Thursday, October 9, 2014

At some point today, on the bus between Donegal and Derry, we crossed over into Northern Ireland. There was no sign of a border – the only mention of it was a gas station with a sign saying it was the last one before the border. The farms and towns along our route looked more prosperous – larger homes with bigger yards. The cattle outnumbered the sheep and there were recently-planted fields as well as some that had been recently harvested. I saw signs on the roadside offering new potatoes.

When we got to Derry we walked for about 15 minutes along the banks of the Finn River to get from the bus to the train station. We could have taken a free shuttle but it left the bus station only 15 minutes before the train was due to leave. Even with the walk we had plenty of time to sit on the train platform and admire Derry while we waited for our train.

Once the train was underway the stops were announced over the PA system. We were headed for Portrush but that particular station wasn’t mentioned. Pat checked with a young couple sitting across from us and they assured us we were on the right train. Shortly after Pat stopped a conductor and found out we were on the right train, but we had to get off at the next stop and transfer to another train. It’s a good thing Pat saw the conductor when he did or we might have arrived in Belfast a couple of days early!

Portrush is a beautiful town at the sea shore. Judging from the number of hotels, B&Bs and caravans it must be packed in the summer. There were no crowds tonight though when we did a long walk around the harbour before dinner.

I didn’t expect to see long, sandy beaches in Ireland, but here they are!

Although we are settled in at a lovely (and warm) B&B we are in town the one night of the week when they have traditional Irish music in the pub right around the corner. No doubt we’ll be checking it out later.