The Giantβs Causeway nears
Stepping stones from the gods
A path between appears
Colossal beasts at odds β We Hunt Buffalo
Woolly says – We had arrived in good time at our first stop of the day, and I have to say I was really excited as Zoe had no idea what we were going to see. Sadly, Jo who did know, wasnβt in great shape after a nearly sleepless night of coughing and sneezing she had pulled a muscle in her chest and was struggling, but being the adventurer she is she was determined to get there and enjoy.
The Giant’s Causeway is an area of approximately 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic fissure eruption, part of the North Atlantic Igneous Province active in the region during the Paleogene period. It is located in County Antrim on the north coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (4.8 km) northeast of the town of Bushmills which is famous for its whiskey.
It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 and a national nature reserve by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland in 1987.
The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea. Most of the columns are hexagonal, although some have between four and eight sides. The tallest are approximately 12 metres (39 ft) high, and the solidified lava in the cliffs is 28 metres (92 ft) thick in places.
Having paid a small fortune to park the car we set off to see the stones choosing the easy path to save Jo keeling over trying to get up a steep climb. The views were lovely but having got to the end of the route I realised that something was missing namely the Giants causeway, Zoe was oblivious but Jo and I looked at each other and knew there was no point in coming if we werenβt going to see the stones properly.
We started the walk back with my mind working overtime and wondering if I would actually make it having already stopped several times to try and ease the pain in my chest, I didnβt want to let the other two down and having struggled to a railing I slumped onto it before I make a decision to go together or to send Woolly and Zoe together.
A few minutes passed while I explained to Zoe that we hadnβt actually seen the causeway and that we would need to follow the crowds down the coast road to get there, it was only a mile but that seemed like a marathon at this moment. It was then that I spotted a bus driving up the small road with the number 477 and the destination Giants Causeway, halleluiah we could do this.
Woolly says β We sent the younger human back to the car to get some cash while I stayed to look after the decrepit one. Ten minutes later Zoe reappeared and we walked some steps just in time to climb onto the bus paying a princely sum of Β£2 return.
Within a few minutes we were rounding a corner and there before us were the rocks, they were magnificent.
Sadly, there were an awful lot of people about, but we manged to climb over a few stones to get some views and to appreciate the splendour of nature at its best.
With all of us equally impressed we strolled back to the bus stop and climbed on board for the trip back, once we had alighted and headed rather slowly back to the car Jo was happy to slump into the passenger seat and dose herself up with some painkillers.
Heading away from the coast we had just over an hour to go before we reached our final stop for the day. I had debated long and hard on this one having looked at three options, the rain that had started it made it easy to choose so we set off to see some transport.
The Transport Museum has its origins in Belfast Corporation’s preserved collection of historic transport items, which were temporarily exhibited in the 1950s in a former engine shed near Queen’s Quay station. An additional 40 acres (16 ha) of land was purchased at Cultra and the first new gallery was opened in May 1976, although most of the collection remained at Witham Street for the time being. In the 1990s, new larger galleries were constructed at Cultra and the rest of the collection was then moved.
Having paid for our tickets we headed into the first area of the museum, Joβs face lit up as Iβm sure did mine as everywhere we looked there were steam trains, big ones, little ones it was amazing.
It tells the story of over 150 years of railway history. Steam locomotives, passenger carriages and goods wagons are combined with extensive railway memorabilia, interactive displays and visitor facilities.
I had the best time as not only were they steam trains but with many of them we could climb onto the footplate, which is a rare thing indeed, I climbed up and down every train I could being sure to go woo woo on everyone.
One of the collection’s main attractions is Great Southern Railways Class 800 locomotive No. 800 MaeαΈαΈ, one of the three largest and most powerful steam locomotives ever to be built and run in Ireland.
There were plenty of beautiful signs and maps as show as well, so much nicer than the adverting we see today. Having had our fill and provided the poorly one with a cup of tea and a sit down we headed into the next section.
A small Titanic exhibition, documenting the construction, voyage, and eventual sinking of the ill-fated vessel. I tried not to look at too much as we had a big Titanic day coming up, it was however lovely to see some of the actual items that had been salvaged from the depths.
Down a slope we went and into an area all focused on trams, I do like a tram, and these were beautiful. Some old fire engines caught my eye along with a very fetching AA box.
Down a further slope we found a small section of car exhibits with a cute Hillman Imp and some lovely Morris Cowleys.
The next section of the museum was a short walk away and I could see that Jo was starting to flag, we did take a quick look at the racing motorbikes from the 1920βs up to modern day.
We also found an aeroplane that could land and take off vertically which is very clever.
Then came the Delorean DMC 12 with its upright opening door, classed a fast car in its time doing top speed of 84mph which seemed quite slow these days given some of the drivers on the motorways in the UK.
Just as we were about to exit, I saw a jet ski, having never been on one before I had to climb on and it was wonderful to feel the wind racing past my tusks. Finally having only been tod three times to get off I joined the humans for a slow walk back to the car and a search for our accommodation.