16 June 2018 - Portrush

We had cheese on toast and potato sauté for breakfast, cooked in the rain. Of course when we’d eaten it it stopped raining. 

We went to Portrush town centre for a look around. It looked further on the map than it was, good job or MLW would have made us walk!

Portrush is a peninsula. We walked in along one of the fronts from the West Strand car park watching the hubbub of Saturday activity. Surfers, dog walkers, runners, canoeists and children’s clubs. It looks as though it’s a little run down but with lots of development going on in town it could be on the way back up. There were plenty of non chain shops and cafes in the town centre along with seaside amusements and rock shops.

We stopped for a coffee at what appears to be a local chain, the YCM was well entertained with some colouring and a babyccino. As we were going off to a very touristy area later we went to the bakers to get lunch.

After a good look around we snacked and walked back to the car and set off to the Giants Causeway. 

The National Trust was asking over £28 for the ‘experience’ however, I had my own geology expert with me. 

After a quick chat to the car park attendant we went to a car park for the Bushmills and Giants Causeway railway station. £6. 

We walked down to the causeway. About a mile and an easy walk, even through the hail. The causeway is impressive. MLW explained how it happened, volcano, lava, cooling quickly, probably something else. It is worth seeing though and worth heading this way. MLW was beside herself. So excited about rock formations. Takes all sorts. The weather peeled up into sunshine and the YCM clambered over everything. They both made it towards the sea as far as you could go before the National Trust told them to go back. It’s like a massive climbing frame. The surrounding cliffs loom impressively over the bay. 

We returned to the car for food and then got tickets to go in the railway (tramway). 

Well it took half an hour to do 2 miles. The vegetation scratched the carriages, the train slowed to crawling pace for every set of points and even then I thought it was going to derail. 

We had a walk around Bushmills which definitely seems like it’s a town in decline. A lot of the shops and bars were covered in cleverly created posters which made them look like shops and bars which weren’t so derelict as they actually were. 

I thought I’d pop into a tourist shop and buy a bottle, as I was there, but I couldn’t find anywhere to buy without going to the distillery shop. 

I suppose I could have gone to the Co-op and got a bottle but I could do that at home. It doesn’t provide that touristy warmth. 

We caught the train back to the other end of the line, got in the car and covered the distance in 10 minutes. 

We returned to the pod. I cooked and the YCM went and played in the sun before bedtime. 

I’m waiting for her to drop off so I can make us a cup of tea and possibly watch a game of football. 

Tomorrow we head south, and need to remember the Euros.