County Antrim and Belfast

Continuing through Northern Ireland, we visited Glenariff Forest Park. We started with a great walk in the woods…

… that descended down to a river…

… along walls covered in ferns…

… and on to a waterfall…

… or two.

We also walked through pine forests…

… and met a friend -

Red Squirrel (unusual to see)

Heading on down the coast, we stopped in the little seaside village of Whitehead…

… to walk along a path that hugged the coast…

… and ended at the Blackhead Lighthouse.

See the path at the bottom?

As we continued on to Belfast, we were reminded how rural Ireland is -

(be sure to open this post in a browser to be able to see the video)

… and they weren’t quite done. I had to turn my camera back on -

In Belfast, we did a tour of the city in a hop-on, hop-off bus. We learned a bit about the history of the city, and saw some neat architecture -

City Hall

Some ornate brickwork caught Steve’s attention -

We passed a beautiful college…

… and some churches…

… but then came to Shankill Road and the “Peace” Wall -

Twenty years after “the Troubles” ended, there’s still a 6 meter high wall between neighborhoods with gates that are locked at night. It’s not really Protestant vs Catholic — it’s about whether Northern Ireland should remain in the UK or (re)join the Republic of Ireland.

It was also interesting to see the older stone buildings up against new glass and steel ones -

And now for some photogenic pubs we enjoyed -

That first bar pictured had a series of “snugs” where you could settle in with friends, and I loved the coziness of it.

Cuddle with your loved ones, as I bid you adieu!