We have almost completed our loop of the island and are back in Northern Ireland.

Giant’s Causeway
Little did we know just how amazing (did I see “spectacular” and “dramatic” in the title of this post?) today was going to be! These aren’t just beautiful cliffs, the Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast is a spectacular area of global geological importance on the sea coast at the edge of the Antrim plateau in Northern Ireland. More from the source (https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/369/) that provided the previous sentence:

“The most characteristic and unique feature of the site is the exposure of some 40,000 large, regularly shaped polygonal columns of basalt in perfect horizontal sections, forming a pavement. This dramatic sight has inspired legends of giants striding over the sea to Scotland. Celebrated in the arts and in science, it has been a visitor attraction for at least 300 years and has come to be regarded as a symbol for Northern Ireland.

The property’s accessible array of curious geological exposures and polygonal columnar formations formed around 60 million years ago make it a ‘classic locality’ for the study of basaltic volcanism. The features of the Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast site and in particular the strata exposed in the cliff faces, have been key to shaping the understanding of the sequences of activity in the Earth’s geological history.”

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The cliffs just keep on coming! We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and were overwhelmed with the beauty of the Cliffs of Moher. It is definitely a “don’t miss” site in Ireland! Here’s a bit of information about the cliffs.

At the center of the Wild Atlantic Way in County Clare are the stunning Cliffs of Moher. Stretching out into the mist along the North Clare coastline, the Cliffs of Moher are jaw-droppingly beautiful. Their sheer drop into the heaving Atlantic ocean is a well known haven for seabirds. Waves crash below, seabirds whirl above and paths wind along the cliff-edge between villages with photo opportunities all the way.

The Cliffs of Moher are one of the most outstanding coastal features of Ireland. Rising slowly from Doolin village they ascend to over 700 feet (213 meters) boasting some of the most breathtaking scenery in Ireland. They have become one of Ireland’s premier tourist attractions and a must see for many people visiting Ireland.

They run for about 9 miles (14 kilometers). At their southern end, they rise 390 feet (120 meters) above the Atlantic Ocean at Hag’s Head, and, 5 miles (8 kilometers) to the north, they reach their maximum height of 702 feet (214 meters) just north of O’Brien’s Tower, a round stone tower near the midpoint of the cliffs, built in 1835 by Sir Cornelius O’Brien, then continue at lower heights. 

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This, my friends, is The Ring of Kerry (the white route):

We started and ended the Ring of Kerry in Killarney, driving in a clockwise direction. We’d read that it can take 3.5 hours to drive the Ring of Kerry without stopping. We stopped quite a bit, walked around, took pictures, and ate lunch. It took us about eight hours.

The main points of interest for us were:
— Torc Waterfall
— Kenmare Stone Circle
— Kerry Cliffs
As such, these are the focus of the pictures of today’s post.

Torc Waterfall
There was a short hike to the waterfall. I went a bit beyond it, which was pretty much a steep climb. There wasn’t much to see due to the heavy foliage, so I turned around after about 10 minutes. The hike was pretty and uber green, as per the UK and Ireland’s usual look. The waterfall wasn’t big, but we still enjoyed it.

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We got to Cork in mid-afternoon on the 1st and went to a pub planning to have a pint. We ended up enjoying the company of the bartender and patrons so much that we stayed for another pint and dinner. That was our first day in Cork! It was nice to have a relaxing afternoon. We’d been traveling for about three weeks by this time and kind of needed it.

Our hotel in Cork:

We headed out on the 2nd for a day of sightseeing. Our goals were to see St Fin Barre’s Cathedral, the Elizabeth Fort, Saints Peter and Paul’s Roman Catholic Church, and the Cork City Gaol. And we did!

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Today we visited the castle before meeting up with a former colleague for a pint. I was excited to catch up with her, having just recently learned that she, her husband and two sons had moved from Minnesota USA to Dublin six months prior.

This is the town in which we stayed. It was about a 45 minute train ride to Dublin, then a 15-minute bus ride to the castle.

Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle is the heart of historic Dublin. It is one of the most important buildings in Irish history. The city gets its name from the Black Pool – ‘Dubh Linn’ – which was on the site of the present Castle garden where the River Liffey met the River Poddle. The original fortification may have been an early Gaelic Ring Fort. Later a Viking Fortress stood on this site. From 1204 until 1922 it was the seat of English, then British rule in Ireland. In 1922, following Ireland’s independence, Dublin Castle was handed over to the new Irish government. It is now a major government complex and a key tourist attraction.

After a fire in 1684 destroyed much of the Medieval Castle, the magnificent State Apartments were built as the residential quarters of the Viceregal court. They are now the venue for presidential inaugurations, official state visits, state functions, exhibitions and other events.

Paintings are a particular strength of the Dublin Castle collection, but it is also rich in sculpture, furniture, clocks, china, glassware, prints, tapestries, stained glass and textiles from the 17th century to the present day.

Battleaxe Staircase
The first thing you see when you enter the castle is the Battleaxe Staircase. This grand imperial staircase was the first of its type in Dublin. It dates from 1749. It takes its name from the Viceroy’s bodyguards, the Battleaxe Guards, who once stood guard at the top of it. In the dark days of January, candles were lit and red carpet was rolled out on this staircase, as the Viceroy prepared to host some of Ireland’s grandest banquets and balls during the annual social season.

At the top of the stairs above the double doors, visitors see the national emblem of Ireland, the harp. This emblem is unique, as Ireland is the only country in the world to have a musical instrument as its national symbol.

Today, the Battleaxe Staircase is the setting for the first formal photograph of each new President of Ireland.

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We spent the day in Belfast then drove to a hotel near Dublin. We walked around Belfast and visited The Titanic Experience. We highly recommend The Titanic Experience. I loved it! Michael thought it was good, but he hesitates to use the “L-word.”

We all know the story of the Titanic and its climactic ending: it sank.

But there’s so much more!

There is a lot of detail and content in this post (equivalent to three posts) because I found the exhibit to be of utmost interest. Feel free to use the headings to decide which sections to read if you aren’t interested in all of it.

First, the walk to the exhibit.

Here are some factoids explaining why the Titanic was built in Belfast.

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We were scheduled to return the rental car by noon in Glasgow. It didn’t happen.

Minutes before we planned to leave Oban, the guest house’s proprietor knocked on our door and informed us that there had been a hit and run in Oban at 2:00 a.m. This caused the road (as she described it, the only road to Glasgow) to be closed. She said the police in Glasgow had been notified (there are either no local police in Oban or those that are there are not equipped to handle hit and runs), but they weren’t expected to arrive until later that afternoon. In short, she told us that we would probably be in Oban for most of the day.

Despite this warning, we decided to take our luggage to the car. We hoped to flag down someone who might be able to tell us of another way to Glasgow. As luck would have it, a nice woman was on her way to work and pulled over when we waved at her. She did, in fact, know of another route out of town to Glasgow that was longer, but not “too much” longer. She also told us that it was a pretty drive.

So we took it. The drive was, indeed, pretty.

We finally returned the car (well after noon, but without penalty), took a bus to the hotel and stopped for lunch. Two of the things we wanted to see closed soon after we arrived at the hotel so we decided to use the rest of the afternoon to plan the next day’s visit in Glasgow.

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We had originally planned to go to Fort William but we ended up going to Fort Augustus. I am glad we made this choice, as Fort Augustus has five locks that rise through the center of the village and it was fun to watch them operate. We had a pint while we waited.

It was a cloudy day but we still found the scenery to be lovely on the drive to Fort Augustus.

Fort Augustus

Boats entering the locks

The Drive to Kinlochleven

The scenery just kept getting better!

I dropped off Michael at the hotel in Kinlochleven and drove to Glencoe to walk the trails. (Michael was still a tad under the weather.) There was again so much green! These pictures are from two trails: the mountain trail and the woodland trail.

We drove to Oban the next day. We stayed at a nice little guesthouse (Don Muir Guesthouse) with a friendly female proprietor. Here are some pictures of the drive to Oban, Oban, and the town of Tobermory on The Island of Mull (with the colorful buildings). We took the ferry from Oban to the Island of Mull, then took the bus to the town of Tobermory. We had hoped to tour the distillery, but there were no more openings so we just went to a restaurant where I had some whiskey (this is what they make at the distillery) while Michael had beer.

We had planned to take the car on the ferry so we could drive to Tobermory ourselves, but we learned that it was too late to buy a car ferry ticket. So we took the car back to the hotel and walked back to the ferry terminal. Thankfully, we could still catch the ferry (about 2:00 p.m.) to Mull that day as well as a return ferry later that day.

I saw this very cool castle from the bus and took a picture, not knowing what it was. I have since learned that it is Duart Castle. For over 700 years, Duart Castle, the seat of Clan Maclean, has dominated the view to the Sound of Mull and Loch Linnhe with its huge curtain walls and solid keep.

You may also recognize Duart Castle from some Hollywood feature films such as Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta Jones’ “Entrapment” (1999), “When Eight Bells Toll” (1971) with Antony Hopkins and “I know where I’m going” (1945).

We will tell you about our long attempt to leave Oban in the next post.

We left Edinburgh on the 22nd and stopped briefly in Dundee before heading to Inverness. We were planning to visit the Art Gallery and Museum, but the fire alarm went off just as we entered and everyone was sent across the street. We decided to abandon that idea and have lunch instead.

Here are a few pictures of a pretty bridge we took on the way to Dundee as well as a few sites in Dundee.

The bronze Oor Wullie Statue was created in honor of the spiky-haired dungaree-cad lad who graced the comic strip of the Sunday Post since 1936. He is aiming his pea shooter at a nearby statue of Robert Burns. Oor Wullie is a much-loved national treasure in Scotland.

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Our final day in Edinburgh consisted of visits to Edinburgh Castle (and the one o’clock gun), The Royal Mile, St. Giles’ Cathedral, Calton Hill, Grassmarket, Greyfriars Kirkyard, Victoria Street, and The Real Mary King’s Close.

We had a very lazy morning, so our first goal was to be at Edinburgh Castle in time for the one o’clock gun. We made it! (Gosh, I would hope so!!)

This is – once again – a post with a lot of back story. Feel free to skip what doesn’t interest you!

We passed by St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral in Edinburgh (I no longer remember where, but it was shortly before we visited the castle) but only from the outside. It is a beautiful building! It opened in 1879. The cathedral is one of only three in the United Kingdom that feature three spires, the other two being Lichfield and Truro cathedrals.

Fun facts: St Mary’s Cathedral was the first cathedral in Great Britain to employ girls in the treble line as well as boys, in 1978. In 2005, St Mary’s Cathedral became the first cathedral in the Anglican tradition to have a female alto singing in daily services. (I am just going to say what you are already thinking: it took long enough!)

The One O’clock Gun at Edinburgh Castle is a tradition that dates back to 1861. Every day (except Sundays) at precisely 1:00 pm, a gun is fired from the Castle grounds. So precisely and so loud that the ships in the Firth of Forth and Leith Harbor two miles away used to set their clocks by it. Locals say that you can always tell visitors from the Edinburgh natives when the gun goes off. Whereas locals tend to check their watches, visitors jump out of their skins!

It was fired at precisely one o’clock and I confirmed that the time on my phone was correct. Here is Edinburgh Castle. As per usual, it is located on a hill.

We were surprised to see massive bleachers right outside of the castle. We learned that they are there about four months in the summer: The bleachers, or grandstand, are set up each year for the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in August. The grandstand is a modern engineering feat that takes about seven weeks to construct. The grandstand is also used for concerts, and has hosted performances by The Who, Rod Stewart, and The Lumineers. 

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