Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge

The northern edge of Ireland is one of the most spectacular coastlines you will ever lay your eyes on. Lined with highlight after highlight is the drive from Belfast to the Giants Causeway so make sure you stop to enjoy the scenery along the way. On the journey to the giants Causeway is the absolute must-stop experience of the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge.

When the Rocky Island used to be home to some of the best Salmon fishing, fisherman would cross over this bridge – with just two ropes in those days – to go and set their nets in the water. In order to make it easier for the fishermen to check their fishing nets, they would traditionally erect the bridge over a 23-meter deep and 20-meter wide chasm. Back in the 1960’s the fisherman would catch around 300 salmon a day, but in 2002 they would catch only 300 in an entire season. This is why this area is no longer used as a fishing spot.

It requires a lot of bravery to cross this bridge but Trevor and Caty take the chance. Making their way across to one rugged and surreal landscape to another, they lay their eyes on the beautiful emerald river below. The unique flora, fauna and wildlife prove to be some of the most spectacular in Ireland.

Visitors are drawn to this location simply to take the rope bridge challenge, which originally consisted as a single-rope handrail but has been replaced by the bridge that stands there today. No one has fallen off the bridge just yet but there have been many instances where visitors are unable to walk back across the bridge and have to be taken back by boat.

For more information, visit the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge website on: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/carrick-a-rede

And the Tourism Ireland website: www.ireland.com