One Very Big Boot

So back to our day out at the Giants Causeway. The causeway covered a suprisingly big area so it took a while to wander its length and breadth. There were quite a few foreign tourists and it was strange hearing foreign accents after getting used to hearing the charming Ulster brogue everywhere we went.

A couple of minutes walk away we found an indicator of the size of the giant who laid down the causeway: we found his boot.


As you can see, it suddenly went dark as we posed on the boot for our photo, and we had a scary moment when we thought it might be the giant's shadow being cast across us. Our moment of panic passed though, as we realised that the boot was so old and fossilised that the giant couldn't have been around for a good many years. We were quite pleased by this as just look how small we are in relation to that boot! We began to appreciate that with feet that size it wouldn't have taken many strides to get across to Scotland.

Being musical bears there was another causeway sight that was a must for us to see, and that was the rock formation known as 'the organ'. When you look at our next picture you'll get a hint of why it is so named.


We couldn't give you the whole picture or you would never have been able to see us. Even with our close up shot it's probably not easy, but you can probably appreciate that these big examples of basalt tubes do resemble organ pipes.

Sadly we weren't lucky enough to hear a recital on the day we were there, but our visit was still not over, so we'll continue in our next post.

Lots of love, George, Yorkie, Patrick and Eddie xxx

In the Steps of Giants

The day after Shrove Tuesday was another big day out for us. We headed for the biggest tourist attraction of the area. As we've mentioned the Causeway coast path a few times, you should be able to guess where we were headed.

Yes, we were off to explore the Irish end of the Giant's Causeway. We were very lucky to have our own local guide with us - our very charming and knowledgeable new friend Patrick.

We didn't want to just drive to the Causeway, pay lots of money to park, view it and them drive away as most visitors do. We wanted to make the visit a full day out and to make the most of the stunning scenery of the area. As we had enjoyed our previous day walking the coast path, we decided to park some miles away and arrive and return using paw power.


By the time we reached the causeway we were ready for a rest and relaxed in the sun taking in the incredible sight of all these thousands of basalt columns. Individually, they're pretty weathered and not particularly impressive, but it is the sheer numbers of the columns and the size of the area they cover that makes seeing the causeway close up quite an awe inspiring sight. While we relaxed, Patrick told us the story of the 2 giants, the Irish giant Finn Macool and the Scottish giant Benandonner and also impressed us, David Attenborough style, with his account of the geological formation.


As you can see, we made an attentive audience and it really was a lovely sunny day.

There's so much more to the Giants Causeway site than just the causeway so keep reading to find out about and view the less well known sights.

Lots of love, George, Yorkie, Patrick & Eddie xxx

Patrick Welcomes Us to Ballycastle

Once free of snow, our car took us for a very scenic drive along the Causeway coastal route. We had lots of stops along the way as there was so much to see. The combination of unspoilt coast with snow capped hills in the distance was an awe-inspiring one.


We felt very much at home when we found a rock close to the water's edge which had a remarkable resemblance to a bear. It wasn't us who drew the face on - honest!


We felt even more at home when we got to Ballycastle and found the house we were going to be staying in for the week. There to welcome us and beaming warmly at us, was a very characterful Irish bear, with an Emerald Buddies i.d. tag in his ear. The even better news was that he was looking for a name and a home and was hoping that he might be able to join Bears Unlimited.


We wasted no time agreeing that his name would be Patrick and that he would spend the week showing us around Northern Ireland, then he would come back with us to England and live with us in Norfolk.

But I bet you're still wondering why I, Eddie, had come on this trip, as no mention of boating so far. The link is that we were staying at the 'spare' house of two of our Irish friends who were with us in Greece on our sailing holiday. They are very bear friendly and I had enjoyed their company so much while sailing, that I was very eager to see them again. I was also looking forward to seeing two more friends from the same sailing holiday who were flying over from Newcastle later in the week, to complete the re-union

They say that first impressions count and ours was extremely good. Where else can you go and be given free accommodation for the week, a warm welcome, a delicious meal, and to top it all be given a new friend?

We were all in bear heaven.

Lots of love, Eddie, George & Yorkie xxx

Failte Ireland

We're back from a wonderful week of leprechaun spotting and ready to share our adventures and the Irish welcome we received with you. We've been to Northern Ireland and highly recommend it as a place to visit. The welcome is very warm, the scenery is stunning, the people are very friendly (we love the accent) and the Guinness is very, very good.


Our adventure started at Luton airport early in the morning. George & Yorkie being seasoned travellers, who think nothing of flying, took the opportunity to get some kip in the rucksack while we waited in departures for our plane to Belfast. I've only been on a plane once before - remember my sailing adventures in Greece? - so I was too excited to sleep and poked my head out the rucksack so I didn't miss anything.

Our plane was 30 minutes late as it had to be de-iced and cleared of snow before it could leave Belfast International airport to come and get us. This gave us a clue of what the weather would be like when we arrived. We arrived to snow and had to work quite hard to clear a thick layer of snow from our hire car before we could set off for our destination and home for the next week (there was even more snow on the passenger side).


In our next post we'll tell you more about where we went, why I was there, and the wonderful surprise that awaited us on reaching our destination.

Lots of love Eddie, George & Yorkie xxx