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.

Giant's Causeway

There is a World Heritage site in County Antrim in Northern Ireland that was declared so by UNESCO in 1986 which was also declared a natural nature reserve by the Department of the Environment for Northern Ireland in 1987. It is a beautiful, peaceful site and I have never been to any place like it. It is the Giant’s Causeway.

The Giant’s Causeway has two theories on how it was created. One of the theories is scientific and the other is mythology.

The scientific theory holds that the Causeway was created through volcanic action about 50 to 60 million years ago. The lava was molten basalt which squeezed through chalk beds to form a plateau. While it was cooling, the lava formed the hexagonal columns which make up the Causeway. I find it amazing that the columns are very close in size and that there are so many of them. They extend right into the water.

The second theory which is mythology involves two giants, Fionn mac Cumhaill, who was Irish, and Bennandonner, who was Scottish. Apparently, Bennandonner challenged Fionn mac Cumhaill to a fight who accepted the challenge and proceeded to build the Causeway to make things easier for them to meet. From this point, there are two versions of the tale.

The first version is that the giants met and Fionn won the challenge.

The second version is that Fionn saw how big Bennandonner was, turned, and ran to hide. His wife, Oonagh, disguised Fionn as a baby. Bennandonner saw him, and thought that this was Fionn’s baby, and how much larger the father would be, turn and ran, destroying the causeway as he went.

It is an interesting tale, either way.

The area that is covered with the columns are slippery when wet, and have been worn through time, weather, and humanity. If you venture out on the columns, you need to be extremely careful. A fall could result in a broken limb, a sprained ankle, or a dunk in the cold North Sea/Atlantic Ocean, which has a strong current. I did fall, but fortunately, all the damage that I did was twist my ankle resulting in walking with a cane for about a week and some irritating dull pain with the occasional sharp twinge.

There are some trails that you can follow, one of which seems to be fairly easy to do. The site has a visitor center at the entrance that you need to go through. You can then walk to the Causeway which will take about twenty minutes according to the guides. If you don’t want to walk, you can take the bus which runs about every twenty to thirty minutes depending on attendance.

I enjoyed the ride down and back to the top. I also took a look at the immediate surroundings after my slight incident. I want to go back some day and follow one of the trails that I saw that looks safer than the columns.