Northern Ireland

Day 9 (June 14): Halfway House - Whitepark Bay (70 km - 600 hm / Σ 820 km - 7160 hm)

'We need an emergency plan!' With this statement from Dominique, we start the day amidst the pouring rain, as one of the motorcyclists in the hotel described the weather. Harald’s response: “Let’s just get going!!” Even without an emergency plan, the weather demands a lot from us today, and I (Dominique) wonder who would dare to take on such a biking day! We have 70 km ahead of us with two longer ascents. The first 28 km are along the Coastal Road, which later transitions to the Causeway Coastal Road, and we make good progress with little traffic. Motivating us are the road cyclists coming towards us - we are not the only ones defying the bad weather. The rain intensifies by the minute, and we look forward to finding a nice café. The people there are friendly and concerned, noting that we still have a long way to go to our day's target, which they are probably right about, especially in this weather. They suggest we should stay in the village. After a longer break, we have to don our damp-feeling rain gear. We can note that Arcteryx, Löffler, Vaude, and Gore Wear have proven themselves to be weatherproof. We arrive at the end of the biking day almost dry! First, we have to climb up to 250 m and reach a beautiful, wild plateau. We can well imagine what a wonderful landscape this is. Even in this terrible weather, we feel a sense of happiness when looking over the expanse and the wild nature! Where it goes up, it also goes down. In heavy rain, we race back towards the coast and urgently need a break. In the pub, there is hot tea and vegetable soup. In Ballycastle, we shop for dinner. The beer, which we now have to carry over the next hills with heavy strides (it’s worth it!), weighs particularly heavily. At 5 PM, we reach our accommodation at Whitebay with a view of the beautiful beach. The accommodation is a bit dated, but the room can be heated and spaghetti can be prepared in the kitchen.

Day 10 (June 15): Whitepark Bay - Giant's Causeway - Portstewart (25 km - 200 hm / Σ 845 km - 7360 hm)

Overnight, the rain has cleared, and in the morning, a few drops still fall now and then. Today’s focus is on the Giant's Causeway, a tourist hotspot in Northern Ireland. Since we don’t have to cover many kilometers, we wait a bit in the morning until the rain has completely stopped. After 3 km, we arrive at Dunseverick Castle, of which only the ruins of the gatehouse are visible. Today, this is the entrance to the coastal path of the Giant's Causeway on the north coast of Ireland. We lock our bikes and set off on foot to explore. Since 1986, this path has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It consists of about 40,000 evenly shaped basalt columns, dating approximately 60 million years. About half of the columns have a hexagonal cross-section, but those with four, five, seven, or eight corners also appear. The largest stone columns reach a height of twelve meters and are up to 25 m thick. Geologists attribute the formation of the basalt dam to the cooling of hot lava. Formations of vertical basalt columns can occur with very slow and even cooling of lava. We hike about 2 km until we reach the actual Causeway. Here, still 5 km from the Visitor Centre, we are almost alone and can truly enjoy the rugged and wild coastal stretch. After another 2 km, we reach the 'Amphitheatre,' a bay where the tall basalt stones resemble a natural amphitheater. We now encounter more tourists, and at the end of the path just before the Visitor Centre, there are hundreds climbing on the columns right by the sea. The stones are arranged like a mosaic - very impressive. It does not surprise us that around a million people visit this place each year. We take the bus back to our bikes and cycle along the coast to our accommodation in Portstewart. Along the way, we pass Dunluce Castle, one of the largest ruins of a medieval castle in Ireland. The castle was also featured in 'Game of Thrones.' Even though it's only a short distance today, we struggle due to the steep climbs and the strong headwind. The Irish coast is rugged and wild, with towns and villages very different from Scotland. What we find strange are the holiday settlements along the coast, all residential containers placed right on the roadside and closely situated next to each other. In the evening, we eat and drink in a typical pub, where there is also live music tonight.

Day 11 (June 16): Portstewart - Derry (70 km- 500 hm / Σ 915 km - 7860 hm)

The weather is a dominant topic not only for the Scots but also for us. Today it is cloudy with some sunny intervals, an almost ideal biking day, if it weren't for the headwinds in some sections. Overall, everything is going well, it is by no means as bad as feared. We first ride to Coleraine, cross the river, and gain some elevation. It’s worth it, as we have a view over the lush green landscape and the sea to our right. No wonder there is a sign pointing out: Binevenagh - Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It's great to roll through this area on a side road and enjoy. After 20 km, we reach the Mussenden Temple, built in the 18th century by Earl Bishop Hervey next to a manor house and other buildings as a library, situated right above the cliffs. It’s one of the most popular photo spots in Northern Ireland, thanks especially to its location over the sea and the risk of collapse. From there, we ride swiftly to the Mulligan ferry waiting for us, which takes us across the narrowest point of Lough Foyle to Greencastle. Over coffee, we suddenly realize that we are now in the Republic of Ireland. When the Republic of Ireland split in 1920/21, six counties remained with the United Kingdom, and thus the border was drawn. From here, it’s not far to the uninhabited northernmost part of the island. However, we feel drawn back south to Northern Ireland, specifically to Derry, known as Londonderry from the British side. Derry was the scene of bloody clashes during the Northern Ireland conflict in the late 1960s and 70s between the English-Scottish Protestants and the Catholic-Irish residents, peaking on Bloody Sunday in 1972. On that day, 13 protesting civilians were shot by British soldiers, with another 13 injured. Following Bloody Sunday, 'The Troubles' intensified significantly, with 1972 becoming the bloodiest year of the conflict. The IRA carried out several attacks as acts of revenge.

In 1998, the conflict was peacefully settled with the Good Friday Agreement and has since endured. Although there have been occasional attacks up to today, the agreement generally holds. The Brexit brought a burden, as 55% of Northern Irish voted to remain in the EU. And with that, voices advocating for a connection to the Republic of Ireland are becoming louder again.

Derry is worth visiting for us with its medieval city wall, which can be walked around; the cathedral, the new Peace Bridge, and the old streets are also interesting.