the River Dall’), was formerly known as Newtownglens. In 1973, it was the second village in Northern Ireland to be designated as a Conservation Area. Since 1990, Cushendall has hosted the Heart Of The Glens festival every August. As we left Cushendall it was straight into a lengthy and steep hill with great views behind us as we wound our way upwards. The third picture is of a path that google maps tried to send us on – as we didn’t fancy all kinds of stings and scratches we had to detour a little bit. Every up has as down and we crossed the river Glendun River before heading back up the next hill.

As we continued up to the top of the hill we passed the remains of Carra Castle from the 14th century. The castle was once occupied by Irish king Shane O’Neill, and Sorley Boy McDonnell was held as a prisoner here in 1565. In 1567, two years after being defeated by O’Neill, the McDonnells entertained him in Castle Carra during two days of hunting and feasting. However, on the third day, 2 June, during a quarrel, they stabbed O’Neill to death to avenge their earlier defeat and sent his head to the English representatives of Queen Elizabeth I in Dublin Castle.

We then walked on a flattish road for a while, some of the views were really beautiful, and the remoteness of the road also meant very few vehicles passing us. We had some good views of Scotland across the sea. Plenty of lambs in every field including some that could not be very old – didn’t realise lambing season carried on so late. We had some nice views of Torr Head as well (last photo). The wind was brisk at this stage and pretty biting – a local in Cushendall said we would have the wind behind us for this walk – true but only if we walked backwards!.

The final section of the road across the hills was very empty aka wild and rugged, beautiful to look at but doesn’t really translate well into phone photos. The first picture shows a decommissioned Cold War Listening Station. We finally joined the A2 for the last few kilometres into Ballycastle – it wasn’t too busy thankfully – and we passed the ruins of Bonmargy Friary. It is a late Franciscan foundation established in 1485 by Rory MacQuillan. It is said that the first battle between the warring McDonnell and McQuillan clans was fought on nearby land. The hills meant that today was a tough but beautifully scenic walk. Tomorrow we head for Bushmills.

Our hotel last night was ok, if a bit tired. But with it being consistently full with tourist groups doing the Giants Causeway and Game of Thrones tours then I suppose there’s no incentive to modernise. Helena said goodbye to us today as she headed back to work and we headed out to Cushendall on what would be a shorter walking day.

We left Carnlough past the pretty harbour full of orange boats waiting to take tourists on boat tours. Carnlough’s harbour was built by the owners of the quarries west of the village, as was a freight tramway between the quarries and the harbour, including two bridges, both extent, for two parallel streets in the village. The Londonderry Arms Hotel was built in 1848 as a coaching inn by Frances Anne Vane Tempest, Marchioness of Londonderry, great-grandmother of Winston Churchill.

As we continued around the coast the scenery started to change, with higher hills (mountains?) on the landward side. The rock must be quite unstable as there were portions of it were covered in wire netting to protect the road from rockslides.

We then took a little detour to see the “Hidden Village of Galboly”. This was a bit of a climb up into the hills see a few abandoned houses! But the views of the surrounding hills made the trek well worth the effort, including a house used to store the fleeces from recent sheep shearing. On the way down we also spotted a wee baby rabbit (it was tiny) that bolted into the nearest hole when it saw us (we saw black wild rabbits yesterday as well).

We then walked through Glenarrif and Waterfoot with a view of Red Bay Castle and an impressive arch over the road that presumably was previously part of the castle. As we got to Cushendall there was a coffee van outside the lifeboat station so, as we were too early for check-in, we stopped for a coffee and a delicious slice of traybake (Malteser for Paul and Biscoff for me). The local Trent Class Lifeboat was looking ready for action moored in the harbour.

We checked in to our guesthouse, picked up a couple of towels and headed to Waterfoot beach for a swim. Well, swim is an exaggeration but at least we got fully submerged – it was extremely cold (10.6c) but weirdly invigorating.

We then took a short drive into Glenarrif Forest Park to to see the Ess-na-crub waterfall. It was pretty spectacular and the trail / path was well built which meant access was very straightforward. A shortish but interesting day, tomorrow we are heading over to Ballycastle.

Our B&B was “interesting” – as many rooms as possible crammed into the house and we were in “bijou” spaces up on the third and fourth floors. Today was Helena’s second, and last day with us as we walked to Carnlough.

We started out from Larne by passing the Chaine Memorial Tower – a memorial to James Chaine, MP for Antrim (died 1885), who developed Larne’s short sea route to Scotland as well as establishing the town as a transatlantic port. Boston’s long standing Scots-Irish roots can be traced to Larne – the town is documented as being the first in county Antrim to be taken by United Irishmen during the ill-fated rebellion of 1798. The Protestant rebels from this area (almost entirely Presbyterian) filled Larne and engaged the government forces around 2am on the morning of 7 June. We watched the ferry from Stranraer arrive and then headed out along the coast road, enjoying the dry weather and a new beach around every turn.

We carried on the road into Ballygally, keeping close to the coast the whole way. There were multitudes of seabirds (and ducks) populating the beaches – the oystercatchers were by far the noisiest. Ballygally Castle overlooks the sea at the head of Ballygally Bay. Now run as a hotel, it is the only 17th century building still used as a residence in Northern Ireland, and is reputed to be one of the most haunted places in all of Ulster.

The coast road continued to impress with the addition of some impressive cliffs on the land side as well as the non stop beaches. We got to Glenarm after a few flurries of rain (the put coat on, take coat off, swear, put coat on / off again type) and got ice creams from a little van in the car park – the syrups were of a decidedly fluorescent hue. There has been a castle at Glenarm since the 13th century, where it resides at the heart of one of Northern Ireland’s oldest estates The present castle was built by Sir Randal MacDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim, in 1636, and it has remained in the family since its construction. It is currently owned by Randal McDonnell, 10th Earl of Antrim.

Walking around the last headland of the day we has some nice views of Glenarm behind us and Carnlough ahead of us. A relatively short day but I think the exertions of yesterday were still weighing on us as we were definitely quite tired got tea and scones while waiting for checkin time at our hotel. Tomorrow is an even shorter day as we head to Cushendall.

The hotel last night was pretty good – interesting to compare the prices / standards of accommodation as we move across the country – dearer does not always mean better. We had Helena and Hugh joining us for the longest walking day. The forecast was no rain and sunny spells along the whole route.

Established as an English settlement early in the 17th century, Belfast’s growth was driven by an influx of Scottish-descendant Presbyterians. Their disaffection with Ireland’s Anglican establishment contributed to the rebellion of 1798, and to the union with Great Britian in 1800 — later regarded as a key to the town’s industrial transformation. When granted city status in 1888, Belfast was the world’s largest centre of linen manufacture, and by the 1900s her shipyards were building up to a quarter of total United Kingdom tonnage. We walked northwards through the city, past a long queue for an anime convention at Queens University and then caught a glimpse of Belfast Cathedral as we headed back into the docks, past a noisy trio of baby gulls annoying their parent.

We then had a nice walk through Giant’s Park where we could see occasional glimpses of Belfast Castle. The path in the park ran along side the busy M2 and continued that way as we walked along the shoreline. As we got to Hazelbank Park we could see rain falling on the opposite side of the lough and, trusting the forecast, thought we would keep dry.

Then the heavens opened and the temperature really dropped. For about an hour and a half the rain was relentless and rendered the views of the lough meaningless. The rain was so heavy that the roadside drains couldn’t cope meaning passing cars had no alternative but to shower us as they passed by. A pretty miserable, wet and cold trudge into Carrickfergus where the rain mercifully stopped. A stop for a hot lunch and hot drink was very welcome.

The walk out of Carrickfergus was an unexpected hill, just what we needed with sodden shoes/socks and a full stomach! But sun was making an appearance and the views from the top were spectacular. The road also was very quiet which made a welcome change from the busy roads earlier.

Now the weather was behaving as per the forecast and actually felt like a summer day for the first time on this trip. The rolling country side made for some lovely viewing and the sheep and lambs in the fields were enjoying the warmth. We climbed a few hills, including an extra one due to a navigational error, and enjoyed a very welcome ice cream from a farm shop in the middle of nowhere as we then made the long descent into Larne and checked into our B&B. A very long a tiring day and after, hopefully, a good rest we head to Carnlough tomorrow.

The B&B was very nice with a very good breakfast this morning. The forecast was for a reasonably clear day so we set off on our walk to Belfast with raincoats stowed in backpacks.

Bangor has a long and varied history, from the Bronze Age people whose swords were discovered in 1949, to the Victorian pleasure seekers who travelled on the new railway from Belfast to take in the sea air. The city has been the site of a Gaelic Irish monastery renowned throughout Europe for its learning and scholarship, the victim of violent Viking raids in the 8th and 9th centuries, and the new home of Scottish and English planters during the Plantation of Ulster. We decided that today we would walk as much of the coast path (The Ulster Way) as possible and we joined the path just outside the Bangor Marina. There were new beaches to see every few hundred metres, some sandy and some quite rocky.

More beaches, nice views of the water through the trees, a walk on the beach at Helen’s Bay and sight of Grey Point Fort. This is a battery that was part of the defences of Belfast. Construction of the battery began in 1904, with the guns mounted by 1907 (and another battery on the opposite side of the Lough at Kilroot). The battery was armed with two 6-inch Mark VII Breech loading guns. During the First World War additional buildings were constructed to provide accommodation for men of Kitchener’s Army. During the Second World War During the Second World War concrete overhead covers were added to both gun positions. Following the war. the battery continued to be maintained with a mobile radar being installed in 1954 until disarmed in 1956.

As we continued towards Belfast on the coast path there were plenty of seagulls dropping molluscs from a height to break open their shells. We saw the ferry leaving from Belfast port, the Royal Northern Ireland Yacht Club, wind turbine blades ready for shipment (they are huge!) and a Celebrity Cruise Line (I think all the passengers were at the Titanic Exhibition. As we finished walking through the dockland there was a large ship (the SeaRose) in for a £61m refit.

As we were too early check in to our hotel we paid a visit to the Titanic Exhibition. It was interesting to see the history of Belfast ship building as well as, obviously, the building of the Titanic which even included a small theme park type ride (but very sedate). The actual hitting an iceberg and sinking was such a catalogue of avoidable errors but the one that stood out for me was the Captain, despite knowing there was ice in the area, refusing to reduce speed in the belief they could stop in time. The iceberg was spotted 1/4 mile away – the Titanic at full speed needed 1/2 mile to stop.

Just as we got to the city centre the heavens opened (literally!) and also treated us to a hail storm. We had to shelter in a nearby doorway until it passed – shortly afterwards warm sun and blue skies! Tomorrow we will have Helena and Hugh walking with us as we head up to Larne.

The pub for last night was very nice, food was good, room comfortable and service really friendly. Today was forecast to be extremely wet and windy so it was fortuitous that todays walk would be a short one from Donaghadee to Bangor.

The rain hadn’t started by the time Helen picked up our bags and we set off along the coast, but the skies did look dark and ominous. Donaghadee was used in the 1759–1826 period by couples going to Portpatrick in Scotland to marry, as there was a daily packet boat. During this period, Portpatrick was known as the “Gretna Green for Ireland”. The castle pictured is the Motte or Moat, originally a motte-and-bailey castle built by the Anglo-Normans in the late 12th century. The folly or castle on top of the motte was built by Daniel Delacherois in the early 19th century. It was used for storing the gunpowder, used for blasting, when the new harbour was being built between 1821 and 1834. Today it is part of a park, giving views across the town and seawards towards the Copeland Islands.

Now the rain was falling as we walked towards Groomsport, just about seeing Copeland Island before it disappeared in the gloom. We spotted a couple of hardy souls just heading out into the bay for a swim!

Having got to Groomsport we decided that, despite the weather, it would be more enjoyable to walk the actual coast path rather than remaining on the road. This proved to be a good choice as we were able to walk on nearly all of the Ballyholme beach where the row of houses on the promenade reminded me of the children’s TV program called Balamory. It was still raining at this stage as we exited the beach and headed for a coffee and soup for lunch – due to the short walk we had to kill time before we could checkin to our B&B. Tomorrow we head to Belfast in hopefully better weather.