Glenariff Park and Bushmills Distellery

On Saturday we decided to take a chance with the weather and head up the Coastal Route to Glenariff Park.  Glenariff waterfall walk, which was where we were headed, opened 80 years ago and is a 3 mile path.  It is one of the toughest 3 mile paths I've ever walked.  You start at the top of a hill and walk down into the valley.  Not too tough, but then you walk uphill back out.  You have to pay attention to the signs in the park, otherwise you could end up hiking a mountain ridge without realizing you're heading the wrong direction.  The place is known as the 'gateway to the Glens' or 'Queen of the Glens' and has absolutely stunning views.  It does have one of those park center/exhibition things, but it is only open Easter to October, so we didn't get to see that.  

After that we headed on to Bushmills Distillery in Bushmills (what a coincidence!).  Bushmills is celebrating its 400 yr birthday this year, having received its "license to distill" in 1608.  It is the worlds oldest distillery and has been in the same location all that time.  They have had at least 2 fires that have burnt the place to the ground, only to rebuild and start again.  They are working on some of the buildings at the moment so we didn't get to see the actual distilling area and on our way to the bottling plant the fire alarm went off and we had to evacuate.  We were given the option to go and finish the tour, but Kev and I decided to just head to the bar for our free sample of whiskey.  Because of the cold, the bar tender was also giving out free Hot Toddies!  The tour was lively and educational, but pictures were strictly prohibited.  

It was a long day, but well worth the travels along the Coastal Route.  Its some of the most beautiful scenery that I've seen, and you can see Scotland from here on a good day.