Saturday and Sunday, June 9 and 10, 2018
After the bus left Loughcrew to take the students back to Athlone, I drove up to spend the weekend with Liz Weir at
Our third stop was at Ballygally Castle in Ballygally and on Ballygally Bay. Clockwise from the top left: tapas and gin cocktails and two of the rubber ducks that are the signature of the Hastings Hotel chain which owns the castle; a view of the castle grounds; our two gin options – Jawbox or Shortcross; the view from the castle to Ballygally Bay, and Portia Woods presenting the gin!
Our fourth stop was at Glenarm Castle. I'd been there before with Liz, and another time Mark Goldstein and I had visited the gorgeous gardens there. I was surprised to see that the tea rooms had been doubled in size and very much modernized. We had some time to wander the garden before we sampled the fare. Clockwise from the upper left: Adrian Morrow, the estate manager at Glenarm Castle, provided us with all the details of the salmon hatchery near by and the source of the beef in the photo diagonally from this one; a lavender hedge outside of the Glenarm potting shed; our plate of locally grown salmon and beef; a look down one of the lanes in the garden.
Our fifth stop was at the Londonderry Arms Hotel in Carnlough. There we were treated to a whiskey tasting and lots of whiskey information from the very enthusiastic and knowledgeable Martin Davey. We also learned that Winston Churchill had briefly owned the hotel, having inherited it from his aunt.
Our final stop was at Mary McBride's in Cushendun. Liz Weir treated us to a story and we had a delicious beef and Guiness stew. Below, in addition, to stew and Liz, is a view of the coast near Cushendall from the bus on the way to Cushendun.
Liz had cleverly had someone drop us off in Whitehead in the morning, and Raymond Watson came from Cushendall to pick us up in Cushendun. We went back to his house for tea and talk, and then he took us back to Ballyeamon Barn just in time to get ready for the session at 8:00 p.m.
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