Today we continued along the Coastal tourist route following the A2 road. It is easily followed as there are signposts all the way with Causeway Coastal Route on them. Billed as one of the world great Road journeys it is worth doing.

There is a noticeable difference in the volume of traffic on the road. It was much busier. It is also a very sunny and warm weekend but I think I preferred the lanes of the West of Ireland more. There are a lot more people about too. Many of the seaside towns we passed through were very busy. Something we rarely saw on the west coast. Some were delightful such as Articlave and Coleraine. We passed the beautiful Royal Portrush golf course and it was very busy.

One event we had not planned on bumping into was the NW200 motorcycle race. Road Racing around a circuit roughly based on the towns of Portstewart, Portrush and Coleraine, the event ran from the 6th to 11th May. Today was clean up day and returning the circuit back to normal road use. It was very busy in that area, particularly with the thousands of motorcycles and fans that had gathered and were now heading home.

Our first stop of the day was the Giants Causeway. It was a must see. As a child I had a boardgame with the Giants Causeway as a stop on it. I had seen TV shows aplenty. But to stand there was amazing. Made up of around 40,000 basalt columns of mainly hexagonal profile it looks like a bees honeycomb from above.

The path is flat along the shore but behind it there is a path called the shepherds stairs consisting of 167 steps up the cliff face. We chose to do that to get a bit of air into our lungs. The views from the top are worth it as you look along the length of the bay and down onto the bus stop by the main columns. Yes there is a bus from the visitors centre down the slope to the columns and back if you need it.

It is difficult to walk away from this UNESCO World Heritage site without a sense of wonder. I have seen the same columns on the Isle of Staffa and Fingals Cave across the water in Scotland formed by the same volcanic events that formed the Giants Causeway. You simply cannot pass by without going to see it.

We moved along. This whole coast is full of dramatic cliffs and Vistas. Epitomised by the ruins of Dunluce Castle, the views are staggering and vestigial. Time has eroded these cliffs.

The road continues around the NE corner of the Island at Ballycastle (which features in my own genealogy) before dropping to the coast at Cushendall. This is a lovely little town complete with Sunday market, people eating ice creams and lots of motorcyclists stopping for a coffee.

The road then snakes its way hugging the waters edge, literally at times to pass through the large and rather dull looking town of Larne before we arrived at our campsite for the night in Islandmagee.

We are only 40 minutes away from the ferry terminal in Belfast where we will cross over to Scotland tomorrow completing the Irish sector of our adventure. We have unfinished business in Scotland to attend to which will then see us heading south for home. More to come before then though.

Todays distance: 89 miles

Total distance: 1633 miles.