Causeway Coastal Route – Northern Ireland in a nutshell

On the last day of 2016 I challenged myself with a special challenge: Left-hand traffic road trip premiere on the Causeway Coastal Route! If you often visit the blog and not only look at the pictures, but also read two or three lines (ha, caught?! ;)), you know that I didn’t like it at all behind the wheel not so long ago. But practice makes perfect and in 2015 I had my first “aha” experience on the Icefields Parkway. Road trips like this are really fun! Since then, a number of routes have been added. Only the left-hand traffic still gave me a headache. Even when driving on the right, I can hardly distinguish between “left” and “right”. What kind of mess does it make if I have to drive the wrong way around? Nevertheless. That didn’t stop me from the idea of combining our New Year’s Eve trip to Belfast with a trip to the coast. I guess I’ll pack the almost 60 miles to the famous Giant’s Causeway, right?

No sooner said than done. I booked a car with Sixt for a day. I overlooked the fact that although the station was called Airport, it was not located directly at the airport and only offered a shuttle service to the airport and not to the city. Well. Europcar and Avis would have been a better choice because they are located directly in the airport building. What we didn’t know was that it was definitely worth taking a taxi. The bus ticket to Dee Road cost £4 for two people. From there we had to walk a good kilometer to the rental station. The taxi from the hotel to the rental station costs £6. The extra £2 is well worth it, especially when you come back totally soaked after a day of road trips.

After the formalities were done and we signed that we would not drive over to Ireland with our car (this costs 12£ extra per day rental), the trip into the countryside could begin. When planning the route, I was guided by the Causeway Coastal Route and the excursion tips to the Game of Thrones filming locations. The Causeway Coastal Route runs from Belfast via Cushendun and Ballycastle to Londonderry on the Irish border. A total distance of 190 kilometres, which promises historic coastal villages, great cliff views and plenty of sheep along the way. I managed the left-hand traffic easily – the friend showed more effort as a passenger. The sometimes very narrow roads were challenging. And no matter how narrow, there is always a median strip marked.

We took a surprising amount of time for the first leg from Larne to Ballycastle. At Waterfoot we made a short detour to Glenariff Forest Park, but then realized that we definitely don’t have the time for a hike to the falls. After the obligatory stop at the Cushendun Caves (a Game of Thrones filming location), we added an additional detour to Torr Head. A worthwhile detour, even if we had to fight against the strong gusts of wind with every step on the ascent to the viewpoint.

The weather held out bravely all the way to Ballycastle. There, our growling stomachs demanded a stop to refreshments. Good decision. After a Tripadvisor check, we decided to go to the Central Bar (12 Ann Street) and were pleasantly surprised. A cozy ambience and a small, fine menu with excellent seafood chowder.

Carrick-A-Rede Suspension Bridge

While we were feasting inside, the weather was clouding outside. And as soon as we set foot over the threshold, the first thick raindrops splashed on the ground. Well, rain is somehow part of a really authentic Northern Irish road trip, isn’t it? For the next two highlights, not many kilometers were necessary – fortunately – the advanced time forced us to hurry. Shortly before Ballintoy we headed for the Carrick-A-Rede suspension bridge. In the meantime, pouring rain has set in, which turned the 20-minute walk to the bridge into a rather damp excursion.

Giant’s Causeway

Already completely soaked from the walk to the suspension bridge, the motivation fell by the wayside at the Giant’s Causeway – actually “the” highlight of the Causeway Coastal Route. Nevertheless, the 40,000 uniformly shaped basalt stones (on the list of Unesco World Heritage Sites since 1986) are fascinating in any weather. But be careful, the stones can get quite slippery.

Dark Hedges

Even though we didn’t have the time for the last leg to Londonderrry due to the early dark, we didn’t miss an additional stop at the Dark Hedges – also a Game of Thrones filming location. This is one of those photo spots that caught my eye on Instagram. For a snapshot (without tripod) the light was just enough. But we had to be very careful that no cars ran over us. The country road through the tree-lined avenue was very busy, at least that evening.

Back to Belfast, we chose the “fast” A44/A26 route variant.

Causeway Coastal Route Road Trip – Practical Tips:

• The excursion along the Causeway Coastal Route to the Giant’s Causeway can be done with a rental car as a day trip from Belfast
• We paid £50 for a day for our rental car (mid-range with automatic transmission)
• Admission to the Carrick-A-Rede Suspension Bridge costs £5.90 for adults – check opening hours!
• The entrance fee to the Giant’s Causeway is £8.50 for adults. If you arrive on foot, by bike or by public transport, you pay only £7
• An overview of the Game of Thrones filming locations can be found on the official tourism site
• Attention: the streets are sometimes very narrow, in poor condition and insufficiently lit at night
• Allow enough time – we didn’t think we would arrive at the Giant’s Causeway just before 16:00.

Merken

Merken