Portballintrae to Giant's Causeway loop via The Organ — Causeway Coast

Another stretch of the Causeway Coast. Starting (and finishing( in Portballintrae. There's a car park there if needed. We walked along Runkerry Beach, which is fine a low tide. Not sure how feasible this is at high tide. Joining the walkway at the Runkerry House end of the beach. There used to be a bridge over a large stream at the end of the beach, which looks like it was washed away. There is a small plank and tree trunk over the stream, in it's place. Fairly sturdy (!). Nice coffee & cake in the Causeway Hotel mid-hike. Return via inland footpatch back to Portballintrae.

And another tourist attraction. From experience, this time we avoided parking at the visitor center and hiked from Portballintrae to the Giant's Causeway. The special thing about the Giant's Causeway are the approximately 40,000 evenly shaped basalt columns, about half of which have a hexagonal cross-section. It is believed that this formation of vertical basalt columns can occur when lava cools very slowly.

The goal of today's hike was the Giant's Causeway. To avoid the high parking fees, we started our round in Portballintrae. The first piece went comfortably through the dunes behind the beach. Then we gained altitude and enjoyed the fantastic view of the sea. At the visitor center we met the masses who had parked directly there. The Giant's Causeway was then another 25 minutes away towards the coast. Here we also looked at the hexagonal rock formations before we walked further along the coast in the direction of the now closed coastal hiking trail. We ended up turning around and walked past the narrow gauge railway and across the beach back to where we started. The weather was pleasant, but a heavy downpour ⛈ surprised us in the last few meters. We looked for a cozy café in Bushmill to dry off. After a good meal, we drove along the coast by car and made a stopover at Dunluce Castle, which is picturesquely situated on the rock, before heading home again.