A friend and I are planning a long weekend in Ireland this summer and would
like to do a few walks around the northern coast. We have been told that it
is ideal to take a car, but neither of us can drive. Could you recommend
where is best to fly into and if there is any public transport we could use?
- Beth Carroll, Leytonstone, London
Sunday Times travel expert Richard Green writes:
You should fly into either Belfast City Airport (www.belfastcityairport.com)
or the City of Derry Airport (www.cityofderryairport.com).
And as many people head for the spectacular costal walks in Antrim,
especially the amazing 10-miles stretch between the Giant's Causeway and
Ballycastle, accessing either end, or other more remote walks, is a cinch,
even without a car.
There are regular trains to Coleraine from the centre of Derry city, which are
very scenic, take 45 minutes and cost about £7 one-way. The same journey
from Belfast takes 1¾ hours and costs £8. Then there are up to six buses a
day between here and Ballycastle, which passes the Causeway en route.
It is also easy to get from Belfast or Derry city to the Causeway Coast by
Ulsterbus services. Portstewart, Portrush, Coleraine, Portballintrae,
Bushmills and Ballycastle, are all connected. Services are more frequent in
the summer too, when there's a handy "Causeway Rambler" (bus number 402),
which runs inland just south of the coast, but along the same stretch as the
walk.
For more information, see Tourism Ireland's website at www.discoverireland.com,
which also has a section on who flies from where to each Irish airport, and
the www.walkni.com. Detailed bus and
rail information on Northern Ireland can be found at www.translink.co.uk.
