Day 7
June 21st happens to be our wedding anniversary, nine years and counting. Being the summer solstice we decided to spend part of the day at the nearby Beaghmore Stone Circle just outside of Cookstown. We didn't arrive until the early afternoon; however, we were just in time to see several people in ancient ceremonial looking garb leaving the premises. After about fifteen or twenty minutes spent examining the three distinctly intertwined circles, we concluded that we had the place to ourselves and would unlikely be disturbed. Therefore, we lay down in one of the more secluded circles and decided to perform an ancient ceremony of our own. Afterward, we lay in the grass peering up into the sky, wondering about all the other types of activities that must have occurred within these stones. Unfortunately, the stones we not speaking today so we had to ruminate along the lines of our own imagination. Someday, maybe a power grid will shift and the secret mysteries be revealed, but for now we had to content ourselves in the knowledge that we had somehow entered the invisible ledger and added our essence to this circle of stones, and will in some small way forever be a part of this ancient, mystical site.
It was with some sadness that we had to end this reverie, but we still had many miles to go and several more sites to visit. Back in the car we headed further north up to the world renowned Giants Causeway. Before we got there we had to stop and take a quick tour of the Dunluce Castle, situated on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. Now mostly a charred wreck, the remaining ruins suggest that this was once one of the finest castles in the land. The setting and the beautiful stone work is still exquisite. Seems a great shame that all the time, expense and work to build such a structure is laid to waste over some kind of disagreement, whether it be religious or political. Someday, one has to hope that such deprecations will be part of our barbaric past, not to see the light of day again. Well, maybe.
Anyway, it was now late afternoon when we pulled into the parking lot overlooking the Giants Causeway. The walk down to the actual stone causeway, purportedly linking Scotland and Ireland in the mythical past, was every bit as impressive as the guide books described. Once down at the shore, we climbed up and on to the basalt rock columns in some awe and wonder. Above us were incredibly steep cliffs with numerous walking trials making the park a hikers paradise. This was one of the places I'd like to return and spend more time exploring. Not sure about the legendary giant, Finn Mac Cool, nor the problems with his Scottish counterpart, but it's the kind of place that gives wings to dreams.
We lingered as long as we could along the water but even in Ireland the sun eventually dims. As I was not yet completely comfortable driving on the left side of these frighteningly narrow roads, I had hoped to get back to Eamon's house before dark. This was of course not to be the case. No matter what the map indicates, it takes twice as long as the mileage would lead one to believe. For example, a 60 mile trip doesn't take 1 hour, it takes 2 at the very least. Therefore, now nearing midnight, we were fortunate to find a Chinese take away open in the vicinity of Draperstown. All this hiking and climbing had made us both quite hungry. Not exactly the elegant restaurant dining experience I had hoped to conclude the day with but I think the natural beauty of all that we had seen during the day was compensation enough.
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