Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge

One of the sites that we stopped to see was the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. You can have enough time to visit Giant’s Causeway as well as this rope bridge in one day and still have time to visit another minor site or two. There has been a bridge at this site since approximately 1755. The site is now owned by the National Trust who maintain the bridge and, depending on the weather, allow people to cross it for a fee.

The Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge was originally used during salmon fishing season as the salmon swim by the island of Carrickarede during this time. The fishermen would catch their salmon while on the island and then use the rope bridge to carry the fish over to the mainland. Fishing was carried on right up to 2002. There is no fishing done now due to the low numbers of salmon. In the past, 300 salmon were caught in a day. The last year that there was any fishing, there were only 300 salmon caught in the whole season.

The bridge itself used to be two ropes strung between the mainland and Carrickarede Island, one rope where you would “walk” or do a sideways shuffle, and the other rope, which was in a higher position, to hold onto to keep your balance and not fall into the sea. Yes, it was more treacherous when it was only the two ropes. Anyone who has done any Scouting may have constructed such a bridge over minor creeks or small, shallow rivers.

There is plenty of wild life to observe. The wild life consists of: seabirds, basking sharks, dolphins, and porpoises. The seabirds include: guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes and fulmars as well as oystercatchers. Puffins breed on Rathlin Island every year. There is also a salmon fishery that includes a fisherman’s cottage.

There is also The Weighbridge Tearoom in which you can get a refreshment of a beverage and cake as a reward for crossing the bridge. I cannot say how tasty the cake is as this was the same day that I twisted my ankle at Giant’s Causeway and did not want to do any further damage to my ankle.

There is an old chalk quarry called Larrybane which was a working quarry until the mid 1970s. Now it is the access point for a scenic walk to your adventure.

If you are interested in wildflowers, there are a number of different types that include at least three different types of orchids.

This site can give a look into the past and can demonstrate the working life of a salmon fisherman in Antrim. Did your ancestor rely on the sea to feed his family? This might be a good place for you to mentally connect with him.

Day Nine – Field Trip, April 2016

Today, we started off on the day’s adventure. The sky was cloudy and it looked like it was going to rain. Sure enough, the rain started before we left Belfast and actually seemed to get quite heavy at one point. That may have been due to the speed of the bus.

Our first stop was in Carrickfergus to have an opportunity to take some pictures of the castle there. The rain was beginning to stop at this point. I walked around to the front of the castle to get some pictures that were different from the ones that others were getting. Our route took us through the “Nine Glens of Antrim”. We then made a curtesy stop about an hour and a half after leaving the hotel for a break and to take some pictures of the harbour and we could also see Scotland in the distance.

We continued on to Giant’s Causeway for a visit there. I will give the legend connected to Giant’s Causeway in a future post. It is an amazing place. The formation of one of the hills is that of a face. The rock is very slippery when wet, and even when it is dry, you still have to be very careful. It is very easy to fall and hurt yourself. Giant’s Causeway is the point of Northern Ireland that is only thirteen miles away from Scotland. We were there about two hours which included our time for lunch. They had a gift shop, but I didn’t want what they had to offer.

Upon leaving Giant’s Causeway, we made our way back towards Carrick-a-Rede which has a rope bridge to one of the islands. The rope bridge used to consist of two ropes, one which you held on to with your hands and the other to go along on your feet. Fishermen used to travel between the island and the mainland carrying salmon that they had caught. Now, the bridge is much safer than that, using a combination of rope and wood slates. In order to get to the bridge, you have to descend to the level, down the side of the hill first, and steps near the bottom. Some of the ladies found the going tough, both going to the bridge and coming back again.

Previous to visiting the rope bridge, we drove a little further to a lookout where we were able to take pictures of the islands between Northern Ireland and Scotland and the rope bridge. This lookout was in a very good spot for this.

Continuing on to Ballymoney, we also stopped to see the Hedges which are two parallel lines of beech trees on either side of the road. These were planted by the Stuart family in the 18^th century. Once the leaves grow for the summer, there will be a canopy over the road. This is the location of at least one scene from “Game of Thrones” television series. There were a couple of girls that had similar capes as is used in the program and a plastic sword. I was able to get a couple of pictures of them. They were there on another tour.

We then headed back to Belfast for an hour’s break before going for dinner.

We arrived approximately 7:00 pm at Crumlin Road Gaol to have a tour of the facility and then a very nice dinner. We learned a great deal about the gaol itself and about the practices of justice from Victorian times right through to the mid 1960s when the gaol was closed. They are in the process of restoring it to what it looked like in Victorian times. There are a few things that won’t be returning to that time period, such as the electricity, the hanging room, and a couple of other things.

Before our trip, we were to order our dinner. Most of us could not remember what we had ordered. It was a delicious meal. If you have the opportunity to take part in something like this, I would strongly suggest that you take advantage of the opportunity. It was an excellent learning experience.

Well, we’re off to Derry tomorrow.