North Antrim Coastline and Old Bushmills Distillery

The tour bus continued its drive along the Antrim coastline passing a beautiful scenery -- gorgeous shores and lush green hills and pastureland.

I was surprised to see some horses lying down in the sun!

We passed many fields filled with the ubiquitous cows and sheep of the land.

It was both serene and thrilling for this city girl to see so many beautiful wide open green and blue spaces! There were lots of splashes of yellow, too, as a thorny shrub called Gorse was in bloom everywhere during the time we were in Ireland.

We reached the next stop on the tour, which was the small town of Bushmills, and the Old Bushmills Distillery.

Here we took a short tour and sampled some of the very smooth Irish whiskey. The word "whiskey" comes from the Gaelic language words "uisce beatha," which means "water of life." The Old Bushmills plant is the oldest distillery in the world! It's "Grant to Distill"was officially given in 1608, but it is suspected that whiskey was made here for at least 200 years before that. The Old Bushmills brand is a blend from a single malt and a single grain.

I just wish the American dollar was stronger so I could have afforded to buy this bottle and bring it back as a souvenir!


Back on the bus and we travel a bit further, past more luminous sky and fertile pastureland.

There -- in the distance -- what is that unusual apparition that we see on the end of a cliff?

We get closer and it comes into focus. We are told it is Dunluce Castle perched vulnerably on a steep crag. It dates back to the thirteenth century and was the main fortress of the MacDonnells, chiefs of Antrim.

Dunluce Castle was fought over many times in it's past and is wrapped in myths and legends, one of which is that mermaids lived in caves at its base. On a clear day, you can look over the expanse of ocean and see County Donegal.


Next blog I will take you to our next stop, one of the most unusual places on earth, The Giant's Causeway.