I always remember English classes in primary school where we were taught about the geography of the United Kingdom. A country formed by the union of Great Britain and a tiny part of land on the other side of the coast. Everybody was always forgetting about that fourth country, that shares an island with the Republic of Ireland. I got intrigued by the history behind that place, and decided to go discover there why.
I had never have the occasion to go to Northern Ireland, until last year I went to study in Scotland for my Master degree. I decided, than, to reach Northern Ireland by booking a bus ticket on National Express, whose journey include the way on the ferry crossing the Northern Sea and arriving directly to the port of Belfast.
As I was travelling alone, I decided than to be host through the site of Couchsurfing. My host lived in a smaller city, though, in the county of Antrim, which turned out to be the biggest provice of Northern Ireland.
Antrim
During my four day stay, we had the occasion to get the car, and drive along the Causeway Coastal Route, with scenic landscapes and occasional rainbows on the way. We also saw The Dark Hedges, a little forest, that reminds the atmosphere of the famous series Games of Thrones, with its mysterious and dark shades.
The Giant’s Causeway
While looking in Google the things to visit in Northern Ireland, I run across a very highly rated attraction, called The Giant’s Causeway. Still on the coastal area, this natural landscape is formed by around 40 millions of gray rocks made of the fine-grained basalt.
These several hexagonal columns are supposed to have created after a volcanic eruption without any explosive activity. There is, however, also a legend, that tells about an Irish Giant called Finn McCool, who built the causeway in order to reach and fight his Scottish enemy, the giant Benandonner. In his way back from the fight, he decided to destroy the causeway, which from an ensemble of tall barrier, turned into the irregular rocks that are today.
The causeway is definitely something rare that I have never seen in other parts of the world. Have you?
The Titanic
One of the most popular ship of all times is the Titanic. It was a British ship, planned to sail from Southampton, England to New York, USA. Unfortunately, during her maiden trip on 1912, it stroke an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean and it sunk. Most of the passengers and the crew members on the ship died, making it a big disaster that will be remembered for ever.
Even though it sailed from England, the Titanic was actually built in Belfast. You might think, as some do, that they should be blamed for its bad construction, but it was used the best design and technology known at that time, and the Titanic was deemed to be an unsinkable ship. The museum built on the Hamilton Graving Dock will give you an overview of the complexity of the boat’s engine and the luxurious style it had in the inside.
After this episode, bigger ships were built and stricter standards for safety regulations were implemented. Might it have been worth it? Let me know what you think in the comments below!
_edited.png)
_edited.png)
