Thirsty Thursdays: Visiting The Oldest Irish Pub In The World, Grace Neill’s Donaghade, Northern Ireland🔴✋️☘️ Grace Neill’s, located in Donaghadee, Northern Ireland, is often cited as the oldest pub in Ireland, and as you can see on its website, it claims the title of the oldest, although this is often disputed. The history of Grace…
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“Illusion never changed into something real” – NI *. There are obviously loads of roads and border crossings between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and I’ve crossed that border about 100 times I’d say, given my list of visits to each country. I’ve crossed by bus, train, foot and car. This includes the…
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“All this talk of getting old, it’s getting me down my love” – Richard Ashcroft. My early days of travelling were walking, cycling, car and ferry. I wasn’t really aeroplane loyal when I was young. Last month, I realised that I had Jumbo-jetted my aeroplane status by taking my 747th flight! Yes, I have now…
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“Why do anything, when you can’t forget everything?” – Manic Street Preachers. There are obviously loads of roads and border crossings between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and I’ve crossed that border about 100 times I’d say, given my list of visits to each country. It was commonplace as a kid on holidays…
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“I’ve been a wild rover for many a year and I’ve spent all my money on whiskey and beer” – The Pogues. Northern Ireland is my home country and it has some hidden gems for the thirsty traveller. Not only does it boast Ireland’s Highest Pub (The Ponderosa on the Glenshane Pass) and Ireland’s Oldest…
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“It’s all too beautiful” – Small Faces. Despite what the tourist brochures and obvious tourists tell you, Northern Ireland’s charm lies not in Belfast and the Giant’s Causeway!! Nor in the Bushmills Distillery and the Carrick a Rede Rope Bridge! Even though I promoted them to the hilt myself many times and continue to tell…
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“Just when I thought our chance had passed. You go and save the best for last” – Vanessa Williams. August 2023 saw a return to the Port Hat-trick. This meant Portballintrae, Portrush and Portstewart. After catching crabs in rockpools at Portballintrae and riding the Ghost Train at Barry’s (Curry’s) in Portrush, I completed the Port…
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The Lost City: Playing Crazy Golf At Yorkgate, Belfast, Northern Ireland “Chip Beck. Tiger Woods. Davis Love Hat-Trick” – Golfers Names. I used to play golf a lot when I was younger. Dad had a set of clubs, I had a set of plastic clubs as a kid, and later I had some real golf…
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“And I’ve been riding on a ghost train, where the cars, they scream and slam and I don’t know where I’ll be tonight but I’d always tell you where I am” – Mark Knopfler. On my August 2023 return to Northern Ireland, I ticked off some of my childhood memories, 40 years later, to reminisce…
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“I don’t know what tune that the orchestra played, but it went by me sickly and sentimental ” – Neil Finn. It was yet another sentimental return to Portballintrae for me in August 2023. This calm Northern Irish seaside resort was a common place for my early travel days. With my family, we would spend…
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