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Day 7: April 23, 2025
Today’s journey could fill a book in its own right! Having departed our Glasgow hotel, the destination was Cairnryan port, and the ferry which would take us across the Irish sea from Scotland to Northern Ireland. After a blissful start on a gorgeous morning, things started to become interesting about halfway through the drive as we hit our third delay due to roadworks, and suddenly became all too aware of the ticking clock, stuck staring at the glaring red of yet another pop-up traffic light. Where we should have had forty-five minutes to spare upon arrival at the port – including a rest stop on the way! – we were now looking at fifteen… then ten… then nine… eight… seven. By the time we finally squeezed through the FIFTH and final roadworks delay, we made it to Cairnryan port exactly five minutes before our gate closed, and we could all unleash a collective sigh of relief, and bid farewell to our masterful coach driver Ian. Things vastly improved from that point forward, as the sun guided us across the sea and welcomed our arrival to Belfast, where we hurried on to the mythological Giant’s Causeway, geological phenomenon and the scene of local legend. On the way we learned about the history of Ireland North and South, and why it is a divided island since the early 20th century. We couldn’t have asked for a more glorious day (especially given how it started!!), and even managed to squeeze in a quick photo stop at Dunluce Castle on the ride back to our hotel in the town of Antrim.