Northern Ireland: Tourists in January?
Posted on 01 Feb, 2010 by Lynne Walker | Filed under Blog
A January visit to the North Coast and Antrim Glens might not be the most appealing holiday to all - so why did we do it? I had been asked to carry out an ‘Internal Verifier (IV)’ visit to a course at Cookstown in mid-January. Paul had never been to Northern Ireland and so thought it might be a good idea to come along and we would then take a few days to explore part of the country. I checked out the financial side (basically I could claim the cheapest travel cost for the IV so a bit of research enabled me to do this, and yes, the way we were going was not the cheapest) and then booked the ferry.
Travel in January can be a bit fraught. The only day in 13 years that I missed work due tot he ferries being cancelled was in January. We had had a lot of snow and ice in early January and then came the freezing fog. I then received a text message from Stena Line saying that the ferry was leaving Stranraer at 11:30am rather than 12 noon. OK, so we would have to be on the 7am Western Ferry and it was like a mill pond. The drive down to Stranraer was trouble free even if a bit ‘dreich’; we arrived so early that we had time for a cup of coffee. We could not find a place doing ‘decent’ coffee so had to wait until we boarded the ferry and the coffee there was good.
The passage to Belfast was not like a mill pond. I was trying to do some work on the computer using the WiFi on the boat. I am mentoring a coach towards her Level 2 award and had to send off the next piece of advice. Once the boat left the shelter of Loch Ryan it became a bit difficult to hit the correct key and also focus on the screen. The next part of the journey was spent in a horizontal position before we reached the shelter of Belfast Lough. Back on the computer and finish off the mentoring session.
The ferry had few vehicles and passengers so we disembarked very quickly. We drove through Belfast and stopped at a shopping centre for another coffee.Then it was off to stay with Helen Baxter and family for the night. This gave us a good insight into where we might visit and they also lent us some guidebooks. Helen & I left for Cookstown at 7am the next morning; Paul was spending most of the day with Philip doing computer stuff.
The Internal Verifier visit was a ‘full on’ day as there were nine candidates (should have been ten but one failed to find the assessment venue). There is more about assessing etc. in the coaching section of this website. Paul had been detailed to find us accommodation for that evening, preferably in the Cookstown area. This proved to be very hard. He visited the Tourist Information Office, they called about half a dozen B & B and they were all full. We ended up in McDonald’s, using their WiFi to search for somewhere in Cookstown, Omagh or Enniskillen. Nothing. So we then looked at Coleraine and found a Premier Inn. It was relief to actually find somewhere with some space that did not completely blow the budget in one night. An hour’s drive took us to Coleraine where a very welcoming receptionist booked us in. By this time it was about 8pm so we ate at the restaurant attached to the hotel.
Sunday was cold but sunny. The aim for the day was to visit the Giant’s Causeway. We drove along the north coast tourist route, taking Port Stewart and Portrush. At the Giant’s Causeway we did not even drive into the car park as the sign saying £7 rather put us off. On our map there was another car park three miles along the road so we went there and planned to walk back along the top of the cliffs. 
It was breezy but dry so we wrapped up well, put some money in a pocket and the malt loaf (for lunch) in another pocket. Although the road route was three miles, the cliff path was a wee bit longer as it went in and out - about 5 miles! The path was generally good, some muddy patches and very quiet until we were nearly at the Causeway. The sea pounding onto the coast created good photo opportunities and we spent a long time at the Giant’s Causeway taking photos. We were rather underwhelmed by the Causeway itself as we had really expected something a lot grander. The tearoom was still open by the time we walked up to the Visitor Centre so a quick coffee (and cake) to sustain us on the walk back along the road. We had to walk back along the road as it was almost dark by this time!
The evening was spent quietly in the cinema which was just up the road from the hotel (having decided to stay a second night). We were easily the oldest at the showing of ‘The Book of Eli’; a bit violent but very interesting with a few good twists in it.
Monday was another bright day so we set off for the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. This was much quieter than the Giant’s Causeway and we actually paid this time but probably should not have bothered. You pay to go on the bridge but can walk along paths to very close to it. After this we drove down to Torr Head and walked up to the old coastguard station. Very clear views across to the Mull of Kintyre.
We had been recommended to go to Glenariff Forest so headed for there. The Visitor Centre was closed and the car park pay machine covered over. Time for some exercise. Another runner drew up as we were about to get changed; Paul took his advice to run the long loop of about 8km while I decided to run the ‘waterfall walk’ which was about 4km. This was a lovely run down a gorge with a series of spectacular waterfalls; there was a sting in the tail though as I had to come back up again and this was 200m of climb! Paul really enjoyed his run and wished he had taken a camera. We then went in search of coffee and cake as we drove south along the coast to Carrickfergus. No luck at all!
At Carrickfergus we had booked into a B & B. The owners recommended a few places to eat, one being a small local pub. The food was very good and some unusual dishes on the menu.
The next day we took the train into Belfast with the main intention of doing the open top bus tour. This was good, but we were glad to be sitting up the front under the half cover as it was really quite cold! The tour took in the dock area regeneration,Stormont, the city centre and also the area of Falls Road and Shankhill Road where ‘The Troubles’ had been (and there is still a high, six mile long dividing wall as well as gates which can be shut instantly across some streets). Much of Belfast is being rebuilt but there are still some original buildings left.
That evening the wind rose and battered against the windows of the B & B. What would the sea be like for the crossing the next day? It was a very wet day but the crossing was OK - if I stayed horizontal once out of Belfast Lough!
We were very lucky with the good weather we had. Although places were quiet we saw quite a bit of the country and generally had a pleasant break.
I am a level 4 orienteering coach and a qualified Assessor & Coach Educator. I have been orienteering for xx years and have coached on many foreign tours.