Tassie Rachel: Belfast and the Wild Atlantic Way

I thoroughly recommend a visit to the Titanic Experience if anyone is visiting Belfast and I think every tourist in Belfast was visiting it when I was (apparently there was a cruise ship in port). A very well put together exhibition, that even included a ride that made you feel like you in the docks as the ship building happened. It was rather sobering though to hear of how hard life was building the ships and then how low the survival rate was for third class passengers when they Titanic sink. But thankfully it did lead to lots of changes in laws that I'll be grateful for in a few weeks when I'm cruising the Norwegian Fjords.

After lunch in the city and a lovely chat with a local 79 year old lady who insisted I sit next to her in a cafe, I went on a Troubles tour in West Belfast. For the first 1.5 hours our guide was an IRA member who had spent 16 years in gaol and he showed us his side of West Belfast and shared his perspective. Then we went through a "peace gate" and changed to a Unionist guide and got his perspective for the next 1.5 hours. It was a very sobering tour. I had no idea parts of Belfast were still so strongly split, they have two totally separate communities next to each other and the six gates in the peace fence are still locked from 7pm to 6am each night. In the rest of Belfast there is no such division. Until Brexit led to too many claims, people such as my first guide could easily get an Irish passport instead of a UK one. There have been some interesting discussions on the radio about whether there will be a vote to reunite, following on from the recent UK election.

Over breakfast on Thursday morning I discovered the "Wild Atlantic Way" and decided that some scenic driving would be better than a visit to the Freedom Museum in Derry given Wednesday had left me a bit depressed. It was beautiful! I drove to Malin Head, the northern most point in Ireland and saw so much beautiful scenery despite the periodic rain showers. Google Maps also managed to take me up a farm road that led to a gate but my reversing skills in my little Suzuki Swift got me out quickly.

I then headed for the far west coast, which was even more stunning, as I drove through so much Glenveagh National Park.

After a night in Donegal I headed for my first yarn stop, Donegal Studio. They produce some beautiful weaving but I was disappointed to hear they purchase their wool on the international market as the local wool is now considered too coarse as people want soft yarn instead of wanting it to be more robust and water proof.

The staff there sent me off on a scenic drive along the coast, to walk to Slieve League the tallest cliffs in Europe and a drive through a beautiful valley. Where I happened upon another wool mill, with a similar style of yarn.