First stop this morning is a place known as the Dark Hedges, apparently used in filming Game of Thrones but I'd seen a few photographs of the place and thought it looked interesting. We drove more of less north east towards Coleraine and then fiddled around the lanes.
I can imagine a few years ago it was quite a sight but several of the trees are missing (storm damage I presume) plus the place is heaving with tourists and parking is practically impossible. So Ian stopped with the car whilst I ran up and down the road several times to grab a few shots.
How it looked on the miserable grey day we were there.
And with a bit of tweaking in Photoshop.
At one point we were driving past what looked like a military base or even a prison and there were two lovely shire horses in a field. I could envisage exactly the shot/edit I wanted and I was very fortunate the animal obliged me - such a kind eye.
We drove back through Coleraine and up towards the coast and past the National Trust Downhill Demesne which is home to both the Mussenden Temple, a NT building built in 1785 and designed to resemble the Temple of Vesta in Tivoli.
And this mausoleum which was built around 1780 in memory the then owner's brother. It originally had a statue on top but was damaged by storms in 1839.
Portrush Harbour
Home to RNLB William Gordon Burr
As we were so close we popped in to Portrush Golf Club for a cup of coffee. Rory McIlroy is famous there for having shot 11 under par in 2005 as a 16 yo amateur - a record that still stands.
Further along the coast is Dunluce Castle, another filming location for GoT.
We're staying at the Causeway Hotel, Bushmills which is literally on the cliffs above. I didn't take a picture of it so here's one I pinched (if only we had that glorious weather).
After we'd checked in the weather did seem to brighten up a little and so we decided to walk down to the causeway - because we're staying there we have free access at any time. Because I thought the rain would start again at any moment I decided not to take my camera but to just rely on my phone, which was a mistake as actually the light improved considerably. The walk to the causeway is all downhill and takes around 20 mins and there's a shuttle bus running for those who can't manage it.
I'm not quite sure what we were expecting but our first impression of the Giant's Causeway was how small it was.
Let's hope the weather is a little better tomorrow. We plan to walk along the cliff path and then drop down to the beach and walk back towards the causeway.