Marble Arch Caves - July 24, 2009

Today, we drove over to Alan's house. Detta and I had arranged to have lunch with Susan but we rebooked it for Saturday so Alan could take us to the Marble Arch Caves just east of Enniskillen. Fortunately Patricia was picking up Valerie's girls so we followed her.
We left about 9:00. It is about a 2 hour drive there but at least the scenery was enjoyable. We arrived about 12:00 (we stopped for a snack). We had to walk down 150 steps to get into the caves. I was worried that it maybe somewhat claustophobic, but it wasn't too bad at all. There were paths laid down to walk on. Though some of the taller people had to watch there heads. Some of the formations or stalactites grow about 1 cm every 1,000 years. In one part you can take boats but due to amount of rainfall the day before the water levels were too high. It really was quite amazing. It was nice and cool in the caves.
After this we headed back to Alan's. Alan made us a chicken curry for dinner. Detta loved it. It was nice to sit down and chat with Alan and his wife, Valerie. Detta copied a bunch of songs from Alan's PC to CD, she was very happy. We listened to it all the way back to Patricia's house.

Then I discovered my mistake about the day we were flying home as you have already read. This also meant Detta and I missed having lunch with my cousin, Susan. At least we dropped by the previous Saturday.

Lunch at Alexander's - July 23, 2009

Today we had a very slow start to the day. Detta slept in. Patricia took us to meet Valerie, Barbara and the girls in Craigavon. We then drove to Markethill and had lunch at Alexanders. It is a lovely cafe. I love the cafes over here in Northern Ireland. The food is good and the cafes are so nice. Anyways I had a brie with grapes and cranberry sauce. It was delicious. Detta had a ham and coleslaw sandwich. The desserts were gorgeous. Detta had a piece of chocolate cake. It was decorated so beautifully. I had a maltzer square. Patricia makes them also, it was good but I actually prefer Patricia's.

Afterwards Barbara dropped Detta and I off at my cousin Alan's house. We weren't there very long and it started to pour with rain, just bucketing down. So we didn't go out, we ended up having a great chat. Detta surfed the internet. Then Detta helped Alan make a white sauce, almost exactly how I make mine. We had that with chicken and rice. It was really good, I would have never thought of using the white sauce for anything other than macaroni and cheese.

Alan drove Detta and I back to Lisburn and we went to the movies. We saw Transformers, again. But it was just as good the second time. I haven't been to a movie theatre in the UK in many years. I forgot about the salted and sweet popcorn. I had salted, Detta had sweet!

Co. Down - July 22, 2009

Today, we headed off for Hillsborough. On route, we stopped at M&S and bought our lunch. We were going to have a walk around the town. It is very pretty. We stopped at the Tourist Information and looked at the law courts there. It turned out to be such a beautiful day, that I decided we should take a drive down the west side of Strangford Lough. We set off and as we reached Ballynahinch, I realised I had missed my turning and was headed in the wrong direction.


We changed our plans and headed towards Downpatrick. It rained off and on but when we reached Inch Abbey, it stopped. We had a short walk around the ruins. It is very picturesque and quiet, in the distance you can see the steeple of Down Cathedral. This cathedral is believed to be the burial place of St. Patrick.








From here I decided to have a quick detour to an ancient monument I knew of from a previous trip, Ballynoe Stone Circle. I found it easily and we decided to take our lunch with us and eat amongst the stones. It is a long walk down an old sunken lane. Detta was very dubious about the whole thing. When we reached the gate to go in the field, there were cows, at least 15. I went in anyways and gave them a wide berth, in case of any problems.


Detta was so upset but the last time I was here it was raining. I had a nice walk around the circle but obviously we didn't have lunch with the cows, there were too many flies. By the time I got back to Detta, she was in tears.

We continued on to Clough, where we stopped and ate our lunch. The sandwiches were delicious. Detta had a BLT and I had a plain cheese but added coleslaw to it.

We stopped at Dundrum Castle. It was a bit of a walk up to the main level. From there you can go up the keep, but it is a very narrow circular stone staircase. I took my time. Detta did not come up with me. The views from up there are great.

After this we headed back to Patricia's house. She made us a lovely curry for dinner. Even Valerie's little girls ate some. We dropped by Alan's house to see Katherine. Katherine was leaving early Thursday morning for a holiday in the sun. She talked so fast, I could hardly understand what she said. After this we popped by Barbara's house. The baby is sleeping much better.

Co. Antrim - 2

I woke up at 5:30am and couldn't get to sleep, finally at 7:30 I showered and dressed. I knocked on Detta's door, she got up much faster than I thought. We both had the traditional Irish breakfast, though Detta's was minus the egg. She didn't want the soda or potato bread so I had them, it was delicious.

We then set off for the Giant's Causeway. We arrive somewhat early, because the parking attendants weren't even there. The pay & display was £6.00 but we didn't have the change so I left a note in the window. We set off down the road, there weren't many other people about. It was quite a long walk down to the stones. My legs were stiff from climbing the stairs at Killbane Castle the day before. Detta enjoyed the rocks, we climbed all over the place. But when we decide to headed back up to the car, it just started to rain. As we walked the rain got heavier and heavier. People were walking down in jackets and no raincoats. When we got back to the car, it was pouring down. Our jackets are not raincoats, they are okay for a drizzle but not rain this heavy. We were soaked. We had to quickly grab our clothes from the day before and changed in the car. As we left, the parking attendant was there, I was hoping to slip by without paying but no luck. He had noticed our note so we weren't ticketed, thank goodness, that would have been more than £6.00. I asked him about Carrick-a-rede rope bridge, he said it was a good mile along the top of a cliff to get to it. As our jackets were already soaked, Detta and I decided that we would have to give this a miss so we headed down towards Carrickfergus castle.

On our way, I notice a town sign for Dunloy. I had been looking at my new book on ancient monuments in Antrim and knew that an ancient monument called Dooey's Cairn was nearby. So I took a quick detour. This one was particularly easy to find as it was sign posted but on a very narrow laneway. I found it and when we walked to it, the grass was being cut. So we went back to the car and waited till they were finished and I walked over by my self. Detta decide to wait in the car while I had a wander around. This ancient monument is a Court Tomb. It was still raining but that wouldn't put me off looking. When I was finished we headed out for Carrickfergus castle again.

We finally made it to Carrickfergus. It was still pouring with rain so we went to McDonald's for lunch. Detta had the Summer Chicken Supreme and I had the Sweet Chilli Chicken Deli. For dessert, Detta had Cornetto McFlurry Mint Chocolate. After this I felt I had enough energy to walk around Carrickfergus Castle.
When we first arrived we walked in the keep as there was a good display there and it was indoors. It was like a gale outside, the wind was howling and rain was pouring down. Our umbrellas kept turning inside out as the wind kept changing direction. We had a quick thorough look around outside. It would have been much better the day before. Maybe we should have waited the extra half hour! In this picture that is Detta heading out of the rain, she had had enough.

Co. Antrim - 1

Detta and I have been very busy the past two days. On Monday, we left and drove up the Antrim Coastline on the Giant Causeway's Scenic Drive. Our first stop was Carrickfergus Castle but we were too early so we decided to push on.

We drove up onto Islandmagee. The roads are so small and narrow. I was interested in finding a particular ancient monument, Ballylumford dolmen. It is actually in someone's frontyard, now that is what I call a garden decoration. We drove onto Portmuck harbour, it would be a lovely place to rent a cottage. I can just see Donovan and Miles playing on the beach.

We then headed up the coast, it is so beautiful. I went inland at Ballygowan to try and find some ancient monuments. We did manage to find a standing stone but as it was in the middle of a farmer's field we just looked from the sidelines. There was a small tractor track between the fields, Detta though I might get arrested for going down it. There wasn't a soul around. We stopped near Linford at a viewing area and ate the lunch Patricia had made for us. It was delicious. Detta really likes the sandwiches, chicken and coleslaw on granary bread.

We continued up the coast and stopped at Bonamargy Friary, just outside Ballycastle. It was a ruin, Detta thought we were trespassing. I told her it was well marked and had parking so it must be open to the public. Sorley Boy from the 16th century is buried there.

Our next stop was Kinbane Castle, it was fantastic. But you really need to be in shape. The stairs going down seemed to go on forever, and the thought of climbing back up! Detta was not so keen. I am not sure if the castle is supposed to be open as it was a bit of a climb to get up. I though it was fantastic but I was completely knackered by the time we reached the top.

We continued on to the Carrick-a-rede Rope bridge but it was very busy. We thought we might go there the next day. We stopped to view Dunseverick Castle. This must have been a very cold spot to live in a stone castle. From there we went onto Dunluce Castle, we decided the Giant's Causeway was too busy.Dunluce Castle is beautiful. Sorley Boy MacDonnell lived here. It is right on the edge of a cliff. It was built in the 13th century and has quite a history to it.From here I decided to find somewhere for the night. We drove into Portrush but it was so busy we went onto Portstewart. We found a lovely B&B called Cul Erg B&B. Detta wanted fish & chips for dinner, so we went to the Harbour Cafe. We got there at the right time, because as we ordered, people were starting to wait for tables. It was very reasonable about £15.00 for both of us.


After dinner, I decided we should go looking for some ancient monuments which we never found. So we stopped back at Dunluce castle and took some pictures of the sun going down. The sun sets about 10:30pm here!!

Northern Ireland

Detta and I arrived in Belfast yesterday. Alan gave us a ride to Heathrow at 7:30am. I am glad we arrived early as the queue for the baggage was very long. We had an e-ticket to confirm our seating which was easy but the baggage queue was unbelievable. We had a couple of hours to spare so Detta bought a new cover for her DS at HMV. We finally got on the flight which was only an hour. But we now have 3 suitcases which I still may reduce back to 2 as we got charged for being 11kilos overweight. Which I did have to pay for!!!

We picked the car up and headed towards Lisburn. I found my way quite easily but the road layout near Patricia and Kenny's house has changed so I became a bit lost but then recovered. Thank goodness Patricia was just having lunch, I was starving. The food on the plane is no longer free so I hadn't eaten anything all day.


We just relaxed and Detta had a nap. Barbara and Trevor came over with the new baby, Katie. She is 6 weeks old and very sweet. Detta even held the baby, I think it is the first time she has ever held a baby.
Today we set off for the Mourne Mountains. It looked like it was going to rain but it held off and turned into a beautiful day. We stopped in the mountains, but it was so windy that we all hopped back in the car fairly quickly. We stopped at Kilbroney for some coffee and had a walk around the park there. If all the family came for a visit, there is a caravan park there.

We then drove over Kilkeel. We went into a few shops. The scenery along the way is just beautiful. I am not sure if Detta finds is so interesting. The ice cream may have helped. Patricia bought Detta a CD which we listened to but only on the condition, if we didn't like, there was the option of turning it off. I think the CD was the best part for Detta. We then stopped at Newcastle and walked along the boardwalk. After this we headed home.
Patricia and Kenny took us out for dinner. Detta was very happy to have pizza, it was delicous.