Like many others, I have always dreamed of going to Ireland. I was mesmerized by the landscape of the island, from the greenest of greens to the cliffs and lovely coastlines. In addition, I always assumed I had some Irish heritage. My husband had some sky miles that were about to expire, and our available travel window was slim. Because I am a teacher, travel time has to be during school breaks, whether summer, fall or spring. Summer was out of the question, as it would be too soon after my husband began a new job, and so fall break (October) it was. However, that meant we really only had a long weekend, so somewhere closer it was. Although Ireland isn’t close, it’s a quicker flight than many other destinations.
After much research and going back and forth, a dream became reality, and flights were booked for essentially 4 nights in Ireland. With that said, I knew my itinerary had to be on point. A while back, we bought an Ireland visual explorer book. I revisited it to get ideas and decide, would we go south, or would we go north? Everyone talks about visiting the Cliffs of Moher, but in my book, I found the Slieve League Cliffs, which are nearly three times higher! In addition, pictures from Giant’s Causeway blew my mind, and I just knew I needed to see those basalt columns in person. My decision was made. I was going against the popular decision, and we were headed north!
To plan the trip, I joined various Facebook travel groups, scoured Google maps for reviews and routes, and did a lot of brainstorming. Over time, I developed a daily itinerary, with timelines, links to driving routes, and notes on all reservations. Each day we had our must-do activities, and optional ones as time permitted. This provided us with some flexibility while ensuring we didn’t miss key spots. I put so much time into developing our plan, that I was more excited for this trip than when I was leading a group of students and families to Italy for over a week. All of my efforts certainly paid off and made for a magical trip. It was so fulfilling to experience the trip unfold and observe my husband’s reactions along the way.
Our journey began Friday night after working all day, with an overnight flight into Dublin, landing around 10 a.m. on Saturday morning. After getting our luggage, we headed to the car rental pickup for that adventure! Luckily my husband was game to drive from the right side of the car, on the left lane! Immediately after picking up the car, we headed north to Belfast with plans to get lunch at St. George’s Market. As soon as I found out about this market, I knew I had to make it work with our itinerary. The market has been running since 1604, with the current structure built between 1890 and 1896, featuring authentic food, live music, and local arts and crafts. This first stop was a highlight of our trip! We had delicious, traditional food, bought some beautiful handmade jewelry, and had a first-hand experience of just how friendly Irish people are.
Now that we had full bellies and were starting to feel human again after our overnight flight, it was time to make our way towards Titanic Belfast, where the RMS Titanic was built and initially launched. Walking where the Titanic and her sister ship Olympic were built provided an in-person visual experience of the magnitude of these ships. Titanic Belfast is an immersive experience that tells of the two ships, but also of the people, the industry and the rich history in Belfast and extending beyond. This provided for a nice first day visit and primer for all we’d learn in the days to come.
Before heading to our Bed & Breakfast, we stopped at Belfast Castle for yet another treat. The sun was setting, and locals were walking their dogs on the trails around the castle grounds. One local, Gary, was particularly friendly, and noticing my husband’s Ohio State sweatshirt, decided to strike up a conversation. Gary shared some Irish lingo and even initiated conversation about Northern Ireland versus Ireland and the Troubles. We knew this was a topic not to bring up, but only talk about if brought up by a local first. We appreciated Gary’s candor and warm welcome to Ireland! And by the way, the castle and grounds were quite beautiful, but our time with Gary was what made that visit. With that said, I was advised, and I’ll pass the recommendation along to you, be flexible during your visit anywhere, to spend time with the locals. Yes, Ireland has amazing scenery, but it also has amazing people, so take time to dig into both.
I know I can’t tell you about every little thing we did on our trip, but I do have to tell you about our Bed & Breakfast in Belfast I mentioned above. I highly recommend you stay in at least one traditional Bed & Breakfast if you visit Ireland. This is a fantastic opportunity to experience Irish hospitality and traditional Irish food. We stayed at The Rocks Bed and Breakfast, and the owners Noel and Cathy were so accommodating and friendly. They greeted us as we first arrived, helped us get settled, then greeted us downstairs the next morning with a full breakfast spread that was absolutely incredible. Cathy even prepared fresh coffee to go for us! We were actually a little late getting on the road that morning, because we were having such a good time socializing with Noel and Cathy. So again, spend time with the locals and soak it all in!
Our first full day in Ireland was an absolute visual splendor! We headed north from Belfast towards the Antrim Coast to first experience Carrick-a-Rede island via a rope bridge suspended almost 100 feet above sea level. The first rope bridge out to Carrick-a-Rede was erected over 250 years ago by salmon fishermen, so this was another destination rich in history. As we neared the site, we were simply in awe of the view out to the ocean, over the rocky cliffs. There were green pastures all around, of the greenest greens you’ve ever seen, with this grass that was almost swirly and wavy. It added texture to the areas it covered, drawing your eyes in, making you wonder, what did it feel like? And of course, there were sheep, sheep in fields that spread to the edge of the cliffs, cliffs that then fell into the ocean. Seeing all of this in person was almost surreal. And again, the people! The National Trust rangers also noticed Carlos’s Ohio State gear and struck a conversation with us before we headed out across the bridge. Carlos shared the typical way an Ohio State fan greets another fan is by saying O-H and the other person responds, I-O! So then, as we returned across the bridge, one of the rangers yelled out O-H! And we all know how Carlos responded!
From Carrick-a-Rede we continued west along the Antrim coast, stopping at Ballintoy Church, then heading to the ruins of Dunseverick Castle. This was an optional stop that I’m glad we made. We were able to hike up and out to a field of sheep overlooking the ocean, then over and up to the ruins and beyond. Again, the views were simply amazing, and we had the space to ourselves to just take it in. Next, we refueled before heading to Giant’s Causeway. Giant’s Causeway was stunning and steep in folklore. However, we enjoyed it less than some other sights, simply due to the number of people there. I do still recommend visiting, just plan to arrive earlier or later to avoid the crowds.
We ended our first full day in Derry, which is in Northern Ireland and rich in history around the earlier mentioned strife between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Derry ended up being a highlight of our trip, between the walkability of the town, the food, the history, and the trad music! Out of all our overnight stays, we had the best night out while in Derry. In my research I had found Peadar O’Donnell’s, noted to have great trad music and a lively atmosphere, thus I made sure to book a hotel nearby. Peadar O’Donnell’s definitely lived up to its reviews! The crowd was friendly and certainly into the music. To our surprise, the most popular song during our visit was “Take me Home, Country Roads,” by John Denver. The tourists were singing, but so were the young and old that were obviously locals.
Our next full day was jam-packed with incredible driving and sightseeing adventures. We began first thing in the morning at Grianan of Aileach, a stone fort with origins dating back to 1700 BC. The stone and mortar structure sits high on a hilltop with sweeping views of the surrounding countryside, along with nearby waterways that connect to the North Atlantic Ocean. From there we continued on to visit the Old Church in Dunlewey, before heading to the Slieve League Cliffs. The Cliffs were another must on our agenda, and we were gifted with the best weather of our trip to explore these nearly 2,000 feet high sea cliffs. Considering our aggressive itinerary, we only spent a couple hours here but plan to return at some point to attempt at least some of One Man’s Path, a narrow trail along the cliff’s edge. With our allotted paid parking time about to expire, we left the cliffs and headed out for another must on our agenda, the Caves of Keash.
Our legs were a bit spent, but the weather was perfect, and our timing was impeccable, arriving at the Caves in time for a gorgeous sunset. As you hike up to Keshcorran Mountain, you can see the numerous caves of varying sizes dotting the white limestone rock face. These caves are of major archaeological and mythological significance, with animal bones being recovered dating back to those that roamed Ireland at the end of the Ice Age. We entered only a few of the caves, with some going back farther than others but in general only offering small rooms. The views from the caves of the countryside and the setting sun were awe inspiring and a very rewarding end to our day.
Dublin received our full attention for our final day in Ireland. We took our own walking tour to take in the history of the bustling city and worked in a visit to Trinity College and the Book of Kells. Although many of the books have been removed from the Long Room, it was still a wonderful visit. Beyond simply seeing the two pages of the Book of Kells that was on display, a highlight for me was seeing the display of pigments used in the illustration of the book. As a nature enthusiast and science teacher, it was interesting to see samples of the different natural materials, matched with the colors they produced.
All in all, our whirlwind of a trip was an absolutely incredible experience, even having only three full days. Many people advise against such an aggressive itinerary and suggest you slow down or don’t even bother if you don’t have at least 5 days. I completely disagree with this attitude. I say go with what suits you and certainly don’t wait until the timing is perfect. Do we wish we had spent more time in certain locations? Absolutely! Did we miss some stops at various locations? Absolutely! But do we plan to go back? Absolutely! This was an introductory trip. We got our feet and our appetites wet. Almost immediately after we got home, we missed Ireland. We constantly talk about our various experiences and how much we love Ireland. And now, we’re planning our next trip! This trip will be longer, and we’re even running a 10k race while there! I look forward to telling you all about our next visit!
*All photos were taken by Carlos Serra and Priscilla Goodwin-Serra