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N Ireland 4: Ballycastle to Giant’s Causeway (to Derry)

Posted on 12 August 20136 July 2024 by Rob Ainsley
If the giants built this they were obviously drunk

A short hop into headwind and drizzle to the notional end of the End to End: Giant’s Causeway. The natural wonder consists of 40,000 hexagonal columns of basalt – the same sort of volcanic stuff the moon is made of – looking like a giant’s clumsily-laid garden patio.

Visiting by bike isn’t all that convenient thanks to unhelpful parking, but we spent an hour clambering about and trying to take pictures without getting photobombed by a coach party. It was a suitably dramatic way to finish the trip.

Next stop Staffa

After this we carried on to Portrush, resisting the siren call of the Bushmills whisky distillery. Sorry, that’s wrong: in Ireland you add an ‘e’. So that should be ‘whisky distillerey’. Nigel carried on cycling via the ferry to Derry, while I took the train from Coleraine; it was sounding like a Cole Porter song.

The Peace Bridge, Derry, showing that the path to it is never straight

We spent the evening in Derry/Londonderry – the cautious employ both Republican and Loyalist versions of the North’s second city to avoid inflaming nationalist passions – and headed on afterwards to Belfast and ultimately the Isle of Man, to collect another End to End.

We thought we’d been given a Danish note by mistake, but it is indeed the currency of Northern Ireland. And it has a bike on it, which is good.

It’s been a splendid few days despite the indifferent weather. We had originally planned to come in March, but had to cancel that when a storm rolled in, so having to cope with mere drizzle, showers and squalls felt like a victory. I’ve (almost) always had good experiences in the North, and encounters with its robust and opinionated people have (almost) always been friendly and good-natured. But deep divisions remain in many areas, as shown by any cycle ride round the murals of Belfast or Derry – some strident and provocative, some aiming to win you over with soft power.

In a land where many people are defined by red-white-and-blue, or orange, or bright green, I was pleased that my bike was kind of indistinct greyish green. And that it was made in neutral Cambodia.

Miles today: 37
Miles from Cranfield Point to Giant’s Causeway: 193

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