We had been so comfortable in the Slieve Donard Hotel and in the delights of County Down - we were reluctant to move on! There were just so many places that we were passing by - County Down Scenic Drives brochure said it all - it literally begged us to choose forest/ mountain / shore / historic locations woven together in what seem endless varied possibilities! It even urged us to go rock-climbing, hill walking and canoeing to make sure we saw it all!
It has to be remarked that because of events of recent years, County Down has remained fairly undeveloped. Certainly where we were based in S and E Co Down there were no multi-story hotels, no apartment blocks, no sprawling housing developments and no ugly, brutal shopping centres! If I explain that Newcastle (Co Down's No 2 seaside escort) - has a population of only 7444 people - yet is within 30 miles of a city of half a milion people! Here is Berkshire we get that population in one housing estate!
Our plan today was to make a short stop in Belfast, before heading N along the Antrim Coast, picking up the scenic Antrim Coast Road, after Larne and following the coast, N and then W - taking in the Giants Causeway and ending in Portrush - or so we thought!
Here is how the day unfolded as recorded by our AGM Telematics Transponder:
Farewell to the Slieve Donard Hotel
The day just has to start with a swim in the glorious pool ....
...and to linger a while just soaking in the Million Dollar view, taking in the Mountains and the bay in one beauty overload!
If you decide to take 'the morning air' with a jog, walk, along the endless strand - you can always 'warm your butt' by the fire, by the Spa entrance!
There is a full gymnasium for those wanting to raise the BP even higher
Having burned a few hundred calories - the challenge was then to regain them as painlessly as possible! So breakfast would consist of porridge - fresh cream and a 'tot' of Bushmills to aid digestion! Some juicy prunes made it seem like a well-balanced dish!
It was a simply splendid two-day stopover in one of N.Ireland's most luxurious hotels. A perfect base for an EV touring holiday with: an EV Fast Charger on-site; and a Breakfast worthy of a King - everything starts the day - 'on the max'.
So here we are, at the front entrance - rather reluctant to leave the luxurious and cosseting environment of the Slieve Donard. Surely one of the best EV destinations in all Ireland!
Belfast
We were quickly up the A2 to Belfast - we had a short detour to the Bellisle rapid charging point, though we were barely at half charge! Passing numerous tourist sites - on the way, see here: Sights, Sounds and Tastes of BelfastAs a native of Belfast, we though that - just this once we would pass on by!
But we did manage a short stop at the City Hall and the offices of the Belfast Telegraph, where I once worked! The pay was £2 7/6 a week (that's 7 shillings and six pence!). No, I was not a trainee journalist - you can probably guess that! I had a summer job as a 'copy boy' - rushing the freshly produced 'copy' from the Sports Dept to the Comptometer Operators - who set the text in lead - the original letterpress printing was still in use - so that will date me!
Antrim CoastThe road north was very different to how I remember it - no sign of the huge linen factories and none of the sweet smell of Capstan Pipe Tobacco - coming from the Gallagher's tobacco factory! There was no sign of the grand Northern Counties Railway Station from which many a pleasure trip was taken to the Antrim Coast resorts.
First stop was at Carrickfergus Castle - very memorable (to me) as it was to here that I rode my bike (a gift for 11+ success) - all the way from Belfast - on my own and aged just 11!
Next stop was to find the charge at Larne - the sea port that serves the short crossing to Scotland. Nothing in this area was familar and it took some time to follow unusable GPS directions, that eventually led to a service station, near the port!
The weather was not perfect for the Antrim Coast road - as the Irish would put it - "the weather was middling'! Overcast, dry and light breeze makes it pleasant to drive along - though it some sunlight would have brought out more of the colour and clearly when the sea is in an angry mood - one experiences the ruggedness!This image was near Ballygally!
An even better perspective can be gained from this short video, short just short of first glen along this coast - Glenarm!
There are actually 9 glens along this coast:
- Glenarm - Glen of the Army
- Glencloy - Glen of the Dykes
- Glenariff - Glen of the Plough
- Glenballyemon - Edwardstown Glen
- Glanaan - Glen of the little Fords
- Glencorp - Glen of the Dead
- Glendun - Brown Glen
- Glenshesk - Glen of the Sedges (reeds)
- Glentaisie - after Taisie, Princess of Rathlin Island
North Coast
Its a very picturesque spot on this mainly cliff dominated northern coastline.
We were particularly impress by the inner harbour, which was nicely laid our with new pontoons and a significant number of small cruisers, which seemed surprising since its the Atlantic Ocean over the wall!
For a moment we toyed with the idea of taking the Rathlin Island Ferry, which would depart within the hour - but price for a return car journey was not at all interesting.
Maybe one day we will bring our hiking boots and do the trip!
We had planned to take a charge at Ballycastle, but the charger was so far from the shore/ cafes and restaurants - so we gave it a miss!
Due to the time remaining and our limited range we had to make some difficult choices, as to the remaining stops. First to be binned regrettably was the Bushmills Distillery - we might catch the shop - but not the tour (and tasting!). Next for the chop was the Carrick-a-Rede Ropebridge! Its great place to visit - pretty well unique in Europe. I would recommend it - but its not for the faint-hearted - looking down on the soaring seagulls!
Giant's CausewaySurely, the highlight of any trip to N.Ireland has to be the Giant's Causeway? Now in National Trust ownership and boasting a Visitors Centre, surely without equal in the NT portfolio of properties.
Watch the video on this link to appreciate the sophistication: BBC - Sterling Prize Winner
Of course in a property that makes sustainability such a priority - you might have expected an EV charger - well Yes and No! The have 16 Amp Blue Commando outlets in prime positions in the car park - but they are not available to EVs! The explanation given was that they were being abused - so they have disabled them! Aaagh!As we headed down the one mile path to teh causeway, we were mindful that our range remaining was only 11 miles and we needed at least 7 miles to get to Portrush - and we did not have a hotel booking!
However, NT give you a nice audio player, so 20 chapters of Finn McCool's story of the Causeway helped to keep our thoughts elsewhere!
I believe this is the Giants Staircase - that links with Fingal's Cave on the W.coast of Scotland - similar rock formations - but not very accessible!
These are the 'pipes' of the Giant's organ!
On this heavily weathered coastline you can appreciate the fragility of the basalt rock - including a solitary 'dolomite'!
For a full geological explanation check out this paper from Queens University (Belfast) - Giants Causeway - Geological Succession.
Portstewart/ Portrush / Coleraine
From leaving the Giant's Causeway our evening went a bit off-the-rails. As I indicated earlier, we had found the hotel and boarding house prices in this are verging on ludicrous. None offered EV charging and we struggled to find a charge of £100 per night realistic. Even boarding houses at £80 - taking the xxss! However, we had limited range and we had been told that the Portrush Rapid Charger was broken - again! So we were rather obliged to settle for the best deal available. The first hotel we tried, had a beautiful setting, an empty car park and a closed restaurant - but they still wanted £90 per night. To cut a long story short - September is popular at Royal Portrush Golf Course and all the principal hotels were 100% full, with high-rolling golfers and prices were high to cash in on the market. We elect to take our 'backstop' of the Premier Inn, in Coleraine. The problem was we could only charge at a Fast Charger and that would take 1-2 hours. But the restaurants were a mile from the charger and we were reluctant to leave our luggage filled car in the desolate car park!
So our much recommended Mermaid Restaurant overlooking Portrush was not achieved and we settled for Fish and Chips. We completed missed the joys of Portrush and Portstewart - at least we have seen them both in the past - but back-tracking is not possible with the constraints of EV motoring!
We made it to the Premier Inn - Coleraine by 8.30 p.m. and were made to feel very welcome - when we asked about charging the car - the receptionist re-allocated our room to have one aligned with the last slot in the car park! It may not be the most luxurious option in the area - but its clean, modern and well presented! At £55 per night and very welcoming staff, we were not surprised to read of a high-rating on Trip Advisor!
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