Travel Ireland! Part 1

 Want to travel Ireland? Well here is your guide...

The North Coast

Explore the rugged beauty of Irelands North Coast along with some amazing food and drink, you'll want more than one day to take in such glorious surroundings. From an iconic site such as the Giants Causeway to the historic Dunluce Castle, ill walk you through some of the best spots this place has to offer. 

The Giants Causeway...

This is the North of Irelands most popular tourist attraction, it comprises of around 40,000 of mostly hexagonal columns descending gently into the sea. This large stretch of staircase shaped rocks in the result of cooled lava from volcanic eruptions that took place over 65 million years ago. Or, you can choose to believe the more interesting tale that the causeway was built by an Irish giant called Fionn Mac Cool. When challenged by the Scottish giant Benandonner, Finn built the causeway as a bridge to join Ireland and Scotland. After Finn outwitted Benandonner, Benandonner fled back to Scotland, destroying the causeway so Finn could not follow.   

The Giants Causeway itself is free to visit if you're walking, but if your driving and you want to park your car at the visitor centre, you need to pay for each person in your car. Now, not to worry there are ways that you can visit the giants causeway for free. But, if you do want to park in the visitor centre it £13 for an adult, £6.50 for a child and £32.50 for a family. A cheaper option although is to park at the Causeway Coastal car park and this will only cost you £5 to park here and then a 10 minute walk up the pathway to the visitor centre. 

The Giants Causeway is completely exposed so be prepared if the weather takes a turn for the worst and wrap up warm. The Giants Causeway is full of uneven surfaces so make sure that you are wearing comfortable footwear. Don't forget to stop into the visitor centre on your way. Inside they have a canteen, a souvenir shop and of course plenty of information in the Giants Causeway. Enjoy!

Mussenden Temple...

Mussenden Temple is located on the cliffs near Castlerock looking over the Atlantic Ocean. It is a small circular building looking over Castlerock beach with fabulous views that stretch over the whole of the North Coast of Ireland. The temple was built as a summer library in 1785 and it is dedicated to the memory of Frideswide Mussenden. Unfortunately you can not longer enter The Temple but, its surrounding views are among the most photographed scenes in Ireland and when you visit it will be very apparent why this is the case. 

The National Trust owns the Estate and they charge £7.20 for an adult, £3.60 for a child and £16.25 for a family, these can be got on the National Trust Website. There is a small car park at the start of the walk which is free. There is also toilets there that you can use and also a coffee hut in peek season. 

While you are there you can also visit The Devecote and Ice House. On the grounds there is also an enormous Manor House that the Earls once lived in, which you can walk around freely.  There is also the Walled garden  that once provided the fruit, vegetables, and herbs for the kitchen. It is a 2 mile walk all round an it is so worth it. You can even explore bit further and walk nearby Downhill beach and a short drive will also take you to beaches at Castlerock, Portrush or Portstewart.