The day after checking out Dunluce Castle Stephen and I walked the Causeway Coast. There are a number of great looking hikes in Ireland, and this is meant to be one of the most spectacular. After taking in a portion of it, I have to agree.
There is a writer, Britt Reints, who among other things does a fair amount of travel writing, and one of her main pieces of advice is to travel as adventure, to step out of your comfort zone. For anybody that knows me, understand just how far out of my comfort zone this is. I’m not big on exercise (and it shows) and while I love nature, getting out in it isn’t necessarily my idea of an enjoyable day.
This particular stretch of the coastal hike goes from Carrick-A-Rede to the Giant’s Causeway. and winds up being about 12 miles. With a detour in place, it wound up being 13+ miles.
This is not an easy hike. Well, for me at lest. Look at some of these pictures. It is a dangerous walk. Very beautiful, but dangerous.
I can’t believe I did this. Even crazier was that it was my idea.
Starting our about 8:15 (Laura dropped us off at Carrick-A-Rede – the lower parking lot pictured here) we set off in a westerly direction.
The weather was nice, actually sunny for most of the trek. It started out cool and cloudy with a little sprinkles, then as the terrain got more difficult the skies parted.
A couple of spots are very difficult and treacherous here, particularly during high tide. Thankfully we got there at low tide, but could not tell if the tide was coming in or out, and how fast. We were lucky again, and we knew it.
About halfway through the hike is Dunseverick Castle. From there on the path is actually easier to navigate, but it is also more treacherous in many ways. Often you are no more than a couple of feet away from an absolute sheer drop.
Very scary.
But very beautiful.
That’s it for me. After the hike we toured the Bushmills Whiskey Distilery, which is (literally) a couple of miles from the Giant’s Causeway. It wasn’t a great tour, but it was nice to end the long hike with a god drink.
I took Britt’s advice and stepped out of my comfort zone. I’m glad I did it, but if you want to find me for the rest of my vacation I’ll be down at the pub.