Page 320 - Lonely Planet Europe’s Best Trips (Travel Guide)

the Titanic Belfast (www. um in 2016. They all add Cushendall and popular
titanicbelfast.com; Queen’s to a list of attractions Ballycastle.
Rd; adult/child £17.50/7.25; that includes beauti-
h9am-7pm Jun-Aug, to 6pm fully restored Victorian TRIP HIGHLIGHT
Apr, May & Sep, 10am-5pm Oct- architecture, a glittering
Mar) centre, covering the waterfront lined with 3 Giant’s Causeway
ill-fated liner’s construc- modern art, a fantastic When you first see it
tion here, has become the foodie scene and music- you’ll understand why
city’s number-one tourist filled pubs. the ancients believed the
draw. If you’re keen on learn- causeway was not a natu-
New venues keep pop- ing more about the city’s ral feature. The vast ex-
ping up – already this troubled history, take panse of regular, closely
decade historic Crumlin a walking tour of West packed, hexagonal stone
Road Gaol (%028-9074 Belfast. columns dipping gently
1501; www.crumlinroadgaol. 54 p326 beneath the waves looks
com; 53-55 Crumlin Rd; day for all the world like the
tour adult/child £8.50/6.50, The Drive » The fastest way to handiwork of giants.
evening tour £7.50/5.50; the causeway is to take the A26 This spectacular rock
h10am-5.30pm, last tour north, through Ballymena, before formation – a national
4.30pm, evening tour 6pm) turning off at Ballymoney – a nature reserve and
and SS Nomadic opened total of 100km – but the longer Northern Ireland’s only
(by 16km), more scenic route is
to the public, and WWI to take the A8 to Larne and follow Unesco World Heritage
IRELAND 23 THE LONG WAY ROuND
warship HMS Caroline the coast through handsome Site – is one of Ireland’s
became a floating muse- most impressive and

DETOUR:
GIANT’S CAUSEWAY TO BALLYCASTLE
Start: 3 Giant’s Causeway
Between the Giant’s Causeway and Ballycastle lies the most scenic stretch of the
Causeway Coast, with sea cliffs of contrasting black basalt and white chalk, rocky
islands, picturesque little harbours and broad sweeps of sandy beach. It’s best
enjoyed on foot, following the 16.5km of waymarked Causeway Coast Way (www.
walkni.com) between the Carrick-a-Rede car park and the Giant’s Causeway, although
the main attractions can also be reached by car or bus.
About 8km east of the Giant’s Causeway is the meagre ruin of 16th-century
Dunseverick Castle, spectacularly sited on a grassy bluff. Another 1.5km on is the
tiny seaside hamlet of Portbradden, with half a dozen harbourside houses and the
tiny, blue-and-white St Gobban’s Church, said to be the smallest in Ireland. Visible
from Portbradden and accessible via the next junction off the A2 is the spectacular
White Park Bay, with its wide, sweeping sandy beach.
The main attraction on this stretch of coast is the famous (or notorious,
depending on your head for heights) Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge (www.nationaltrust.
org.uk; Ballintoy; adult/child £5.90/3; h9.30am-7pm Apr-Aug, to 6pm Mar, Sep & Oct, to 3.30pm
Nov-Feb). The 20m-long, 1m-wide bridge of wire rope spans the chasm between the
sea cliffs and the little island of Carrick-a-Rede, swaying gently 30m above the rock-
strewn water.

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