It bucketed down last night didn’t need to wash the motorhome the rain did it for us, nearly thought we were in for a day of rain and being house bound but by 10am the weather cleared as we drove through Ballycastle to tour the Causeway Coast and Glens on the North Channel side of Northern Ireland. The Atlantic Ocean side was absolutely amazing picture perfect Richard said I took too many photos and video.

This side of Northern Ireland on the A2 travelling towards Cushendun looks very sparse, even though the landscape is green, patches of marshland due to the weather from the North Channel. The farmland here seems to be mainly sheep and the Ballypatrick Forest. Weaved our way down through the glens (as they are called here) to the small picturesque coastal village of Cushendun (meaning ‘beside the River Dun”) and has been protected by the National Trust since 1954. It has a sheltered harbour and lies at the mouth of the River Dun and Glendun, one of the nine Glens of Antrim. On a clear day but not today you can see The Mull of Kintyre in Scotland which is only about 15 miles away across the North Channel.

A short distance away at the foot of the Lurigethan Mountain in the lush countryside with views of Red Bay sits the conservation town of Cushendall and is known locally as “The Capitol of the Glens”. Another very picturesque town like a lot we have seen on our travels round the Causeway Coast Line Route.

Now we are climbing through the valley or Glen of the Lurigethan Mountains with beautiful panoramic views to the Glenariff Forest Park a truly beautiful scenic area in one of the nine “Glens of Antrim” to see the waterfalls everyone talks about. Only to find out after we paid £5.00 to enter the carpark that you have an 8.5km walk to see the waterfalls. We walked only a short distance down a steep wet trail and called it quits when a lovely lady walking her dog told us to drive to Laragh Lodge back down the road have a coffee and view the waterfalls from there.

The Laragh Lodge is a beautiful restaurant down a steep winding road to the bottom of the glen between the Lurigethan Mountains. The views of the forest having our coffee, scone, jam and cream was tranquil and as the sign said “A stress free area”. Patsy the waitress showed us the trails over the little bridge where to see all the waterfalls, which we did and it was so rewarding. The Glenariff waterfalls and babbling brooks were spectacular well worth the walk and cost us nothing except the coffee and scones. Pity we didn’t know this beforehand would have saved us £5.00 and a visit to the Glenariff Forest Park.

Now to see what we didn’t have time to see yesterday after the Giants Causeway. The scenery was similar as before on the A2 forest sections, barren countryside, and farmland, some with barley and oats growing or sheep grazing. The crows certainly love the crops of barley that have just been sown. The small roads of A43, B64 and B94 are a gem to be on stress free and no traffic not like the UK, then we are back on the wider A26 bypassing Ballymoney to Coleraine to see Mountsandel the earliest known settlement site in Ireland. The earthen fort is thought to date back to Norman times, but the Satnav couldn’t find it and a local said there is only a grass mound to see and it is a bit difficult to find. Good to view from the air, so end of story Richard wasn’t interested.

Short drive to Portrush a seaside resort town and a snack at the beach carpark noticed a few motorhomes parked and wild camping. Very picturesque long golden sandy beach of East Strand reaching right up to Whiterocks Coastal Park are next stop, which is a sandy beach backed by dunes and white limestone cliffs, which are rich in biodiversity. Have seen a few people brave the weather and go surfing.

Finally stop is Dunluce Castle one of the most picturesque and romantic of Irish castles. A defended site for over 1,000 years the present castle ruins date mainly from the 16th and 17th century and was inhabited by both the MacQuillan and MacDonald clans. We didn’t pay the £5.00 admission fee just viewed from the grassed area outside of the castle perched on the cliffs edge.

Late afternoon and time to head back to Charlies Farm took the same route as yesterday through Bushmills on the quiet farmland roads. Made good use of the free WIFI and of course the laundry facilities before heading off down the west coast to the Republic of Ireland.