(Portrush, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland)

June 9 was a test of my sightseeing endurance. Despite not being in peak physical condition (due to a worrisome sore throat and some other cold symptoms), I decided to maximize my tourist thrills and see as many sights on the Antrim Coast as possible…by using public transportation.  I set a goal of three:  the Giant’s Causeway, Bushmills Whiskey Distillery, and Dunluce Castle.  Could I pull it off and still make it for pre-dinner drinks at the Portrush Yacht Club?

Early indicators were positive.  “Hopper” bus pass in hand, I caught the first Route 402 bus and scoped out the latter sights on my way to the Giant’s Causeway.  Knowing the lay of the land was essential to success.

The Giant’s Causeway is bizarre.  The legend is that it was indeed a causeway built by a giant to link Ireland and Scotland.  However, tragedy and misunderstanding naturally entered the picture…and the causeway was destroyed, with only a small portion here (and a smaller portion in Scotland) surviving.  The geological explanation is less thrilling.  In any case, the cover art for Led Zeppelin’s “Houses of the Holy” album is no longer a mystery.

I rambled, photographed, and  moved on to some intense cliff trails.  No challenge was left unturned.  162 straight steep steps up?  Bring them on!  Exposed windy cliffs with no protective railing?  No problem!   A bus at 12:26 instead of the 12:36 I thought I had read?  That’s going to be tricky.  Nonetheless, with a full 2 minutes to spare, I caught the hourly bus and was on my way to the town of Bushmills and its namesake whiskey distillery.

I’m not really a whiskey (Irish) or whisky (Scottish) drinker.  I don’t think I’ve ever had Bushmills whiskey before today.  However, I appreciate well-made products and didn’t want to make the same mistake we made in Orkney, where we passed up the opportunity to tour the Highland Park Distillery.  And so, within 10 minutes of arrival, I was on a tour with 8 strangers to see how the (famous?) Bushmills Whiskeys are made.

It was cool.  It was hot – almost unbearably so in the distilling room.  It was odd – could that goopy granola really become whiskey?  Indeed, how did they ever come up with the process in the first place?  And then we saw the bottling line – I was expecting to see Laverne & Shirley appear at any moment (and was trying to get their theme song out of my head).

Armed with all kinds of information about distillation, peat (or not), and sherry casks, we each received a free sample in the on-site bar.  I went for the oldest available option (12 year old single malt), reasoning that 12 must be better than 10 (with the 16 and 21 year old varieties deemed too expensive for the tourists).  It was smooth, it felt good on my sore throat, and I will never have it again because the 12-year old blend is only available for purchase at the distillery.

With the clock a-ticking, I abandoned a plan to go into town for lunch and instead grabbed a quick lunch at the distillery’s café.  I opted for the Steak and Guinness pie and (see photo below) it was surprisingly the best meat pie I have ever had.  Rich-tasting, with virtually no gruel-like filler, I wished that I could have more.  But no!  I had to catch another bus!

Dunluce Castle was an immense, opulent castle on a cliff overlooking the Antrim coast.  It provided unimaginable luxury, leisure and fine cuisine for those lucky enough to be received there.   However, a wing of the castle rather inconveniently fell into the sea one day.   This was the beginning of the end – before long, the castle was plundered and now only a huge haunting shell remains.

I grabbed a handset for the audio tour and set out, madly clicking photos as I ambled, climbed, stretched and ducked through the ruins.  But there was a bizarre scheduling quirk, and the previously hourly bus skipped an hour…I suddenly had time to kill.  Noting that a guided tour was scheduled to begin in 2 minutes, I asked if I could go.  Even though I had already been on the audio tour, and no other people wanted a guided tour, I brazenly convinced the staff to send me off with a private guide for an enhanced tour that didn’t duplicate the audio tour.  I learned about a cave, secret passages, and all kinds of other stuff that other guests would not hear about.  Success!  Filling my final 20 minutes with a much needed “wee cup of tea”, I caught a bus back to Portrush with time to spare before my evening social engagement.

I will probably pay the price for rushing around like this…but it was fun to manipulate the limited bus schedule and other factors to create a whirlwind of sightseeing fun.  When combined with the previous day’s off-the-beaten-path tour by car, I think I’ve done a good job of travelling in this part of Northern Ireland.