On my recent trip to Belfast, the Giants Causeway and Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge were right at the top of my list of things to see and do. It’s a good 90 minute drive each way, so I did some research before leaving home to see if there was a decent day tour available instead of me driving there myself.
I am not usually a fan of organised tours. I generally find them overpriced and overloaded with unnecessary (for me, anyway) information. I do sometimes weigh up the pros and cons though, when I find one that will save me time and stress. In this case, I decided to leave the driving and navigating to a professional, a local who knew exactly where they were going. Odyssey Coach Tours had a very reasonable tour priced at £25 (plus optional extras which I will explain along the way), so I was excited to just sit back and be brought around the sights of beautiful County Antrim.
The Dark Hedges
I found the Dark Hedges a little disappointing for a couple of reasons. First, the crowds; it was literally impossible to get a decent shot without hordes of Game of Thrones fans. I myself have actually never seen the show. I am a fan of the moody atmosphere that comes across in all the photos I have seen of the location. This was my second source of disappointment. There was none of that moodiness when I saw it for real on a sunny Saturday morning. Thanks to the stunning summer weather we were blessed with, it was far from moody. The road was bathed in a beautiful light that in any other situation I would have been deliriously thankful for.
Hats off to the many great Irish-based photographers whose Dark Hedges shots I have been admiring for so long. Those shots were my motivation for wanting to visit and see it for myself. They have managed not only to get there at an hour of the day when they are blessed with having the place to themselves, but also to frame the shot and capture the light in such a way as to capture that elusive moodiness and make the trees seem much denser and less spread out than they actually are in reality.
Bushmills Distillery
This is just a quick 30-minute stop on the tour. It is made clear that there will not be enough time to do the official tour of the distillery. It is, however, enough time to partake in some Irish whiskey tasting or browse in the gift shop, where they sell some exclusives that can only actually be bought there. For any non-drinkers on the tour, it is an opportunity for a comfort break, as the visitor centre also has toilets and a cafe.
Dunluce Castle
This is another quick stop, even more so than the distillery. It is literally a hop-off, hop-on, 5 minute photo stop to get some shots of these clifftop castle ruins which seem to defy and even mock gravity. This was where I got my first real taste of the breath-taking coastal views that were going to be with me for most of the rest of the tour.
The Giants Causeway
The Giants Causeway is perceived as the pinnacle of the tour. I myself approached the Causeway with an open mind. I have heard many people over the years say that they were disappointed, that it was a lot “smaller” than they had expected. The Giants Causeway absolutely blew me away. I took an optional guided tour (priced at £8) which, for me, was unfortunately the wrong decision. Our guide was passionate, enthusiastic and well-informed, but this is where the information overload set in. As a result of taking the tour, I was left with less time for photos than I would have liked. This was also the lunch stop and I had no time to eat, leaving me grumpy and travel sick later in the day.
Nevertheless, the views at the Causeway are nothing short of spectacular. Walking down from the car park, there was a new perspective on the Antrim coast with every corner we turned. Being that my eyesight is shockingly poor, I sadly saw the hundreds of people long before I could make out the distinctively shaped columns of stone for which the Causeway is famous. We were told that roughly 1 million tourists visited last year and if the crowds I experienced were anything to go by, they are well on track to equal that this year.
I can only presume that when people say it was smaller than they expected, maybe they are referring to the surface area, although I honestly didn’t find it disappointing. The height of some of the columns is truly magnificent, as is the variation in shades and colours. It is truly a sight to behold, and I will go back someday to see it when it is less overcrowded. I considered getting up super early on the day I was leaving to drive back up there but was assured by the guy at reception in my hostel that it would be pointless as it gets crowded from early morning during the busy summer months.
Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge
Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge really was the highlight of the tour for me. Although there were still a lot of tourists, it felt less overcrowded somehow. As with the Causeway, the walk down from the car park to the bridge itself is absolutely beautiful and filled with photo ops and moments to put your phone or your camera away for a bit and just stop and stare, so make sure to give yourself enough time to enjoy the walk. It is a coastal path and is uneven and hilly in some spots, plus there are a couple of stepped sections, making it unfortunately unsuitable for the less mobile.
It is possible to visit and enjoy the views and take photos of the bridge and the coastline below without actually crossing the bridge. There are lots of areas where you can just sit and have a picnic. For me, though, the crossing of the bridge was a must. It costs £5 for a ticket and there is a bit of waiting involved (although not too much) as they can only allow a certain number of people onto the bridge at a time.
I honestly thought that I would be afraid when the time came to actually step out onto the bridge but I wasn’t. It was such a beautiful day though, with very little wind, so the bridge wasn’t moving much. I’m not sure how I would feel about it on a windier day.
So that’s the story of my day with Odyssey Coach Tours. The drive back from the rope bridge was filled with more beautiful ocean views, and another quick comfort stop to break the journey. All in all, a great day out (travel sickness aside), and well worth the £25 price tag.
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