Dark Hedges, Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge Trail, Larrybane, White Park Bay
It was rainy this morning, but not the misting on and off rain we have been having so far. It wasn’t a hard rain, but it was fairly steady. It was also cooler than it has been.
After a slow morning we decided to do a short trip to Dark Hedges. The beech trees were planted (most likely) in the late 1700s to create an imposing entrance to a newly built house, Gracehill House. The trees are now very old and large and several are missing. The boys weren’t terribly impressed, but I thought it was a worthwhile, free outing. The trees were definitely large and in the small areas where they were still densely planted it was dramatic. The receive lots of visitors now because they formed the “Kings Road” in the Game of Thrones tv show.
The internet was working when we got back to the Airbnb, so Kyle decided to get homework done and Edon began work.
The rain cleared up, but it was colder and windier than our previous days here. Miles, Vanessa, and I went out to explore the eastern route of the Ulster Way path we had been walking earlier in the week.
We assumed the eastern route was the path to the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge. We headed that direction, going further along the path than the previously.
The rope bridge was used in the past by salmon fishermen, but has been a tourist attraction for over 100 years as well. The Atlantic Salmon are now endangered. And the original rope bridge has been replaced with a sturdier version.
Vanessa is very hesitant about doing the rope bridge. Miles and I brought her as close to the bridge as we could get without tickets and it didn’t allay her fears. The views of the coast were stunning.
Apparently the Ulster Way did not continue its eastern trail along this path as we had to turn and head back shortly after the rope bridge.
Several times we had seen a man-made structure in the side of a cliff when looking west up the coast from the rope bridge path. We went to go and see if we could climb down to it and found out there was an easy path to get there through the second car park of the rope bridge attraction.
According to a sign, this area was also used in filming Game of Thrones.
It is known as Larrybane. It was formerly a limestone quarry. We climbed down past the old building remnants and found a rocky beach, boulders, caves, and to Miles’ delight, tide pools. I walked east up the beach, back toward the rope bridge, while Miles and Vanessa checked out the tide pools. I came back and we all explored a cave that Miles found that could only be seen when walking west along the beach. Then, the three of us headed back to the cottage.
The weather was still clear, but cool that evening. Miles and Vanessa hadn’t made it to the Sandy beach or grassy hills of White Park Bay the previous day. Edon and Kyle still had work to do, so Miles, Vanessa, and I drove to the parking lot of the western side of White Park Bay. We hiked down to the beach through the green hills. At first we walked to the left and found a very beautiful fairy glen. There were at least three more caves here. The opening of one was easily large enough to walk into. It went back a long way, but the strong smell of guano prevented us from exploring it.
We returned to the beach and walked slowly east up the sand. Miles found so many tiny jellyfish washed up onto the beach. He did his best to return every one to the sea.
It was getting late, so about halfway up the beach we turned around and climbed to the hillside path. We took a meandering route back to the car. It was a gorgeous evening.
I washed laundry, showered, and headed to bed.
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