Mike Yardley: Lapping up the Causeway Coast, Northern Ireland

Who doesn’t love a great roadie? Self-drive adventures rank highly in my pantheon of golden travel experiences and Northern Ireland’s Causeway Coast touring route is a show-stopper. Bookended by Derry~Londonderry and Belfast Lough, this sublime 185km drive threads together a stirring mosaic of fishing villages, secluded beaches, wondrous rock formations, rugged coastlines, crumbling castles, storied history and mouth-watering scenery.

Pointing the car northeast from Derry~Londonderry, I began tracing the nooks and crannies of Northern Ireland’s theatrical coastline by stopping off at Mussenden Temple. Dramatically perched on a cliff lording over Downhill Beach, this flamboyant folly was constructed in 1785 - inspired by the Temple of Vesta, near Rome. This circular stone temple served as a library and retreat for the eccentric Earl of Bristol who was also the Bishop of Derry (Earl Bishop), along with enormous views over the Atlantic Ocean. The setting is lip-smacking, wrapped in glorious estate gardens which you can explore on the cliff-edge walk, along with the ruins of the Earl Bishop’s mansion, Downhill House.

Fancy a beach layover? The neighbouring seaside resort towns of Portstewart and Portrush are blessed with sprawling blonde-sand beaches, backed my muscular limestone cliffs. Portrush is the bigger, brasher resort with an abundance of souvenir shops and amusement arcades like Curry’s Fun Park. There’s a faded glory feel to this seaside spot, exuding a retro appeal, in a similar vein to Blackpool or Bournemouth. But it’s those drop-dead-gorgeous beaches and turquoise waters that really steal the show.

Liberally strung along the Causeway Coast, strategically located look-out points cater to roadtrippers eager to get snap-happy and drink in the panoramic views. Few spots command greater affection than the Dunluce Castle look-out. It’s a riveting perch to dreamily gaze across the crumbling castle ruins, clinging to the cliff, high above the churning ocean on a wind-walloped basalt outcrop. This medieval stronghold of the MacDonnell clan featured regularly on Game of Thrones. The MacDonnell Clan of Antrim still technically own it, even though the castle fell into disrepair 300 years ago. You can access it via the bridge which connects it to the mainland. Like many Irish castles, Dunluce has a fine bit of legend attached to it. It’s said that on a stormy night back in 1639, part of the castle’s kitchen fell into the icy water below. Apparently, only the kitchen boy survived, as he managed to tuck himself away in a safe corner of the room.

If set-jetting is your bag, there’s a host of fantastical shooting locations for Thrones fans to scout out in Northern Ireland, around the Causeway Coast. Just inland in Ballymoney, I jaunted to The Dark Hedges. Falling victim to over-tourism, stringent traffic and parking restrictions are now in place. Go early in the morning to dodge the hordes. Nor did I see

The Dark Hedges. Photo / Mike Yardley 

The legendary ghost, the Grey Lady, a spectral figure said to drift silently between the ancient beech trees. This iconic avenue of gnarly, intertwined beech trees was planted in the 18th century by the Stuart family to create a grand entrance to their estate, Gracehill House. It’s an ethereal landscape which of course became globally famed after appearing as Kingsroad on Game of Thrones. Sadly, over a dozen of these trees have been lost in recent storms and a heritage trust has been formed to try and keep the remaining 80 trees alive, given they are reaching the end of their natural lives.

Heading back to the ocean, the Causeway Coast earns its name from a primordial geological marvel that may well prove to be your road-tripping highlight. Yes, the Giant’s Causeway. Forged 60 million years ago when molten lava cooled quickly in the ocean water and contracted into crystallised basalt pillars, it is a head-spinning volcanic formation. The spectacle is compelling, a procession of 40,000 basalt hexagonal blocks and columns, reaching out into the ocean, like primal pistons thrusting out of the earth. You can take your chances and hop-scotch or clamber your way across these inter-locking formations, as crashing waves thunder in. The spectacle is best enjoyed at low-tide, revealing more and more of these basalt columns.

Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. Photo / Mike Yardley

I enjoyed a night in the charismatic village of Bushmills, just minutes from the Giant’s Causeway. Sip on a dram from the world’s oldest licensed distillery. Old Bushmills Distillery started manufacturing after a grant from King James 1 in 1608. Over 400 years later, they're still making single-malt whiskey here, using Irish barley and the unique water from their own stream too, spilling out of the River Bush which flows over basalt rock. Jamesons is the No.1 selling Irish whiskey. Like Jamesons, Bushmills is tripl

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack team podcast
from news Talks at be.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Mike Yrdley is our travel correspondent. He's been in the
Christmas spirit for well for about twelve months a year.
But yeah, how long we had ther decorations up for now?
Six weeks?

Speaker 3 (00:21):
Eight weeks since October twenty five. What's that? Yeah, far
too many weeks, Jacky.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah, very good. Yeah, I mean it's action stations now,
so presumably you have nothing left to organize for the
big day itself.

Speaker 3 (00:35):
I was just scouting to Libby that I've been gift
wrapping presents under the tree. The tree looks complete with
the presence now, so yeah, we're pretty much there.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
I'm pleased to hear it. Very good. Hey, we're tripping
the Causeway Coast in Northern Ireland this morning, so how
long is the recommended touring route?

Speaker 1 (00:54):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (00:54):
Well, I reckon in the pantheon of golden travel experiences, Jack.
You can't beat a really good road trip. And the
thing about the Causeway Coast is that distance wise, it's
only one hundred and eighty k on the clock from
Dairy to Belfast. But even though that sounds like a
very shortened sweet road trip. It's actually very misleading because

(01:16):
that route is choc a block with roadside confections. You've
got ancient castles, wizardly rock formations, Hollywood filming locations, amazing
seaside villages, and epic landscape. So you'll definitely want to
chunk that one hundred and eighty k up into several nights.

(01:38):
At least A lot of people actually spend a good
two weeks on that Causeway Coast route. It is just
so goddamn good.

Speaker 2 (01:44):
Oh that's amazing. So what is the most dramatic castle
to check out?

Speaker 3 (01:49):
Yeah, well, if you look at a map of the
Causeway Coast, castles are thick on the ground. But I
do like a castle jack served, crumbly, even decrepit, with
all of those faded glory, battle scarred fields and dunloose
castle stole my heart. This one clings to the cliffs,
high above a turning ocean, wind walloped, and it's on

(02:13):
a basalt outcrop. And this medieval stronghold was actually owned
by the McDonnell clan. It fell into disrepair three hundred
years ago. There are so many cool stories about this castle.
The one I love the most is the fact that
shortly before it fell into decline, part of the castle's
kitchen fell into the ocean, and only the kitchen boy survived,

(02:38):
and he did so because he was obviously quite intuitive.
He tucked himself away in the strongest corner of the room.
But yeah, the kitchen fell into the Atlantic. The facade
of this castle on the cliff remains today, Jack, and
it really is a stunning site and as you could imagine,
it's an insta hero.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
Yeah. Yeah, of course, speaking of this is a game
throne's turf, isn't it.

Speaker 3 (03:02):
Oh yeah, if you are a set jester, you could
actually design your entire touring route on the Causeway coast
into a got roadie because there were just so many
shooting locations they used, So Dunloose featured regularly on Thrones,
as did Balentoy Harbor. The Money shot I reckon is
the Dark Hedges, so they are just in land from

(03:24):
the coast in Balley Money and that's that very iconic
avenue of eighty gnarly intertwined beach trees. So these trees
were planted in the eighteenth century. They were cast as
King's Road in Thrones, and it's become a chronic victim
of over tourism. So the best thing to do to
dodge the hordes is go there at daybreak. Do not

(03:47):
go there after nine o'clock in the morning. It's just
crowded and the traffic is just horrendous in terms of parking.
I did not see anyone else there at seven in
the morning, not even the Gray Lady Jack, who was
the legendary ghost who drifts silently between the trees. So
I was pleased not to see here.

Speaker 2 (04:07):
Okay, yeah, for the sake of a couple of hours,
just getting outside earlier, and it sounds like it's one
with Yeah, what would be the best time to go
to the Giants Causeway?

Speaker 3 (04:15):
Yeah, well, obviously it's another big drawer and the namesake
of the coast, really, the Giants Causeway. It's a volcanic marvel.
You want you will want a time it for load tide,
So check the tide times because it just reveals so
much more of its glory. At low tide, You've got
these forty thousand basalt hexagonal blocks and columns reaching out

(04:41):
into the ocean, and those columns are like these primal
pistons thrusting out of the earth deeper and deeper into
the sea, and you can actually take your chances add
low tide and clamber your way across all of these
interlocking formations as the waves thunder and but it really
is an ethereal spectacle. Unfortunately, no matter what time of

(05:02):
day it is that low tide strikes, there will be
big crowds, so you've just got to suck it in
and expect that.

Speaker 2 (05:08):
Yeah, okay, just down the road is that village of
bush Mills, right, what's special about it?

Speaker 3 (05:14):
Yeah, it's such a good overnight base to break up
the trip. But the thing about bosh Mills is the distillery,
Old bosh Mills Distillery. This is the world's oldest licensed distillery,
so they've been turning out whiskey here since sixteen o eight.
Jemison's would be the biggest selling Irish whiskey. But like Jemmy's,

(05:36):
Bush Mills is single mold and triple distilled for smoothness.
If you like your whiskey with that sort of multi
richness and a hint of honey and spice, man bosh
Mills it's the spot that the distillery tours jack. Obviously
because of their history, they're really good, So definitely do
a distillery tour along with a few DRAMs.

Speaker 2 (05:58):
Okay, what was your biggest coastal thrill.

Speaker 3 (06:03):
Well, for a literal cliffhanger, you've got to take a
walk across the Carrica Reed rope Bridge. So this connects
the mainland with the rocky outcrop of Carrick Island. And
this rope bridge, Jack, was first established nearly three hundred
years ago by salmon fishermen. So they'd go out to
the island, box up their catch and carry it back

(06:25):
to the mainland on this rope bridge and it sways
across this wind blasted chasm high above the ocean. You're like,
you just look down directly beneath you. The ocean was roiling.
No one has ever lost their lives falling off this bridge,
which is quite an impressive feet but it is such

(06:47):
a thrill to walk in their footsteps today. I was
pleased to learn Jack that the ropes have been strengthened
and they can withstand the weight of a double decker bus,
which was very reassuring. After I digested my full Irish breakfast.

Speaker 2 (07:01):
Yeah, yeah, I will hope that we're able to maintain
that record as well. Because it's funny when you think
of swing bridge as usually like in New Zealand, you
think of them as being over rivers as opposed to
being over the ocean. I suppose there aren't many opportunities
for it to be over the ocean. So nice and heading.

Speaker 3 (07:17):
In lander, Yes, generally our ones have steel yes, yes, yes.

Speaker 2 (07:24):
Yes, as supposed to just rope. And so if you
head inland from the coast, the Glens of Antrim series
of valleys, right, are they impressive?

Speaker 1 (07:35):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (07:35):
They really are definitely worth time to explore. So turning
south towards Belfast, just head off the coast into these glens.
These are nine magnificent valleys, really deep valleys that jutton
from the coast. So you've got rolling hills and lush
forests and lots of waterfalls folklore galore. But the hiking

(07:57):
trails check. They are just so good. Blow out the
cobwebs and bue collic splendor.

Speaker 2 (08:02):
Oh fantastic. Thank you so much, Mike. We'll make sure
all of Mike's tips for tripping the Causeway coast are
up on the news talks he'db website. Have a fantastic Christmas,
have a wonderful summer, and we really look forward to
catching again in the new year.

Speaker 3 (08:15):
I thank you so much, Chack, and enjoy all of
that childhood sparkle on Christmas Day.

Speaker 2 (08:21):
Yeah, I can't wait. Thank you so much. Mike Yardley,
our travel correspondent, there for the last time this year.
On Saturday Mornings.

Speaker 1 (08:28):
For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live
to news talks i'd be from nine am Saturday, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.