Giants and direwolves and hedges, oh my! If you’re looking for some real life fantasy then Northern Ireland is the place for you!
[Ben] This was the second leg of our road trip around the UK, and one I think we were both really excited about. We had three days to go explore and I think it worked out really well.
[Lauren] If you ever get the chance to go to Ireland/Northern Ireland, GO. Anywhere. Just go. I promise you won’t regret it.
Here is our route to and through Northern Ireland:
We started our journey from Gran’s house again in Johnstone (A) and made our way to an early morning ferry departure from Cairnryan (B).
I’ve always really loved ferries, so taking a ferry over to Northern Ireland was a real treat for me. And the drive to the ferry, although done very early in the morning, was beautiful. Luckily for me, and unluckily for Ben, we were unaware at the time that I could be added on as an additional driver even though I’m not old enough to rent a car, so I got to stare out the window and enjoy the view, while he had to drive the whole time.
The Stena Line UK ferry from Cairnryan to Belfast (C) takes a little over 2 hours and is available for transport with or without a vehicle.
We stayed in an Airbnb (D) that wasn’t too far from the main sites of Belfast. It was in a nice neighborhood and there was so much space (so much!) for us at a very reasonable price.
We started with the Dark Hedges (E).
I didn’t realize there was a scene shot here for Game of Thrones until we had started researching what we wanted to see on this leg of our journey, which made it just that more exciting for me. This place definitely gets its share of visitors, so be patient and make your shots count! Privacy aside, I loved this stop. I hadn’t ever been inside a row of trees like this before so it was well worth the small bit of extra time we devoted to it on our way to the northern coast.
I’ve never watched Game of Thrones, nor do I plan to, (I know, I know), but it was just as exciting of a place to see for me as it was for Ben.
We tried to spot some giants at Giant’s Causeway (F).
This was our next stop immediately after visiting The Dark Hedges and you can tell the weather started getting a little worse (Lauren’s jacket is quite wet). We weren’t going to miss out on seeing this land of giants, so we soldiered on!
I would suggest bringing a coat along with you for anywhere in the UK, really. The rain and I have quite a good friendship, so I don’t mind it at all and hardly ever let it stop me from doing what I want to do. It definitely wasn’t going to make us miss out on a place like this. But I understand that not all people feel this way about the rain, so definitely have a jacket ready at all times and maybe an umbrella.
The path pictured above leads to the area where most pictures are taken and what one would recognize to be Giant’s Causeway. You can walk down or there’s an option to take the bus for a small fee. It’s not too far, so we decided to walk.
The “Wow!” factor of seeing this natural formation of basalt columns is what makes this site one of the most popular places to visit in Northern Ireland. It’s definitely something to see with your own eyes.
One of the legends behind Giant’s Causeway is that a Scottish giant, Benandonner, challenged an Irish giant, Fionn, to a fight. Fionn built the causeway so that the two could meet. Depending on who tells the story, depends on the ending, and who wins the fight.
We decided to take the scenic cliff route back to the visitor’s center and parking lot. By this point we were fairly well soaked by the unrelenting rain and getting a bit of a chill so we didn’t want to stay out too much longer, but if we end up going back there are a few hikes in the area that looked promising.
Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge (G) is just down the coast from Giant’s Causeway and worth a stop.
We headed here after warming up in the car a bit and by the time we arrived the rain had all but stopped. The sign by the car park said the rope bridge was closed and there wasn’t anyone tending the ticket booth so we decided to go in and check out the trail. It was well worth the stop since we only encountered four other people while we were there, two on the way in and two on the way out. The gate to the actual bridge was indeed closed off (locked), but that was alright because the walk itself was very scenic and nice enough (check the main picture at the top, that’s part of the trail to the bridge).
Just look at the colors in the sky at sunset! Everything was cast in such a wondrous glow. Even though we didn’t get to go across the rope bridge, I’m glad we went when it was closed and were able to spend time there with hardly any other people.
Also, there was another GoT scene filmed here! Close to the car park actually.
Dire wolf pups! I mean…Tollymore Forest park (H)!
We headed south after being north for a whole day and checked out this park where, not surprisingly, more GoT scenes were filmed. It’s also not a surprise that the entirety of Northern Ireland was basically a Game of Thrones set because it’s a place that drives the imagination. Tollymore was no different.
I really liked this place because although I’m sure it’s very touristy, it didn’t feel that way at all. It wasn’t crowded and we didn’t feel rushed to hurry and take pictures of the more scenic places because other people were waiting to take pictures also. (As many touristy places are). We were able to take our time and get the shots we wanted.
Shaded trails with water running nearby AND you have stepping stones? Count me in. I thoroughly enjoyed taking photos here as we walked around for a while. The stepping stones and bridges in the middle of a forest really catch the eye.
You could easily spend a whole day here. Bring a lunch and some snacks and just get lost in all of the trails and different directions you could go.
Driving the narrow, winding, countryside and coastal roads between all of our stops was almost more desirable and breathtaking than the stops themselves. If you can, I would highly recommend renting a car just to be able to drive slowly between places and to feel a little of the magic that lingers ’round every turn.
I agree that a car is the way to go. You get to take things at your own pace and can stop whenever you want for however long you want.
