Weather and winds

Jean says: Just as well we had a day off today because we wouldn't have wanted to put up with the dreaded chop again. I'm not sure we would have been able to leave the harbour safely anyway, because the North West wind was blowing straight into the entrance and causing some of that coastal turmoil I've been reading about. Instead, we caught a bus and went along one of the most spectacular coast roads we've ever been on. It rose to hundreds of feet with views for miles along the Glens of Antrim, along the coast and over to the Mull of Kintyre. We took it to see the Giant's Causeway. When we first got there I couldn't see what all the fuss was about, but then I realised that I was looking at the wrong bit. It was actually well worth the trip and reminded me of the result you can get when you use the pixelating function on Photoshop, except that the view comes ready pixelated. Maybe that's where someone somewhere got the idea from in the first place, which just proves to me that all ideas originate in nature.
Next up was Bushmill's Distillery, which was conveniently situated just down the road from the Giant's Causeway. Another bit of foresight by someone on behalf of the pressed for time tourist. Bob naturally was very excited, as this was one of the reasons that he signed up for this trip. The tour was only forty minutes, which meant that we could get to taste the stuff within a reasonable time of arriving. I don't actually like whiskey, so I opted for the hot toddy which has cinnamon and sugar in it. Bob thought that I was being a complete philistine and tried to abdicate responsibility for me by sitting at a distance with his twelve year old malt. I wish I did like it, as there's now a large bottle of it on the boat.

People we don't know getting sploshed by waves at The Giant's Causeway.
Ha ha.......




Bob says: Jean won't admit it but the only reason she was prepared to come down to Bushmills Distillery is that I told her that the nearby Giants Causeway was part of a major shopping centre conglomerate, twice as impressive as the one with which she was familiar at Cribbs Causeway. Anyway as you've just read she was impressed with this one even if she's still suffering retail therapy deprivation. Here's a map with the isobars we're going to get for our crossing of the North Channel tomorrow. Nice and well spaced!




Has Anyone Seen Bob?






The longest place name in Ireland is Muckanaghederdauhaulia, which means marshy area between two saltwater inlets.