Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
observation terrace at the center (next to the lighthouse) overlooks one of the most dramat-
ic coastal views in Ireland—a sheer drop of more than 300 feet to craggy sea stacks just
offshore that are draped in thousands of sea birds. Photographers will want to bring their
most powerful zoom lens.
For such a snoozy island, Rathlin has seen its fair share of history. Flint axe-heads were
quarried here in Neolithic times. The island was one of the first in Ireland to be raided by
Vikings, in 795. Robert the Bruce hid out from English pursuers on Rathlin in the early
1300s (see “The Scottish Connection” sidebar, earlier). In the late 1500s, local warlord
Sorely Boy MacDonnell stashed his extended family on Rathlin and waited on the main-
land at Dunluce Castle to face his English enemies...only to watch in horror as they headed
for the island instead to massacre his loved ones. And in 1917, a WWI U-boat sank the
British cruiser HMS
Drake
in Church Bay. The wreck is now a popular scuba-dive destin-
ation.
▲
Antrim Mountains and Glens
Not particularly high (never more than 1,500 feet), the Antrim Mountains are cut by a
series of large glens running northeast to the sea. Glenariff, with its waterfalls (especially
the Mare's Tail), is the most beautiful of the nine glens. Travelers going by car can take a
pleasant drive from Portrush to Belfast, sticking to the A-2 road that takes in parts of all of
the Glens of Antrim. The two best stops en route are Cushendall (nice beach for a picnic)
and the castle at Carrickfergus (see
here
).
