The Dark Hedges

I don’t think that there is anything manmade that can honestly outdo what Nature can produce. In every country, there is that piece of Nature that makes you stop, say “WOW”, and drink in the sight. In Northern Ireland, the Dark Hedges is a very strong contender to be known as such as sight.

The Dark Hedges are not far from Ballymoney, on Bregagh Road in Stranocum, leading up to Gracehill House. This house was named after Grace Lynd, wife of James Stuart, and was built approximately 1775. The property stayed in the Stuart family for many years.

James wanted to give the entrance to the house an impressive look, so 150 beech trees were planted. As they grew, their branches became intertwined to form a tunnel. 200 years later, the tunnel has become a very impressive tunnel.

 Apparently, beech trees usually only last about 150 to 200 years. Currently, there are about 90 of the beech trees that are still living. In 2004, a preservation order was placed on these trees as the government did not want to lose these trees, but they also had to keep the area safe for road users. The Dark Hedges Preservation Trust was set up so that these trees would be cared for properly.

This stretch of road was known, but no one seemed to remember where it was. It was desired that the Dark Hedges be found so that they would be able to use to attract tourists. They did find it and it was put on the map. A few years ago, the makers of Game of Thrones used the Dark Hedges as the scene in season 2 episode 1 where Arya Stark is disguised as a boy on her way north on the King’s Road with her companions. There are people who go to Northern Ireland just to see this stretch of road.

There is also a ghost story that is attached to this landscape. It is the ghost of the Grey Lady who wanders the road and there are a couple of different versions that are circulating about. I will leave you to hunt up those stories.

More recently, however, there was an unfortunate incident happen. On the 29^th of January of 2016, (yes, folks, this year), Storm Gertrude caused three of the beech trees of the Dark Hedges to be uprooted. There were other damages involving branches with some of the other trees, but the three trees that were uprooted could not be saved. Many people were upset or disappointed that this had happened, but there was nothing that could be done about it.

I thoroughly enjoyed the sight. I even took the opportunity to walk closer for a short distance to get some pictures.

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.