Days 357-358, 4-5 June '15, Dublin and all points North - Flight from Barcelona to Dublin, acquisition of the Wee Red Beastie (Seat Mii - 1.0 litre of phenomenal power, 4 tires and a coat of red paint), enormous drive up to Portrush and blessed sleep at Ashlea House B&B. Next day - off to the Giant's Causeway via cutesy-poo (and expensive too) Bushmills - home to the distillery, Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, Hezlett House & The Downhill Demesne, Malin Head and finally, into Letterkenny via a friendly hotel's wifi.

There are big days and then there are ginormous, huge, extravaganzas of days. We left Barcelona flying Vueling airline for the first time - snagging the exit row with a speed that defies imagination. As always it made a huge difference. It was crack-down Friday at Immigration in Dublin with everyone getting quizzed about their intended stays in the Emerald Isles, including us. A sure sign a country's economy is on the mend if they don't want folks coming in and spending their bees & honey on road trips. Finally made it to the Budget counter. It was only a 3 hour flight, but already felt like a long day. James discovered a great website when we were in Morocco planning this trip - www.economycarrentals.com. Our 8 day hire of the Wee Red Beastie was less than €80. YUP. We thought it was a con-job too, but paid our €7 deposit and turned up with our voucher at the Budget desk and 'lo and behold, there was our car. And off we went. The purpose of this trip was not to spend time in cities - so we completely missed Belfast and tootled through the back roads marvelling at the greeny-ness of it all. We were simply starved for plants after Marrakech. Another thing that makes Northern Ireland different from Marrakech is the price... Holy Mary as they say in these parts... Sterling is EXPENSIVE. You know you're in hot water when it looks pricey even before you double it to get to A$. Nevertheless, our B&B for the night was a great pick. Bushmills, the closest town to the Giant's Causeway, was just crazy-stupid expensive - up to £100 for B&B. So we priced way down and stayed 10 minutes from Bushmills in a little coastal town called Portrush - only £56. Brilliant spot called Ashlea House with hospitality leaching through the floorboards and past the double glazing. Even set a table for us and set out some soft drinks to have with our Chinese takeaway. Bliss. Speaking of double glazing, definitely a bit cooler than Marrakech - 38 degrees when we left and 15 degrees in Portrush. Definitely nice for a change. Despite locals swanning about in T-shirts, we pulled our coats out PDQ. After a dead-to-the-world sleep and a superb brekkie, with a spare bacon sandwich thrown in for luck, we headed off to see our reason for being (here). The Giant's Causeway (pictured). When we first researched this site we were put off by the price - £10 each - heck - that's A$40 for two. But. And it's a big but, we scuttled off to our room in Marrakech and pulled out the wallet of extra cards, including our National Trust membership cards from Australia - woo hoo! Valid 'til August 2015. The drive alone to the Causeway was grand - stunning coastal scenery with the ocean the sort of tropical blue and aqua usually reserved for travel agents' brochures. To be sure, about 5 degrees in the water, but stunning. The Causeway however blew it all away. Keeping our priorities straight, the first order of business after waving our magic "get in free" vouchers was to buy an embroidered patch for the bag. Second order of business - use the posh loos (never underestimate the value of visiting a tourist attraction...) and finally, joined on a guided walking tour of the Causeway with Keith. That's Keith with a "K" and two "LLs" in brilliant. We cracked up for approximately 40 minutes straight as we walked down to the Causeway and saw the sites... the camel, the dog, the pipe organ, the Giants' chimney (you'll have to check the photos to make sure we're not barking). Absolutely stunning site and so glad we came along - even had the guide salute us as the only paid up members of the National Trust on the tour. We was proud we was. We utilised the mini-bus back up the hill (again, free for members) and it was into the Wee Red Beastie and off to our second stop - The Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. Also, rather fortunately, National Trust - another £12 we didn't have to cough up. What, pray tell, is the rope bridge in aid of? Well, it's a rocky island, connected to the cliffs by a rope-bridge swinging 100 feet (30m) over the water. First erected by salmon fishermen 350 years ago (and upgraded since then, don't worry), the 65 foot (20m) bridge that accesses the island is an extreme sport for National Trust members. Just the walk to get there from the entrance booth was an adventure - the views, the stairs, the slopes, the stairs - phew. From the rocky island (obviously we both braved the bridge), there were views of Rathlin Island, the Causeway Coast and Scotland. Seriously good stuff. Pranced back over the bridge taking photos as we went and then it was (heave, sigh, splutter... puff) back to the car. Mind you, the "Medina Fitness Plan" of several hours a day walking at a snail's pace in 30-40 degrees has paid off and we were much fitter than expected. Next stop. A random one actually. I know. Vivienne & James spontaneous? Eh? We were en route to Macgilligan to take the ferry across to Malin Head (the most northerly point of Ireland - and actually in "Ireland" vs. Northern Ireland). We saw a National Trust banner waving in the breeze and cruised on in to Hezlett House (middle class cottage from way back when) and then headed down the road to the Downhill estate (not Downton!) Enjoyed a walk around the Dovecote, the Belvedere and the Manor, saw the Mussendon Temple in the distance (closed for a wedding) and then, finally, noticing it was 4 pm, headed on. Need not have worried - the ferry was shut due to wind so we went to Plan B and drove down to Londonderry then up and around the Malin Peninsula, Inishowen. It's a funny old thing, but we'd seen so many stunning views we suffered our first bout of SOS - Scenic Overload Syndrome. The views from Malin Head were superb - and then, just to top it all off, the gusty drizzle pulled a rainbow out of it's hat and sent the views into the stratosphere. Didn't actually make it all the way around the Peninsula until about 7 pm. Made it to our B&B thanks to a friendly hotel letting me use the wifi for a few minutes. We were only 800 m away, so that's pretty darn good. Welcomed in to the Larkfield B&B with soda bread, jam and a pot of tea, we snuffled our dinner and hit the sack. Having bought a bottle of Drambuie at the duty free in Barcelona, it was officially christened "Travellers' Tonic" and we prescribed ourselves a snifter a night, to keep tomorrow in sight. And it worked a treat. We'd love to go out listening to Irish music and enjoying the craic... but that caper doesn't start til 9.30 pm in most pubs. Thus the blanket show it is. Tomorrow's plans? Fanad Head, Glenveagh Castle, loughs (think lochs/lakes), Slieve League (major set of cliffs), Donegal (another castle), and finally, Tullaghan and to rest.