Terry and Sooz's Travels: September 2019

Monday, September 30, 2019

September 30, 2019 - Ballycastle, Northern Ireland

Had a nice omelette this morning at the Salthouse Hotel where we are staying. It was more like a frittata but was very tasty nevertheless.

We jumped on the bike with hiking gear and headed to the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. The day was cool and we warmed up as we hiked to the bridge. The scenery of the rocky shore and cliffs was impressive. Of course there was a fee (9 pounds sterling each) to cross the bridge. I took a video of my crossing, and in the middle of my crossing someone who shall not be named asked me to turn around and take a picture of her while the bridge was swinging a little so I definitely got my money's worth.

We got back on the bike and headed to the Giant's Causeway near Bushmills. It also involved some hiking along cliffs. It was dramatic and we saw some beautiful rocky shoreline. The basalt has formed geometric shapes although we didn't see a lot of them, but it was still pretty impressive.

On the way back to our hotel we detoured to Ballintoy Harbour a small coastal town where part of The Game of Thrones was filmed. The actors must have frozen during filming especially when they had to get in the water.

We grabbed a quick bite at Thyme & Co Cafe in Ballycastle before going back to our hotel. We had a nice conversation with the husband and wife owners without getting too much into politics which was appreciated.

Entrance to the Salthouse Hotel with the GS proudly in front next to a Tesla

Dunseverick Harbour

Ballintoy Harbour

Hiking to Giant's Causeway

Giant's Causeway

Map of Giant's Causeway

Road signs

Someone who shall not be named on the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge

Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge

Across the rope bridge

Hiking to the rope bridge

Susie modeling the danger sign

Hiking to the rope bridge

Breakfast omelette/fritatta

Sunday, September 29, 2019

September 29, 2019 - Ballycastle, Northern Ireland

Today we took the ferry from Cairnryan, Scotland to Belfast, Northern Ireland and then headed up the coast to Ballycastle. The place we stayed last night was a B & B run by Margaret who is also the owner. The building is 350 years old and it has been in her family for several generations. She.was a lot of fun and told us all about her family history from the area. She and Susie even got on her computer and Margaret tried to help us locate some of my Clark ancestors but to no avail. I recorded 19 minutes of Margaret talking about her family and I'm going to try to find a way to post it here.

To listen to Margaret click HERE

The ferry ride was.fine and we spoke with an Australian couple who were spending 2 months touring around by car. When disembarked in Belfast we took off north and arrived at our hotel in good time. We are staying at a hotel called the Salthouse Hotel. It is only 3 months old and really nice. We're here for 2 nights.

Glenarm Castle

Glenarm, Northern Ireland

Coastal drive north of Belfast

Getting ready to get off the ferry

Our seating area in the ferry

Making sure they strapped down the GS properly

Margaret and Susie at the B & B at Cairnryan, Scotland

Saturday, September 28, 2019

September 28, 2019 - Cairnryan, Scotland

Major travel day, at least for the British Isles. We rode 175 miles starting in Glencoe and ending in Cairnryan. It doesn't sound like a lot compared to U.S. Interstates but for here that's pretty far for one day. We lucked out again on the weather, the coldest it got was 51 F and we had some sun at times. We also had a mixture of roads but all were pretty good however there was a lot of traffic. It was Saturday so there were lots of weekenders out and a fair number of fellow motorcyclists.

I think the highlight of the day for me was having lunch at David's Snack Bar right on the shore of the Firth of Clyde which is between the Irish Sea and the north Atlantic Ocean. We ordered a couple of sandwiches and ate on a picnic table right on the water. The sun was shining, we talked with another motorcycle traveler and the homemade soup I had was really good.

There is an odd looking oval island offshore that I took a couple of pictures showing its odd shape. Its name is Ailsa Craig island, it is uninhabited and about 240 acres in size. Its rare type of microgranite is used to make stones for the sport of curling.

The ride from there south to Cairnryan was stunning. The road closely follows the coast with fantastic panoramic views. The video that Sooz took captures a little of this section of road. We checked into our B & B and later went to a grocery to pick up a few things for dinner.

Tomorrow we take the ferry back to Belfast, Northern Ireland and head north to Ballycastle for 2 nights.

Fellow bikers in the car park at David's Snack Bar

Picnicking on the beach, the sun was shining but the wind was blowing and it was a little cool

Close-up of Ailsa Craig Island

Beach view of Ailsa Craig island

The beach

David's Snack Bar

On the road south from Glencoe

Our last B & B had us take off and put our shoes on a place mat and our boots in a bag

Friday, September 27, 2019

September 27, 2019 - Glencoe, Scotland

By mileage, today was a fairly short day, only about 100 miles. By the clock, it took us most of the day to travel from Isle of Skye to Glencoe and check into our room. The weather was cool and overcast, but no rain, just mist. The external temperature reading on the bike got down to 10.5 C, or around 51 degrees F. We bundled up so the cooler temp did not bother us. Roads were all good 2-laned paved with only one or two eejits (Scotish and Irish slang for idiots) trying to pass when they shouldn't.

We took a very nice detour to the Glengarry Castle Hotel for tea, coffee, scones and pastry; very decadent and filling. The hotel was built in the 1860s as the Ivergarry House and turned into the hotel in 1958. The grounds are nice and it overlooks Loch Oich.

We road into Glencoe before our room was ready so we walked a little and had a real lunch/dinner at the Glencoe Cafe. It was overcrowded and under staffed so it worked well to kill a couple of hours until our room was ready. We stopped in a nice looking but underwhelming gift shop and didn't buy anything.

Last night I reserved a room at the Beechwood Cottage B & B for us tonight. It's very nice with a big room upstairs for us. The proprietor is very picky and I'm sure if I wasn't on vacation and had to spend a lot of time with him he would get under my skin. But not today.

Sooz is checking out where to go tomorrow so we shall see.