DUBLIN – THE GIANT’S CAUSEWAY DAY TOUR

Dublin – The Giants Causeway Day Tour

Pickup Location – The Hugh Lane Gallery, Parnell Square North, Dublin 1

The Giants Causeway tour features a guided coach tour of the best of what Northern Ireland offers, including a stop at the well-known Dark Hedges, made popular by the television series “Game of Thrones”, the UNESCO world heritage site of the Giant’s Causeway, the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, as well as an introduction to the historical capital of Northern Ireland: Belfast.

The Dark Hedges

The Dark Hedges is an avenue of beech trees along Bregagh Road in Country Antrim, Northern Ireland. The Dark Hedges originated in the 16th century planted by the Stewart family designed to impress visitors as they approached the entrance to their mansion, Gracehill House,c.1775.

Now one of the most photographed sites in Northern Ireland due to their fame from the Game of Thrones TV Series.

The Carrick a Rede Rope Bridge

Carrick A Rede Rope Bridge connects a 23m-deep and 20m-wide chasm between the mainland and a small island that has been used over the years by fishermen to place netting to capture migrating salmon.

Following a 20 minute scenic cliff walk, you can traverse the bridge to the island with its abundance of birdlife, and to enjoy the spectacular coastal views from a different vantage point.

Giants Causeway

After lunch it is time for The Giants Causeway which is the highlight of the trip.

A jagged promontory of neatly packed columns of hexagonal basalt rocks created some 6 million years ago by a flow of basaltic lava; consists of a series of over 40,000 hexagonal shaped rocks that looks like a grand set of stairs leading into the sea.

As legend has it, Northern Ireland was once home to a giant named Finn McCool (also called Fionn Mac Cumhaill). When another giant – Benandonner, across the Irish Sea in Scotland – threatened Ireland, Finn retaliated by tearing up great chunks of the Antrim coastline and hurling them into the sea.

Another local folklore, is that Finn MacCool built the Giants Causeway as part of a causeway to the Scottish island of Staffa (which has similar rock formations) for motives of either love or war.

Dunluce Castle

After, we will slowly head back South towards Belfast, but first we will stop for a picture of Dunluce Castle, and erstwhile home of the notorious McDonnel clan! Dunluce Castle is a now-ruined medieval castle in Northern Ireland, located on the edge of a basalt outcropping in County Antrim.

With evidence of settlement from the first millennium, the present castle ruins date mainly from the 16th and 17th centuries.

Dunluce Castle is also the filming location of the movie The Medallion (2003), staring Jackie Chan.

Arriving at Belfast City you will be introduced to this vibrant city with its chequered history.