在北愛爾蘭海岸挑戰畏高症 Facing the Northern Ireland Coastline with Acrophobia

愛爾蘭環島遊(第2天) Round Tour in Ireland (2nd Day) - 北愛爾蘭海岸 Coastal Line of Northern Ireland

St George's Market

第二天的早上，我們先到St George Market看看。從Apple Apartment步行去，只需十數分鐘。這是一個週末市場，大部份的攤檔都是星期五、六、日才營業。

In the morning of second day, we first walk to the St George's Market which could be reached in less than 15minutes from Apple Apartment.

在市場內見到橫額，原來這市場被選為2014英國最佳大型室內市場。
There was a banner in the market, showing that St George's Market was voted as UK Best Large Indoor Market in 2014.

這裡除了有蔬果海鮮凍肉等攤檔，亦有很多熟食小店及餐廳，還有不少是標榜自家製的食品，如果醬、蜜糖、麵包蛋糕等，更有售賣各式家庭用品及衣物的攤位。
Apart from the fruits & vegetables, seafood & meat stalls, there were a lot of delicatessen and restaurants.  Some counters sold home-made products like jam, honey and bakery.  There were also stalls for households and clothes.

回去寓所的途中，我們見到Albert紀念鐘樓，還有寫著是貝爾法斯特最古老房屋的McHughs。
On the way back to the apartment, we found the Albert Memorial Clock as well as McHughs which was written as the oldest building in Belfast.



退房之後，我們便出發去探索北愛爾蘭的海岸Causeway Coast Way。
After checking out, we started our journey to explore the coastal line, Causeway Coast Way of Northern Ireland.

在到達海岸之前，我們先經過The Dark Hedges。從貝爾法斯特到The Dark Hedges約一小時車程。這裡是一條兩旁種了櫸樹的林蔭大道。陽光充沛的時候，可見到光線從青蔥的樹葉滲透過來，若是陰天，這裡就會好像披上了一層詭異的氛圍。

Before arriving the coast line, we first passed through The Dark Hedges.  From Belfast to The Dark Hedges, it took about one hour by car.  The Dark Hedges was an avenue with beech trees along the two sides. On sunny days, sunshine seeps through the greenish trees.  On a cloudy day, it may look strange and mysterious.









在這裡附近的The Hedges Restaurant，我們點了些飲品及小吃，不是特別出色，但因今天的行程可能會較遲才吃午餐，還是在這裡吃點東西較好，並借用那裡的洗手間。
There was The Hedges Restaurant nearby at which we have ordered some snacks and drinks as we expected that lunch would be quite late on that day; also, we took the advantage to use the toilets there.

只需再一個小時的車程，便是行程的下一站，即是那天我要面對的考驗: Carrick-a-Rede吊橋。
The next stop was the challenge for me, Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, which was reached with another hour of drive.

從停車場先步行數分鐘至入口，在這裡可購買過橋「路票」，每成人是5.9英鎊；其實如不打算過橋就可不用買票。但最好是在入口就決定會否過橋，因買票後要再行大概20分鐘才到橋頭，到時才確定要過橋，便要走回頭路去買票。
From carpark, we walked a few minutes to arrive the entrance and purchased the tickets (5.9pounds for adult) for crossing the rope bridge.  No ticket was required if people do not want to cross the bridge.  It would be better to decide whether to cross the rope bridge at the entrance.  There was a path of another 20 minutes' walk to reach the starting point of the bridge.  If people decided to cross the bridge at that point, they would have to walk back to the entrance to buy tickets.

前往吊橋的小路都是沿海的，可以邊行邊欣賞海岸風景。The path to the rope bridge was along the coastline and people could enjoy scenery while walking to the bridge.

由於吊橋只有一個人行的闊度，同時間只適宜同一方向的人龍走過，橋頭有工作人員幫助協調人流。吊橋連接著Carrick小島，離水面約30米，其實並不是很高，但對於這個膽小畏高的我，已經夠挑戰性了，幸得同行的友人前後包抄，我在橋上就只塑著前行朋友的背，後面的朋友輕搭我膊頭，我才克服，走過橋來回一次。哈哈!！目標達成！

As the width of the rope bridge was for one person only, there was a staff to administer people's traffic.  The bridge was connecting to the small Carrick Island and was about 30m above sea level. In fact, it was not very high but was enough to scare me, an acrophobia timid person.  Luckily, with the support of my friends, two of them walked in front of me and one behind me.  I stared at the back of the friend in front of me while the friend behind tap on my shoulders.  I finally overcame to walk to and fro the rope bridge once.  Yeah!  Mission was completed.


Useful websites:
St George's Market - http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/tourism-venues/stgeorgesmarket/stgeorgesmarket-index.aspx
The Dark Hedges - http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/The-Dark-Hedges-Armoy-Ballymoney-P27502
The Hedges Restaurant - http://thehedgeshotel.com/restaurant/
Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge - http://www.discovernorthernireland.com/Carrick-a-Rede-Rope-Bridge-Ballintoy-Ballycastle-P2829

..... 待續 to be continued .....