Rathlin Island and The Giant's Causeway, N. Ireland

We were woken at 6.45am by Kara, who told us the ship was at anchor just off Rathlin Island. We had decided to go on the short guided walk rather than the longer hike along the cliffs. We were in Group 3 and our Zodiac would leave at about 8.30am. This meant we had time for a leisurely breakfast before taking the short ride ashore.

Looking back across the small harbour towards the Silver Explorer, in the distance, at anchor off Rathlin Island.

The weather was overcast but there was no wind and the crossing was calm. We were met on shore by our guide, Robert, who lived in Belfast and did guided tours of the island as a part-time job. We were also joined by the historian Imogen Corrigan and the ornithologist Dayo, who comes from southern Nigeria.

Rathlin Island lies just off the coast of County Antrim. There are two ferries to the mainland - the express which takes about 20 minutes, and the slow boat, which takes twice as long.

A lovely view along the coast of Rathlin Island, in brilliant sunshine.

We walked along the shore taking photos of oystercatchers, grey seals, eider ducks, a heron and a buzzard. The weather had improved and the sun came out, which made up for the cold wind.

There were several Oyster Catchers feeding off the kelp exposed by the low tide. They are beautiful birds with their long orange beaks.

  
A habour seal 'taking it easy' and enjoying the sunshine.

We went past the ruined building, in the photo below, that had once been the kelp store. Kelp was harvested and processed to produce iodine and soap.

We were shown a replica of a curragh, a small dinghy-type boat that was used to ferry goods to and from the island. They were constructed from wood and cowhide, with bitumen to seal the joins.

 

As we walked back towards the quay, Robert pointed out a circle of hares in a field. He said they were males, and a female would go into the circle to chose her mate.

Rathlin Island is a charming place with about 100 inhabitants. In the 1990s, they received a £50,000 donation from Richard Branson for rescuing him at the end of his transatlantic voyage in a hot-air balloon, which got into difficulties nearby. The islanders used the money to develop a community centre, which houses a nurse's office.

Rathlin Island is also known for being used by Marconi to establish the first commercial wireless telegraphy link in the world. It was set up for Lloyd's of London in August 1898. The plaque below commemorates the first wireless link.

Next, we visited Rathlin's small church and graveyard with its numerous epitaphs to members of the Gage family who used to own the island. We also saw a cafe and an art gallery, which is run by the partner of Robert, our guide.

 

At about 11am, we returned to the boat on one of the Zodiacs after a very pleasant and interesting visit.

While we were having an early lunch, the boat lifted the anchor and we headed west for the 20 mile journey along the North Antrim coast to Portrush. By now it was beautifully sunny and starting to get quite warm.

Our coaches were waiting for us as we disembarked at the small quay of Portrush Harbour.

At 1.30pm we went ashore to be met by coaches that drove us along the coast to The Giant's Causeway. We parked at the new visitor center, which was designed to replicate the basalt columns of the causeway and was nominated in 2013 for the Stirling Architectural Prize

We were horrified to arrive at the Causeway to find the whole place packed out with visitors. There were hundreds of cars and a large number of coaches. We decided to take the shuttle bus that went from the visitor centre to the mid-way point of the World Heritage Site.

Our first experience of walking on the basalt columns was not helped by the hundreds of people scrambling all over the rocks

We then walked about a mile along the path that led to The Amphitheatre. On the way, we went past the Organ, a group of basalt columns that looked to me like a set of pan pipes. Shortly after, we came to the small island called the Giant's Boot, said to belong to Finn MacCool, the giant who built the Causeway.

Looking down at the small island, the Giant's Boot and then along the path on our way to the Amphitheatre.

Unfortunately, I discovered later that neither of us had taken any photos of the Amphitheatre that showed it well enough to post. Readers will have to believe me when I say it was a very impressive looking inlet with towering basalt columns on all sides.

We walked back to where the bus had dropped us off and went down on to the basalt slabs so that Wendy could take photos. The coastline is very beautiful here, but the place was so crowded with people that it was not much fun!

We took the bus back to have a cup of tea at the Visitor Centre, which is housed in an award-winning, eco-friendly building made of basalt and with a 'living roof'. On the road back to Portrush, the coach took us to the ruins of Dunluce Castle. As we approached, Wendy took this shot through the coach window, hence its slight lack of definition, but worth posting as it shows the castle perched on top of the rock promontory high above the sea.

 
We had an excellent guide, who was Greek/Irish, and enjoyed Dunluce Castle much more than the Giant's Causeway, because of its marvellous location and peaceful atmosphere. The earliest standing remains date to around 1500. It was established by the McQuillans, who were then ousted by the MacDonnells, descendants of the Scottish clan MacDonald. They became the dominant family across North Antrim and the glens. Our guide told us a lot of the history of Dunluce Castle and we would have liked to spend more time there.

I will let the photos tell more of this very beautiful place.

We took the coach back to the quay for the return ride to the ship, where we had to get ready quickly for the Captain's Welcome Cocktail Party. At dinner, we sat with Digby and Elizabeth from New Zealand and Roy and Sue, a British couple we had already met as we boarded the ship in Greenock. We had a very good dinner.