One of the most beautiful day trips I have ever made was the one with Paddywagon Tours from Belfast in 2008. I adore Paddywagon as a tour company (I’m not sponsored by them), so years later I opted to travel with them again but that’s a story for another time. This time around I travelled around Nortern Ireland, a bonus to the gorgeous landscape we encountered on the way was the incredibly funny tour guide. 

County Antrim

Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge
The first stop in Antrim was the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge. You are allowed to cross it (for a fee) but I decided to skip it as I believe the view to the bridge is the main attraction rather than standing on it. If I’m mistaken, I would be happy to hear it and I’ll make my way back there next time I’m in the area.

Giant’s Causeway
The second stop of the tour was the Giant’s Causeway. The myth behind this Causeway is really nice and I prefer this story over the fact that this Causeway was probably created by volcanic eruptions:

They say that an Irish giant named Fionn mac Cumhaill decided to fight the Scottish giant Benandonner, his rival. There was no boat big enought to carry Fionn over the sea to meet Bennandonner so he build his own pathway of stepping stones from Ireland to Scotland (part of the Causeway can be found on the Isle of Staffa in Scotland). As soon as he crossed the see he saw the huge size of Benandonner. He ran straight back to Ireland before being spotted by the other giant. When Fionn did not show up Bennandonner used the Causeway to walk to Ireland and Fionn crawled into a crib. When Bennandonner came to the door to fight him, his wife told him not to wake the baby. Seeing just how large Fionn’s “baby” was, Bennandonner grew afraid and ran back to Scotland, tearing up the causeway as he went to prevent Fionn following him.

Dunluce Castle
The third short stop was at Dunluce Castle which is as you can see below is absolutely stunning.

Londonderry
The fourth and final stop before returning to Belfast was the city Londonderry, or Derry as they call it in the Republic of Ireland. Londonderry is only remaining completely intact walled city in Ireland. So of course, we had to walk over the walls to have a quick impression of the city. I was delighted to see the murals there, since I had missed them in Belfast. It was a pleasant walk and a nice city, but nothing compared to the breathtaking landscapes I had seen earlier that day.

Northern Ireland is such an insanely beautiful place!