Murlough Bay, Moyne, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland

- Backblip - Northern Ireland Day 8

We left our classy cottage in County Down this morning and drove north to County Antrim to spend a few days with P & D. Their residence in Ballycastle is very close to the sea, with wonderful views to Rathlin Island and the sound of the waves to lull you to sleep. Great for seabird spotting too. En route we stopped for a sandwich and had our first sight of a hurling team. They all had their sticks out, practicing their swings beside the bus stop. We were to see more of this sporting activity over the next week.

After settling in, we had our first tour of the area, over the headland and a steep drive down to Murlough Bay, where we spotted a family of three fallow deer in this beautiful, peaceful place. Then west along the coast, with very clear views of the Carrick-a-Rede Bridge and over to Rathlin Island.

A few observations of Northern Ireland after a week here :-

- Smaller pointsize on road signs, difficult to read, particularly between Larne and Belfast.
- Very large gateposts, all over the place. Often turret-like.
- Large lions on said gateposts.
- Country roads that have road names, as well as numbers.
- No names at the start and end of villages and towns, so you don't know where you are.
- Flags, with many hanging from flagpoles on houses, and on archways across the road.
- Red, white and blue kerbstones, not just in the main streets, but down side streets too.
- Hearing spoken Irish.
- Brightly painted houses.
- Learning a new word, and how to pronounce it - Demesne.
- Drive in Churches!?
- Many religious road side posters, often in green paint on a wooden background, such as
"Flea from God's wrath to come", "The Lord Jesus came to save sinners", "Safe Home Brethren", "Life is short, eternity is forever".