Week 1 2nd - 9th Sept 2026
Weds 2nd Sept
Sandford - Liverpool aprox 258 mls.
Overnight on the Liverpool - Belfast Ferry in a pet friendly cabin so Millie the dog can sail in comfort. No kennels or staying in the van in the hold for our precious pet! Downside - costs a bally fortune 😬
Before embarking on the ferry a few hours were spent doing “Dad jobs” at our daughter’s house in Liverpool before the dash to Birkenhead to the ferry port which seemed the most convoluted, complicated route, but the Mersey tunnel was impressive.
Sailing 10.30pm to arrive at 6.30 am think we’ll be breakfasting on land….
Thurs 3rd Sept.
Arrived in Belfast 6.30 am - Graham managing to blag a couple of free coffees by accidentally crashing the Truckers Canteen a few minutes before, We were at the front of the queue exiting the ferry and were soon in on the road looking for some grass for Millies morning wee. On the road to Carrickfergus we spotted some green space which served Millie well and offered up a lovely sculpture of a heron at sunrise.
Not far on is Carrickfergus, which claims the oldest castle in Northern Ireland.
It also had a McDonalds drive through which we yielded to (we were hungry) and soon regretted our breakfast sandwich and wishy washy coffee. It was really not very good.
On to a tour of Islandmagee - a small peninsular with fantastic views and a beach to die for if you’re a beach mad Bordoodle who’s been stuck in a car and a boat for a lifetime in dog years.
The tourist attraction of the cliff and cave walk called the Gobbins followed but it was a guided only tour and strictly dog free tour of nearly 3 hrs so we passed -but the café coffee and cake went down well! Not so impressed by being chased out of the visitor centre by a plump Derry Girls lookalike declaring dogs not allowed despite an earlier person allowing us entrance. Dangerous dog Millie was most offended ….😂
‘On to Glenarm - where we spent a good few hours exploring the glorious walled gardens and woodland walk of Glenarm Castle. We had a lovely lunch in the tea rooms. A beautiful place
On to our campsite in Cushendall. A municipal site with great views over the harbour, although the shower block didn’t look that inviting.
We have a table booked at Harry’s for dinner - a local restaurant- an easy 15 mins walk - until we discovered that the card machine was down - having just a phone with us Graham had to walk back to the campsite to retrieve a debit card to draw cash out to pay the bill. The positive was the brag 18,000 steps he had done, and also the appetite to the huge amount of fish and prawns in the linguine. Yum!
4 Sept 26
Today we are going to Glenariff Forest Park and the Dark Hedges. The Glenariff Forest Park is home to not one, but two large Waterfalls. Whatever, it was a lovely woodland walk with lots of water. Surprisingly lots of Dutch tourists who were ABSOLUTELY FASCINATED with waterfalls - maybe Holland doesn’t have waterfalls being so flat. Lovely views, lovely picnic area, lovely walk. Carol bought a lovely hat.
Then on to The Dark Hedges. Evidently a lane planted with beech trees 150 years ago by someone who wanted their (nice) property to stand out to visitors but really made famous by the Game of Thrones (no me neither - never seen it, although I did once open the lounge door and my son was watching it, a dwarf being pleasured by several naked nubile women. I said “what’s this”, my son said “it’s a fantasy”. I thought “dead right”- G)
The picture above belies the truth - there are coach loads of Americans and Asians tramping up and taking photos of this closed off road. It is the most visited and photographed place in NI. We were lucky - it was raining.
On to Portstewart where we will base ourselves for 3 nights at Juniper Hills Holiday Park which is ENORMOUS ….. we’ve never seen so many static caravans in one place in our lives!
We aim to use the local buses to access the attractions on the Causeway Coastal route. Tomorrow The Giants Causeway … we’ll see….
Sat 5th Sept
Today we braved public transport and caught the bus to the Giant’s causeway via a change of bus in Portrush. It was really pain free - there was a bus stop just outside the holiday park. Apart from a wait of approx 20 mins to catch the first bus we managed to only wait less than 5 mins for the other 3.
The bus route hugged the Coast giving us spectacular views of the sea and the rocky cliffs - passing Dunluce Castle a ruined castle dated from the 13th century with various changes of owners the last being the McDonnells who eventually abandoned the castle. ( we may go there tomorrow)
The Giant Causeway was as expected very busy with multi national visitors . The friendly bus driver advised us to avoid the £16 paid entrance through the visitor centre and just follow the footpath to the World Heritage Site. We were starving on arrival so shared a takeaway tasty fish and chips from the Causeway Hotel as they didn’t allow dogs in the building…. shameful … Millie is beginning to get a complex.
We walked down to the site which although not as large as we had imagined was still spectacular - 40,000 columns mostly hexagonal created 60 million years ago by massive volcanic activity. Legend has it that Finn MacCool, a local giant, accepted a challenge from the Scottish giant Benandonner to build the causeway to Scotland so he didn’t have to get his feet wet. When he got there he saw how big Benandonner was and retreated tearing up the middle but leaving the far end on the island of Staffa. An alternative version is Benandonner came from Scotland and Finn’s wife disguised Finn as a baby and Benandonner thought if the baby was that size the giant must be ginormous and fled tearing up the causeway.
An uphill walk back to the bus stop with just a few mins until the bus arrived and returned to Portrush.
Portrush is the major seaside town in the area with the usual amusement parks and shops….and an enormous sandy beach …. Of course we had to visit this for a run around and ball throw before catching the bus back …Millie really enjoyed it too….
It was a popular surfing beach with lifeguards on patrol.
Back to the van for pre dinner drinks and a Charlie Bigham fish pie - we know how to live!
And Millie had a wee rest …
Sun 6th Sept
A dull and very blustery day which promised rain but it held off - hurrah !
Back on the buses we headed to Dunluce Castle. A bit of fortune was the card machine on the bus wasn’t working so we had a free ride .
Battling the headwind we traipsed to the castle entrance - “sorry no dogs allowed inside the castle … it’s not a guide dog is it?” Millie tried to puff up in a Labrador sort of way but to no avail. No dogs inside the castle - it’s a bally ruin!!
Sooo we meandered around the outside with quite a few others who must have baulked at the £6 entrance fee and took a photo. As you can see, one swish of a dog’s tail would have caused untold damage to a multitude of valuables.
Back to the bus stop and on to the village of Bushmills - home of the world’s oldest whisky distillery.
No dogs allowed on site. We must have passed about 5 no dogs signs (do they think we can’t read or something?) but ploughed on regardless, another “no dogs” in the visitor centre, so off to the gift shop where there were “no dogs allowed”. Leaving Millie tied up outside we went inside and made our gift purchases.
Walked back into the village centre and found a lovely café - dog friendly this time -Millie helping Carol out by eating bacon and melted brie on ciabatta leftovers - at last a little pleasure..
Back on the bus to Portrush (another broken machine and free ride) and another bus back to the campsite. A rather nothing sort of a day but at least it didn’t cost much, apart from in the whiskey shop that is. Definitely a doggie disappointing day made up with a blustery ball walk along the coastal path back at the site.
Mon 7th Sept
Today we set off for Derry but en route visited the site of the abandoned neo classical mansion of Downhill Demesne - created by the Earl Bishop of Londonderry around 1780 - the house was burnt out in 1851 but survived to be occupied by the RAF during World War II - the roof was removed in 1950 and the existing solid structure has been stabilised by the National Trust.
Following a path towards the sea you come across the Mussenden Temple build right on the edge of the cliffs - based on the Temple of Vesta in Tivoli, it was built in 1783 as a library .. but it proved a little damp despite a fire going 24/7. it was also meant to be a retreat for the bishop’s young cousin Frideswide Mussenden but she died in 1785 - so it became a memorial to her.
The location for both the derelict mansion and the temple is stunning - acres of rolling countryside and miles of sandy beaches. You can’t make it out from the photo but the beach you see is a long, long way beneath the temple. In fact it’s named Downhill and the railway line skirts the area - probably one if the most picturesque rail journeys in the world (and in Michael Portillo’s top 5). See below the rail tunnel through a nearby cliff. If we’ve time we’d love to do a section of it.
Millie loved running around the countryside …. and we loved the fact we entered by the Bishop’s gate - the back way - and avoided the 10 quid National Trust carpark fee ha ha retribution for Dunulce Castle 😀
And on to Derry ( Londonderry) - Carol has been looking forward to this as for research purposes she binge watched the whole of the Derry Girls series… if you haven’t seen it Carol thoroughly recommends it - it’s hilarious and attunes you to the local accents..(Netflix or Channel 4 catchup).
Derry / Londonderry / London/Derry
Derry is split by the river Foyle and we parked (for free) on the east side in a recreation park. This meant we could walk across the Peace Bridge opened May 2011 after the Good Friday Peace Agreement. On the route down to the bridge you feel that this was a city on the up: new hotels, eateries, apartments, museums, new developments everywhere. Crossing the bridge you could feel the relief and joy on the bridge after the awful troubles period. I’m not lying, I felt uplifted.
After a convenient sandwich lunch in front of the Guildhall we set off to walk round the city walls. I can only say the walls are stunning and my regret was we didn’t set aside a full day or two to explore Derry.
The original city walls were built 1613 to 1618 to repel everyone from Jacobites, French, English, you name it, with extra gates added to allow entrances in 19C when the walls were no longer needed for defence. Dotted around are various original cannons, all unique and paid for individually by wealthy merchants who had a vested interest in protecting their businesses inside the walls.
It’s about a mile around the wall with noticeboards every 200 yards or so explaining bastions and historic buildings and whatnot. The walls are wider than we expected, wide enough for a modern car in fact, not just in places, but all the way round. The pic below is just a random one, lucky not include one with a tour party in view.
Derry is steeped in history and somehow you feel it through walls, on every corner. On the west side the walls look out over Bogside (obviously when the walls were built Bogside (was a boggy field) but became infamous for, if not starting then being instrumental in the troubles. You can see why. Poor housing, 70% unemployment, Catholics not allowed to live within the city walls, gave way to protests for decent housing and eventually led to The Troubles. Thank the Lord it’s over and the area is being redeveloped. You can see in the distance 1 of the protest murals Bogside is famous for .. i believe you can do a tour of them.
At the end of our walk we were fortunate to happen upon Garvin
a retired tour guide and now a warden, who entertained us with a few stories from his time as a guide and his love for his home town. Like the American tourists who asked why the majority of cannons were pointing towards their own buildings, not realising that the building were built 2 centuries after the wall. Like the people who whispered “do we call it Derry, or Londonderry, or London - slash - Derry.” He said, just call it LegenDerry
. He obviously loved his city and regaled us with tales of the filming of Derry Girls and his friendship with the parents of the actresses. He finally gave up the information we (well Carol) were seeking - where is the Derry Girls mural?
So we left Derry wishing we’d allocated more time. If you fancy a long weekend away, forget Prague, come to Derry. We felt an emotional connection to this place - a wish for a good future after all the troubles of the past.
. We also passed by on the walls these lovely churches - St Columbs Cathedral , and the beautiful church of St Augustine.
And also a mural of John Peel’s best band ever….
Tues 8th Sept
We arrived at Castle Archdale yesterday - a large campsite on the edge of Castle Archdale Forest Park and, near the Castle Archdale visitor centre buildings ( was the stable block) which are all that remains of Castle Archdale, once a grand house demolished in 1970 ( sounds familiar ..) It was a key base in the Battle of the Atlantic in WWII, with British and Canadian flying boats taking off from the lough and crossing over Eire to hunt for U boats. The lough is Lower Lough Erne - although its north of Upper Lough Erne on the map …
After a very busy day yesterday we awoke to rain. Here we go. However we decided to just walk around the local area and picked out a 6km or so walk from the Alltrails app. However we ended up walking a 9km circuit through the forest and along the loch ….. a little longer than Carol would have liked but Millie and Graham were well pleased. I would say we actually got 85% sunshine so a lot drier than we thought.
Through the walled garden
Through the forest
And on to the old Castle Archdale
There’s an awful lot of ruined places around here…
Most of the forest was pine, fern and rhododendrons ( the victorians loved them!)
But we came upon some impressive trees - presume a fir of some sort but had great big fern like leaves
On to the loch side which still was surrounded with trees however glimpses through them
See it in the rain…
And when the sun deemed to shine
A very different day than yesterday getting in touch with nature…
Tomorrow on to another forest park Davagh to access the OM Dark Sky Park and Observatory …. At least Graham hopes to be there on Thursday - think Carol and Millie will be chilling in the van - reading etc …
Weds 9th Sept
Today we aim to circumnavigate the lough anti-clockwise to Enniskillen
First stop a trip onto Boa Island which is reached by a road spanning the upper part of the lough. Down a farm road to Caldragh cemetery. A rather scruffy little place that is home to a couple of carved stone figures famous in Ireland.The largest was originally thought to be pagan pre Christian but is now thought to be early Christian/ Medieval. It was originally described as a Janus figure looking backwards and forwards but it is in fact 2 figures back to back.It is possible it represents the war- goddess Badhbh as Boa Island’s Irish name is Inis Badhbha.
Known as The Dreenan figure
Alongside is a smaller figure brought from Lustymore Island in the 1930’s . Known as the Lustymore man. Looks to be carved of the same stone. There were gift offerings of coins, berries, scattered petals in front of it …. not quite sure why…..
Quite a magical place completely in the middle of nowhere. Actually in a little triangle on a farm in the middle of nowhere. I bet the farmer was well pleased when they discovered this on his land.
What is it with all these ruins…..
On to Belleek Pottery founded in 1857 by John Caldwell Bloomfield who had inherited Castle Caldwell in 1849 …… he should be ashamed of himself leaving that house ….
He aspired to produce delicate highly decorated parian ware intended for upper class parlours. Standards are high and no seconds are sold - legend has it that the car park was built on a base of smashed up rejects.
We visited the shop baulking at some of the prices and left with a rather sweet mouse Christmas Tree decoration. Have to say the Rest rooms were very posh and the museum looked full of rather gorgeous stuff but as Millie was left in the van we made our leave.
On to Enniskillen - we were going to stop to visit Tully Castle but it was a ruin too far and it was overcast and rainy so we passed that delight.
Enniskillen is on an island in the River Erne between lower and upper Lough Erne. Sadly remembered for the horrific IRA bombing in 1987 which was instrumental in speeding up the peace process but resulted in loss of innocent lives. (instead of furthering their cause, the bombing turned many people against them therefore having the exact opposite effect it was designed for).
It has a castle overlooking the river and a home to 2 museums.Obviously no dogs allowed..
After a lovely lunch in a typical pub the Crowes Nest we headed to our stop over for the night Drum Manor Forest Park ready for Graham to visit a nearby Dark Sky reserve and a booked place on a tour at the visitor centre …. Carol looking forward to a nice relax in the van with a book and Millie will just have to put up with it …
