Our Day Trip to Giant's Causeway and Carrick-a-rede Rope Bridge

On Saturday we headed off on our monthly day trip to the Giant's Causeway in Co Antrim to walk in the footsteps of giant's.

It's been a few years since we've been here and it was great to go back again with our Little Fella in tow. The drive along the famous Coastal Route is simply stunning and luckily enough the sun was shining for us yesterday.

When your driving along taking in your surroundings there's something calming about the landscape around you and it really is a great day out.

The first stop of the day was Dunluce Castle. This medieval castle was the headquarters of the MacDonnell Clan and dates back to the 13th Century. The views here are stunning and we all enjoyed taking in the scenery and having the wind blow through our hair.

The Giant's Causeway is truly beautiful and even though it was packed with visitors you still get a sense of peace and calm here and you would be surprised to find that a few hours go by in a flash.

It is great to see so many tourists from all over the world flocking here in vast numbers to appreciate the natural beauty of the area. 

As most of us know the Causeway was formed by an ancient volcanic eruption however it's much more fun to follow the legend of the great giant Fionn MacCumhaill. You can read the legend here.

The audio guide that was provided at the entrance was really well put together and our Inbetweener had great fun spotting all the features on the walk down and enjoying the story. On the other hand I'm really a child at heart and never grow tired of hearing this story myself and who's to say it's not real?

After we had some light refreshments in the visitors centre we drove towards the famous Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge.

Now this is not for the faint hearted. Here is the link to some more information about this fantastic place.

The bridge which is about 20 metres across and 30 metres above the sea links the mainland to the island of Carrickarede. We paid our entrance fee and walked just under a mile towards the bridge.

Mr P had our Little Fella in the baby sling and he was happy to be outside having the wind blowing in his face while the rest of us deliberated whether or not we were brave enough to actually cross the bridge.

I've said before I have a fear of heights and water. It was a bit stormy and after some time and assurances from the tour guides we all apart from Mr P and our Little Fella made our way across.

Our Inbetweener almost buckled when he first set foot on the bridge but we had come too far to turn back. The people who had already crossed the bridge were brilliant encouraging everybody along.

There's nothing like fear - fear of falling, fear of dying to make you move.

My legs were like jelly when I got across and I was a sickly shade of green. Our Inbetweener threw his arms in the air and shouted 'We've done it''. It's funny now writing this but all I could think of was that we would have cross it again to get back.

Anyway we lived to tell the tale it was truly a thrilling experience, not that we were in any real danger, nobody has actually ever fallen off the bridge!

After all that we drove into Portrush to have dinner, homemade ice-cream in Morelli's which is a must if your in the town and a bag of candy floss.

So all in all we had another great day out. The Giant's Causeway is one of the most beautiful places, right on our doorstep and perfect for a family day out.

Everybody was exhausted on the way home from all the walking and with our lungs full of lovely fresh air we had a great night's sleep.

Don't forget to check back next month for our latest adventure.

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