
We arrived in Portush, Northern Ireland, on a nice warm and sunny afternoon. I was amazed at being this far north and finding a beach town that apparently is booming during the summer months. Who knew it would be that warm this far north? We kept hearing about the Gulf Stream reaching up in this direction but didn't realize just how much it affected the climate and water temperature.
Lunch was in a cafe we found along the main street of town. Again, the waitress was fascinated with us being Americans and choosing to visit Northern Ireland. Her only warning was, "Be careful in Belfast." Derry was a pleasant enough experience. Wouldn't Belfast be too? A little later we met some folks enjoying the sun from a park bench. They, too, thanked us for coming to Northern Ireland and were hopeful more tourists would venture north now that things were quiet.
We wandered the to

Another ring fort? If so, this one had little left

Our little tour group of four decided to take it slower the next couple of days. We had been spending lots of time in the car and it felt good to be in the wider open spaces of outdoors and our roomy B&B. Good thi

The morning had started out all right, a bit damp but doable. We trekked off to the Bushmills Distillery to learn h

A ways down the road was another castle on our list to visit--Dunluce. It was probably the largest of all the medieval castles we'd seen so far although it wasn't in as great a shape. Some of it dates back to the 16th century to the original owners, the MacQuillans. Notice that it is a Scottish name. This area of Northern Ireland is very close to Scotland. If you go to this site for the castle, you'll find a virtual tour (it's on a sunny day!) and if you click for the Panorama view, as it pans across the water, in the distance you can s

Much of what survives was built by the next owners in the 17th century, the MacDonnell clan. They loved to entertain and the improvements they made to the castle centered on that

Since the castle sits right on the cliff's edge which is continually wearing away from the elements of wind and water, it has lost some of its mortar and stone. Legend has it that one night the kitchen with all of its

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