In front of the waterfall was a wooden monolith inscribed with Celtic symbols. The place had a very mystical air about it.
Breakfast was a little late this morning, we found a garage selling some very basic stuff, it did have a 5 litre can of Jizer though!
Riding high above the sea, we noticed a dirt road running alongside the seashore, so a quick U turn and down we headed to try it out. It went for a good few miles close to the shore, before turning uphill through some fields and into a small village.
A short walk saw us at a concrete look out on a hilltop. There were a few folk around, including a biker couple with a little dog. The dog sat in behind them in a little box and seemed really happy to be out on a bike!
A visit to Fanad Head and another little wander along a rocky shore to a rock pinnacle. This was a memorial to the locals there who burned kelp for its iodine and quarried granite to make an income. Further along, Gareth took me onto a beach he used to go to as a kid. It's split in two, half for sunbathers and half for vehicles. We got an ice cream and watched the bikini clad ladies for awhile before heading back onto the roads.
The feel of this north western section is more forbidding for some reason, maybe the grey clouds and the drop in temperature after all these days of sunshine.
In the late afternoon, the weather turned to heavy rain, so we bailed to Gareth's parents place in Northern Ireland. We missed out Malin Head and the small ferry across from Quigley's Point, saving it for another time.
Soaked to the skin, we arrived to whisky, a hot shower and fish n chips before a night in a warm bed. A proper Irish welcome...
The next morning, I headed back up to the Causeway Coast, riding along the coastline for the morning. I caught the ferry around 3.30pm for the ride back home.
Crossing southern Scotland, I hooked up with an older guy on a BMW. We cruised along together, with him in front. It was a really rare moment of shared camaraderie that you only find with bikers. Neither of us spoke to each other, except for a nod at some traffic lights, yet we shared the road, pointing out hazards as we rode into the foggy and damp night, both enjoying the company, yet with no need to add in social niceties.
He turned off into a hotel around 9pm and I continued home, rounding off the trip on some very familiar tarmac roads, with no traffic because of the time of night.
Time to service the bike and wash my kit...
