we arrived at 8PM at our new lodging on Lade Braes Walk in St Andrews.   Yes,  you have to walk to get to it!  We parked on a main street a couple hundred yards away. But it is SO unique , so Scottish,  I’m very happy with it!  again 3 BR with 2 baths! 

Inside isn’t fancy but large rooms,  washer and dryer, very comfortable

We walked a bit Around town and to dinner.   These pics were taken at 9 PM

We had a great Scottish dinner!  Wild mushrooms and patè and haggis bon bons to start.   Emmett had a salad but Tucker and I had Pea and Mint Raviolis!  delicious!

A Great start to St Andrews!  Tomorrow we have the number to call to see if Tucker can get a tee time!  We are a less than a mile from the St Andrews Links Club house!  15 minute walk!  More on that tomorrow! 

We left Portrush about 8:30 this morning to head south for the airport but that allowed enough time for a side trip to the Beaghmore Stone circles.  This is a Neolithic site found by a farmer digging Peat.  There are 7 circles, not as large as Stonehenge, and made worth much smaller stones, but still quite impressive.

interesting shaped and structures!  and fauna and flora too.  large black slug!

Made it to the airport with time to enjoy a lunch on the lounge before our flight to Edinburgh! 

This morning was laundry and time to sleep in a little before Tucker’s tee time at Castlerock golf course!  Another experience he will remember,  and he was able to join a couple of locals for the back 9! 

We also visited Royal Portrush Golf Club, home of the 2025 Open.  Unfortunately Tuck couldn’t get a tee time there but he had folded 3 different courses here in the area!  There is golf everywhere!

Today Emmett had his birthday!  So we celebrated at the restaurant of his choice,  the Tides, with a beautiful view overlooking ocean and some putting greens.   And Tucker surprised us and paid for dinner!  sweet guy!  He had Hammond, a pork dish,  Emmett had a cod curry,  and I had Salmon…. we shared 2 good appetizers, duck quesadilla and shrimp with garlic aijoli and we each enjoyed a delicious dessert.   Emmett loves Carmel our butterscotch and had a delicious little cake,  I enjoyed a berry Sundae, and Tucker tried a new dessert,  a Lemon Porret.  Thanks Tucker for dinner!

There was a nice seaside path so we walked a little after dinner and enjoyed the views, the flowers, and even a new plant to us,  a Rosa rugosa, or Beach rose. The hydrangeas were spectacular! 

Tomorrow is a travel day,  but we will start with a bit of Neolithic adventure.  

Today we had a few horse before Tucker’s tee time at The Strand Golf course at Portstewart.  Just a bit west of there,  across the River Bann is Castlerock,  where in 1785 the Fourth Earl of Bristol, the Church of England Bishop of  Derry built a home and a library he called  the Mussenden Temple.  it was built for his neice.  It is an iconic emblem of northern Ireland coast. 

We first drove down onto the beach below for a view from that perspective.  … Funny thing happened as we got a bit stuck in the softer sand and 5 wonderful young men helped push us out of trouble! 

From the top,  we parked at the Lion’s gate parking entrance and walked up to the castle

and on to the temple

The views below are spectacular!

After a quick bite at the Eighteen Ninety Four Restaurant at the Portstewart golf club, of delicious tomato basil soup and duck wings. Tucker was fitted rental clubs,  a new rain/ wind breaker and extra balls, He need to and was joined by 2 other young men for his round of golf at The Strand!  This is a highlight of his trip!

A couple practice putts then Ricky,  the Marshall,  sent him off with tips about the course,  and 2 young men named Ian and James joined him!

Our excursions today began with a drive to Londonderry / Derry, the still divided city,  the only fully walked city in Ireland.   We in the bog area where the fighting between the Irish Republicans and the British soldiers in the 1970s was fought.   It is difficult to understand the continuing animosity between the 2 populations,  but it seethes just below the surface still. 

In the area called the Bog, the working classes live and commerate the battles with these large murals on the end of the apartment buildings.

the memorial to the Hunter strikers

We walked almost the whole wall around the old city, with just slipping into the city to visit St Columb’s Cathedral, and a bit of lunch.  We enjoyed the views and the storytellers along the way.  

St. Columbs Cathedral

We enjoyed a scone and cappuccino and Tucker had a sandwich,  before we headed back to Portstewart where Tucker was able to get his first tee time to golf on this trip.  It is a rather inexpensive one,  as golfing goes, the local old course,  founded right in town, right on the ocean,  in the 1800s! 

His first tee shot!

And finishing up, he was able to ⛳️ with a couple guys!

The best part of staying in an Airbnb, on our own, is that we set our own schedule,  great up when we want,  sleep in occasionally!  Today,  we slept in!  No specific agenda to rush of to. 

We did some shopping yesterday for breakfast foods,  so we made our own breakfast here.   The only problem??  We forgot to buy coffee!  Emmett and I stopped at a little coffee shop, Dora’s, but brought it back home to have with our eggs and bacon.  

For those who don’t know,  my middle name is Dora,  my mother’s name and her grandmother’s name…..Dora Isabelle Templeton,  my connection to the Antrim coast!  This area can be found in my family heritage.  

After we were sufficiently fed,  and coffeed, We headed out,  up the Antrim coast east of Portrush. 

We stopped at Dunluce Castle first.   This is an interesting ruin from the 13th century,  seized and reshaped by the McDonnell clan in the 1500s.  It experienced the unfortunate problem of losing a large portion of its kitchen into the sea,  over the cliff, in 1639, during a north Atlantic storm.

Just a couple miles farther,  we explored the Giants” Causeway, the huge basalt columns  from very early volcanic activity.

on our way back to the west,  we stopped at Bushmill for the Old Bushmill Distillery tour.   It was interesting to hear the process the ingredients go thru before the final products are revealed! They reuse oral barrels from Kentucky Bourbon,  Madiera Port, and Portugese Sherry.   The type of barrel used shaped the flavor of each batch.   I am not a whiskey drinker,  so it was pretty much new to all of us.

On our drive after dinner,  we visited the strand at Portstewart, where we could drive and park on the sand of the beach!  Tucker will be back in a couple days for a round of golf! 

I thought I’d give you an idea where we are lodging these next 4 nights.   Not the big city hotel for sure.   We are in the countryside just a mile our so from the town of Portrush. 

We have 3 Bedrooms and 2 sitting rooms plus kitchen and both,  even a washer and dryer!  We will be quite comfortable relaxing here between sightseeing and golf outings for Tucker.

Today we picked up our car at the Dublin airport and headed north!  Our friends,  Sharon and Marie McNeill live near Belfast and invited us to stop for lunch.  We had a lovely visit,  at Sharon’s new home right on water across the bay from Belfast.  We very much enjoyed reminiscing about meeting on our Baltic cruise in 2012, and talking travel,  since we all love travel!

We ended our day in our new lodging just outside Portrush, where had a delicious Indian dinner of Butter Chicken, Tandori Chicken Masala, and Jaljal with garlic cheese naan.

Around Portrush.  Sunset is around 9:45

More on our self-catering BnB tomorrow,  The Cottage on Corbally, a 3BR cottage, with all the amenities we would need.   We will just cook our breakfasts probably,  but most dinners out.   We have a washer and dryer as well so when we start our next leg off this trip, we will have all clean laundry!  We will have 5 nights here to explore Northern Ireland, the Antrim coast, Londonderry, and possibly even into Donegal and the Wild Atlantic Way… we will see!  Tucker has 2 opportunities to golf here in the Irish Golf Area around Portrush in the next 4 days.

Today we got to visit the Guinness Storehouse for the tour.   It is laid out very well to see not just the process of making it but to experience a taste as well! 

Inside it is shaped like a huge beer glass!  You start with the ingredients,  and move thru the process of making it.

Some of the advertising over the years

the views from the Gravity Bar on top

We were very lucky to get into the Kilmainham Gaol with a mini tour,  free at 1:20 PM. 

We all had a Guinness Stew for dinner tonight in the pub right across from the  Gaity Theater, where we topped off our Republic of Ireland stay with a performance of Riverdance. 

But it was all wonderful!

Tucker,  our 7th grandchild to go on a trip with us,  had joined us on our way to Ireland!  Aer Lingus direct Denver to Dublin

our first lunch in a very Irish pub,  Gogarty’s with some great Irish music!

Our walk today around the City

The river Liffy and the Ha’penny bridge

down Temple Bar area

And Trinity College.   No available tickets for the book of Kells. so we skipped.

and visited memorials to the 2 most famous writers,  Oscar Wilde

and James Joyce

We rested a few minutes when our hotel room became available,  then had an Italian dinner and a walk before going to bed at about 10.  An altogether beautiful sunny 77° day in Dublin!