Walking with Giants
Walking with giants sounds like something out of a fairytale, and what better place for a fairytale to come to life than Northern Ireland? The Giant’s Causeway is a fascinating part of Northern Ireland’s coastline. The wild Atlantic ocean crashes against basalt columns, which legend says were formed by giants walking over the sea to Scotland. The scientific explanation is volcanic activity, but I’m going with the giant story.
When we decided to visit Europe, the best flights went into Dublin, and we’d always wanted to see Ireland, so it seemed to be a perfect fit! The only catch was that because of work commitments, we had just 2 days for this trip before we had to get to France, so we tried to squeeze in as much adventure as possible. On our first day, we went up from Dublin into Northern Ireland and toured Belfast and Giant’s Causeway all in one whirlwind of a day!
Our tour left Dublin bright and early at 7am. We arrived in Belfast and had the option to tour the Titanic Experience or take a Black Cab History Tour. We chose the history tour and were blown away. I highly recommend this option as we learned so much about the history of the conflict in Northern Ireland and how it still affects life there today.
Next, we continued on the scenic Antrim Coast Road to the Giant’s Causeway. We were lucky to get a perfect sunny day and spent a wonderful few hours wandering around the columns and exploring the visitor’s center. The scenery is utterly breathtaking and so unique – well worth the visit!
We also put in a stop at the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, which swings precariously out over the coast. It’s maybe not the best option for those with a fear of heights, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience!
After a magical day of adventure, we arrived back in Dublin around 8:30pm. Our next day was spent exploring Ireland. Although I certainly recommend spending more time in both Ireland and Northern Ireland – you can make it work with just 2 days! I can’t wait to go back with a little more room in the schedule.
Have you ever been to Northern Ireland before?
